SOFTWARE LICENSE REVIEW In fall, 2019, SaskTel initiated a collaboration with the other Crowns to pursue opportunities with respect to software licensing. The first step was a comprehensive review to understand where each of the Crowns are using similar vendors and products, then to potentially pursue joint agreements. The team identified common vendors to find possibilities to seek economies of scale, for instance, tiered pricing such that each Crown would benefit from under a common master agreement. As a result of this collaborative work, several opportunities have been identified and pursued, including: • Salesforce : SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel all use ClickSoftware, a product for automated mobile workforce management (e.g., scheduling of installs and repairs), which is approaching end of life. ClickSoftware was purchased by Salesforce and SaskPower planned to move to the cloud version of Salesforce (Field Service Lightning product). SaskTel used the existing Salesforce Master Agreement to leverage improved terms and prices for the three Crowns. The project went forward and, due to a significant amount of required customization, has been put on hold. The three Crowns are now working together to establish a joint RFP event in the market to replace ClickSoftware. • Forrester : Forrester provides independent and objective research, utilizing a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data. A Crown Collaboration Master Agreement was put into place for the Crowns, Government of Saskatchewan, and related Associations, Boards and Commissions (ABCs) to utilize Forrester’s research and resources. SaskTel negotiated improved pricing for the companies which sign onto the Crown Master. All parties will have total spend tracked, with additional benefits provided once certain thresholds are met. Work is currently under way to bring all parties under the same master contract. Forrester also plans to host learning events to encourage additional sharing among participants, bringing in expert analysts on a variety of topics. All organizations who sign under the master agreement will be eligible to participate. • Gartner : Gartner is a research and advisory company which provides clients with business insights, advice, and tools. A Crown Collaboration Agreement was established whereby Crowns, Government and ABCs are able to sign under the master agreement to benefit from additional Gartner services. Gartner will bring in speakers and analysts for events for participants. They also provide increased access to Gartner webinars and articles, including access to non-members who are employed by the participants.
Under both the Forrester and Gartner master agreements, professional services statements of work are included, allowing participants to select these vendors without going to market or submitting an exemption request. The Saskatchewan Government completed a market event to select a reseller to represent Microsoft as well as 20 additional vendors. Crowns are aligning their agreements under this Saskatchewan-based vendor, Compugen, as contracts come up for renewal. This has resulted in better pricing for participating parties. It has also created a stronger relationship with the reseller to use their leverage to improve prices and terms for the license renewals and for new purchases. Next steps in 2021-22 include bringing the Crowns together to determine the next vendors to focus on establishing Crown Agreements for joint market events. SHARED SERVICES SaskWater, SaskGaming, and SOCO currently receive services from CIC for CEO/CFO certification and legal services. Given the sporadic demand for legal services, maintaining a full-time lawyer was not cost effective, as at points of time these individuals were not fully occupied. The dedicated legal support provided by CIC has allowed the individual to become well versed in the issues facing each Crown corporation and has improved customer turnaround times. Similarly, if SOCO and SaskWater were unable to access CIC for their internal audit function, including CEO/CFO certification, they would have to hire an external, qualified audit resource or establish an internal audit function. Sharing this service with CIC leverages their expertise and creates efficiencies and cost savings for SaskWater and SOCO. The partnership between CIC, SaskWater, SaskGaming, and SOCO has been mutually beneficial. SaskWater, SaskGaming, and SOCO have realized annual cost savings and gained efficiencies through economies of scale by leveraging CIC professional resources in these areas. In addition, it has raised the quality of the services received and has improved flexibility and response times for customers. At the same time, the relationships established have enhanced CIC’s knowledge and understanding of the opportunities, issues and challenges facing each Crown.
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