FAA Selects Oracle for Acquisition Reform System
Oracle U.S. Federal Financials Provides Flexibility to Cope With
Changing Regulations
WASHINGTON, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL - news)
today announced that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected
Oracle(R) U.S. Federal Financials applications, database, tools, and services to provide
a complete system for managing the changing regulations associated with the U.S.
government's acquisition reform efforts. Under the FAA ACQUIRE contract, the agency
also will use Oracle Alert(TM) and the Discoverer/2000(TM) ad hoc querying tool. The
contract includes Oracle Consulting Services(SM), Oracle Support, and Oracle
Education(SM).
The FAA selected Oracle, citing the ability of its products to meet the agency's functional
requirements at a reasonable cost. The FAA also cited the ability to configure Oracle's
system to meet the needs of the FAA's headquarters, regional offices and centers. Oracle
Federal Purchasing and Oracle Federal Payables were the key products in the FAA's
purchase. The agency emphasized the ability to customize those applications to meet
future requirements and to upgrade to new releases without a substantial labor effort.
Like many federal agencies, the FAA has changed procurement rules, prompting it to
select Oracle Federal Purchasing to meet evolving functional requirements. The FAA will
further modernize its purchasing procedures by acquiring, implementing, and maintaining
an automated system that meets users' needs through continuous improvement. The
system, known as ACQUIRE, will replace the current national automated procurement
systems, including the System for Acquisition Management. It will operate in a distributed
environment and use a graphical user interface to create a user-friendly system that will be
modular, scaleable, and support an open architecture.
The procurement system to be replaced operates on mini-computers at 12 locations and
features early 1980s-era hardware at each site. It has relied on obsolete coding that has
not been changed for more than three years and no longer satisfies agency needs under
the FAA's new Acquisition Management System. The accounting system interface does
not operate properly, requiring staff members to work with paper. The old
character-based process is inefficient and not year 2000 compliant.
''This system being replaced does not support our efforts in procurement reform, does
not support electronic commerce capability, and does not meet federal financial
regulations for data accuracy,'' said Ken Macomber, FAA ACQUIRE product lead.
''We were searching for a purchasing system that would meet our functional requirements
for an acceptable price. We wanted a flexible package we could customize to meet FAA
requirements -- automated workflow, electronic commerce, and compatibility with the
FAA technical environment. Oracle has an industrial strength, integrated product -- a
product that has been proven in industry.''
An Oracle customer since the 1980s, the FAA has 5,000 users at 12 U.S. sites and
processes more than 200,000 purchases a year. The contract includes Oracle U.S.
Federal Financials modules such as Oracle Federal General Ledger, Oracle Inventory,
Oracle Project Costing, Oracle Fixed Assets, Oracle Federal Receivables, and Oracle
Cost Management. Long-term plans include migrating to Web-based applications based
on Oracle's Network Computing Architecture(TM).
''With Oracle's federal solution, the FAA will gain a system that was specifically
developed for the federal environment,'' said Frank Bishop, vice president of
development, Oracle Global Public Sector. ''The system already offers major
industry-specific features and functionality, while providing the flexibility to implement new
functionality to meet evolving business requirements.''
''With the U.S. government pushing procurement reform, Oracle U.S. Federal Financials
allows agencies such as the FAA to meet technical requirements in streamlining the
acquisition process while conforming with federal regulations,'' said Linda Zecher, vice
president of applications, Oracle Government, Education & Health. ''Oracle U.S.
Federal Financials enables customers to keep their systems on pace with any changes in
technology in addition to improving decision making and cutting administrative overhead.''
Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information
management, and the world's second largest software company. With annual revenues of
more than $6.7 billion, the company offers its database, application server, tools, and
application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in
more than 140 countries around the world.
For more information about Oracle, call 650-506-7000. Oracle's World Wide Web
address is (URL) oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle is a registered trademark and Oracle Alert, Discoverer, Oracle Consulting
Services, Oracle Education, and Network Computing Architecture are trademarks of
registered trademarks of Oracle Corp. All other products or company names mentioned
are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
SOURCE: Oracle Corp. |
