Adobe scores $32m myGov software deal

Adobe has won a lucrative contract to provide the “core customer experience technology” that will underpin the federal government’s new Facebook-inspired myGov digital services platform.

The vendor scored the $32.3 million deal with Services Australia last month, with the software expected to “enable” the government digital experience platform (GOVDXP) over at least the next three years.

GOVDXP is currently being developed as a replacement for the existing myGov goverment services platform, and to give citizens a single, personalised view of their actions with the government.

The platform – otherwise known as the myGov Beta platform – is expected to use a ‘Netflix model’, whereby users are fed service recommendations based on their previous interactions.

Deloitte began developing the prototype platform for GOVDXP in early 2020 using Adobe’s content management solution known as Experience Manager after scoring an initial $1 million contract.

But by February 2021, Services Australia was looking for a long-term suite of “core” CX capabilities, namely content management, experience delivery and experience analytics, for GOVDXP.

It described the software capabilities as the “experience management platform” – a key component of the overall DXP Core – that would provide “frontend customer facing applications… and APIs”.

According to the original tender documents, the successful tenderer was to provide a CMS capable of integrating with other workflow engines and design and deliver the customer experience.

The new platform will support around 500,000 concurrent users initially, which is significantly higher than the 300,000 concurrent users that the existing myGov platform can support at any one time.

Capacity levels are expected to increase by 10 percent annually to ensure the future stability of the platform, possibly avoiding the need to rapidly scale up in response to major events as was seen last year.

The new Adobe contract comes a week after Deloitte was handed another $2.8 million contract to continue its work on the redevelopment of myGov.

It means the consulting giant has now been paid approximately $45 million since it scored an initial $1 million contract to develop the GOVDXP prototype platform in a 90-day sprint at the start of 2020.

Deloitte is also one of four systems integrators on a multi-vendor panel arrangement consisting of Accenture, IBM and Arq Group that will be invited to bid for future integration work.