BT bags £13.4m Edinburgh City Council deal

BT's consulting arm, Syntegra, has won a £13.4m contract to implement and run a new finance IT system for Edinburgh City Council that will help managers control and plan its budget better.

A regular paper-based procurement process will be replaced with a web-based system to improve purchasing, ordering, payments and budgeting for council departments. The council said this will give managers greater visibility of its finances.

The project is part of Edinburgh City Council's £150m 'Smart City' programme to modernise service delivery in the city. Work began on the project in January and the first phase is expected to be completed by April 2005. The project is due to complete in December 2005 when it will be available across the council's operations.

Tom Aitchison, chief executive of Edinburgh City Council, said in a statement: "This venture will enable the council to transform the way it conducts its financial management and reporting, improving efficiency and reducing costs."