Services integrator, UXC, has scored a $6 million contract to develop and implement a new Parliamentary entitlements system for the Department of Finance and Administration (DOFA).

CEO of UXC's business solutions group, Cris Nicolli, said the contract was one of the most significant signed by UXC's IT divisions to date. The company had been up against a variety of local and multinational players.

"For us, it shows that the Department can choose to take up a local, Australian-run company to implement reasonably sized solutions," he said. "It's a good story for us as we've been underplayed in the market."

Under the contract, UXC will design, plan and implement the new Parliamentary Entitlements Management System (PEMS). The system manages information relevant to about 2000 individuals, including senators, former Prime Ministers and federal government staff.

The DOFA system will be based on IBM's WebSphere platform running an Oracle database, Nicolli said. It has also recruited RuleBurst to devise a business rules database utilising current legislation and departmental policies.

The company will enlist two of its subsidiary business units, QSP and Dytech, to complete the deal. QSP would be developing specific applications required for the department. Dytech would then build the system and perform end-to-end testing.

Nicolli put the win down to UXC's ability to bring together capabilities from its wide range of IT brands. QSP was also the incumbent supplier of DOFA's financial systems, and already had experience dealing with the Department's business requirements. The division also specialised in Java application development, which was a key component for PEMS.

UXC announced its intentions to strive for cross-unit growth four months ago, with the appointment of Anne-Marie Lowe as its first national business development manager. Alongside QSP and Dytech, other UXC subsidiaries include Red Rock Consulting, XSI Data Solutions and Integ Communications.

"This contract shows that we can bring together the various parts of our business to try and meet specific customer requirements," Nicolli said.

The contract commences from this month, with the system expected to be up and running by early 2007. UXC would also provide support services over a 3-5 year period, he said.