The Department of the Interior has added an acquisition module to its financial and business management system that it plans to deliver to nine bureaus and offices under its jurisdiction.
FBMS will consolidate more than 80 legacy application systems into a single system that will manage the department’s financial and administrative business processing, according to the department.
It said that it just added the acquisition module to the core financial system used by the Minerals Management Service and the Office of Surface Mining.
Interior is working with IBM Global Business Services to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning system from SAP Corporation, which integrates cross functional multiple business processes, the department said.
It said the implementation of FBMS will allow it to benefit from common processes, a common technology platform, integrated real-time data, and improved operational decision-making.
"There is nothing easy about replacing legacy systems that have been in operation, in some cases, for close to 20 years," said Nina Rose Hatfield, a deputy assistant secretary.
"Users became accustomed to these old systems because they have been using them throughout their careers," she said, adding that, "there comes a time when we can no longer support our aging systems."
