Open Source and Collaborative development could make a huge difference in Back Office state eGovernment systems like Tax/ Revenue, ERP, etc.. This presentation covers the general ideas

1. Government Back
Office Systems
The high cost of success and failure

2. State Back-Office
Systems
Since in Hawaii our Tax/ Revenue system needs to be
replaced, I’ll focus on those. But this really applies to
most government back-office systems.
• Big
• Expensive
• Clunky
• Horrible
• Get disruptive

3. Big
• There are no small tax systems
• 500K > State Populations > 37M
• Subsystems:
• Intake: Mail, electronic, payments
• Inquiry (Customer Service, Research)
• Collections
• Audit
• Refunds
• Licensing
• Accounting
• Imaging
• Archives

4. Expensive
• Four primary vendors have 75% of the
business
• Some states grow their own.
• The cost between a failure and a success
is not that different!

5. Expensive
• Upfront costs are enormous
• Between $25 and $100 million
• Annual Support is Staggering
• $2 - $10 million

6. Expensive: Cost per
year!
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Tax System Projects

7. Clunky
• Based on old technology by definition
• Lifecycle is 12 years
• Project today starts with 6 year old tech
• User interface style even older

8. Horrible
• In the last 12 years 5 states have sued the
vendor over the system delivered.
• Others (like HI) have opted to tread onward.

9. Crap! What now?
• So the vendors charge a bazillion $
• The solutions can cause more problems than
they solve.
• It can’t be that hard to do!

10. Examples of Other
Disruptive Systems
• Cashiering Systems
• Paper and drawer
• Adding Machines – with audit ribbon
• Computer aided
• Networked (NEC)
• PC Based
• Cell Phone Based (Square)

11. Examples of Other
Disruptive Systems
• Data Storage
• Stone
• Paper
• Images (Cold Storage Systems)
• Photoelectric
• Magnetic
• Optical
• Data
• Ledger
• Computer data structures
• Cloud

12. Examples of Other
Disruptive Systems
• Publishing
• Printing Press
• Offset Printing
• Software based design
• Ink-jet and laser printing
• Print on demand services
• Costco…

13. Why Not Open Source It?
1. Execute an RFI for the perfect Integrated Tax
System.
2. Create a contest for an Open Source
Integrated Tax Solution leveraging the RFI!
3. Set awards of $1M, $500K and $300K to the
top three.
4. Contract or use state IT to manage the
contest, evaluate and host the system

14. $3M could do a lot!
• We could afford two tax systems and choose
features from the best one!
• State owns the code and opens the source to
other states/ nations.
• World Peace follows. (possible over optimism)

15. Other Systems Too
This approach could work for much more!
• Election system back-ends
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• Legislative Data Systems
• More..

16. Resources
• http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/03/github-
government-bureaucat-open-source.html
• http://linuxuser32.wordpress.com/2008/12/30/wha
t-if-public-sector-software-systems-were-open-
source
• http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/12/the-
norwegian-ministry-of-finance-may-open-source-
cash-registers-to-prevent-tax-fraud/
• http://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-maker-
of-turbotax-fought-free-simple-tax-filing

17. More
• This deck is incomplete.. The actual plan
pending.
• Lets change the world!
• Follow up with russell@castagnaro.com