Workday Beats Oracle And Microsoft In UK 'Matrix' ERP Deal

A cluster of government departments has opted for Workday HR and finance software, as Oracle and Microsoft make up the vendors losing out to the SaaS-only provider.

The “Matrix” cluster of central government departments and arm’s length bodies has also selected Cognizant as an integrator to help roll out the systems. The group of departments are trying modernize their ERP systems and revamp their shared-services arrangements.

A procurement notice from the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology said the total contract value for both vendors could be as high as £144.3 million.

The software deal is set to last 10 years, with the option of extension for up to two further years, while the SI deal is scheduled for an initial period of five years, with the option of extension for up to 24 months more. When the government first launched the procurement, it said the total deal could be worth up to £215.6 million.

Departments within the Matrix cluster have changed since the project started, and now include the Cabinet Office (CO), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Department for Business and Trade (DBT), Attorney General's Office (AGO), Department for Education (DfE), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and HM Treasury (HMT). Twenty arms-length bodies including the UK Space Agency are also part of the cluster.

The new agreement signals a significant move away from existing ERP and HR software used by some of these departments. According to the Shared Service Strategy launched in March 2021, Oracle is currently used by HMT, AGO, the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the former Department for International Trade (DIT). Meanwhile, DHSC and the DfE (finance) use Microsoft. The DCMS uses iTrent software for HR and Integra for finance. The Cabinet Office already uses Workday for finance and HR, while the DfE uses it for HR and payroll.

The original procurement notice said the new shared service would look to converge data, policies, and processes across these departments. The service aimed to support 48,000 users based across the UK and replace 15 instances of nine different software solutions across the nine departments.

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The significance of the challenge is not lost on the government. Speaking to Parliament's spending watchdog in January 2023, Alex Chisholm, permanent secretary and chief operating officer of the civil service, said [PDF] the Matrix bundle was the "trickiest one of the five."

It had to form over an 18-month period, "that required that process of compromise and mutual commitment, and understanding where you can't add excessive customisation and where the benefits will be. They are at a different stage, but they have got there, which is great, and they are committed," he told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

As the departments try to converge on a single software service for HR and finance, that commitment is set to be tested. ®