Swinney hails new contract bid app
A smart phone application designed by a Dundee firm is playing a "key role" in saving public sector money, Scotland's finance secretary said.
- By David Clegg
- Published in the Courier : 21.12.10
- Published online : 25.12.10 @ 05.16pm
John Swinney paid tribute to the work done by Waracle, in South Tay Street, the company behind the Scottish Government's PCS procurement app.
It allows firms to view public sector procurement opportunities and bid for the contract. Mr Swinney said this was leading to greater efficiencies being achieved in the sector.
He said, "The Public Contracts Scotland portal and app are making contract opportunities more accessible to suppliers; helping to make public sector procurement more transparent and competitive; and...improving efficiency — which has a direct impact on the Scottish economy.
"It is more important than ever that we make best use of resources and deliver greater value for money in public procurement."
David Romilly, Waracle business development manager, said the app showed the company was on the industry's "cutting edge."
"Waracle is proud to have developed the world's first procurement iPhone application for the Scottish Government," he said.
"The Public Contract Scotland iPhone app, developed with Millstream, is a huge step forward in public sector procurement and we're confident the technology will be adopted by government agencies across the UK and internationally.
"Having John Swinney back the app is a real boost for the firm and the app's success shows Waracle is at the cutting edge of app development in the UK."
The app will provide companies with access to £9 million worth of public sector business each year and recognises the importance of small and medium-sized businesses in providing services to the sector.
They often don't have dedicated teams focusing on tender submissions and it is thought the ability to monitor potential new deals on the move will benefit them.
Waracle was set-up by a group of Abertay graduates and specialises in iPhone applications. Earlier this year it launched an official Dundee United app.
Picture used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user William Hook.
03.34pm - 26.12.2010 Steve Scott - Dundee, Scotland Report This
A good use of Scottish Government resources:<br /> Portal? Yes. Application limited to 1 brand of handset, and not even the highest selling smartphone OS, nor the highest business use one?: That's a no.
03.11pm - 02.01.2011 Stewart Young - Edinburgh, Scotland Report This
I'm all for finding innovative solutions to help the government save money and stimulate enterprise and I think the PCS app is a great example of this. However, I agree with Steve, the app needs to be rolled out across all the major platforms to reach a wider audience.
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