Like many public sector authorities, Victoria's Transport Accident Commission has to operate with the same commitment to efficiency as any private enterprise business.
And like many private sector businesses, TAC recognises the value of e-commerce as a way of increasing both efficiency and service delivery to customers and other stakeholders.
To help achieve its vision, the TAC required a responsive and reliable partner to provide and manage its e-commerce infrastructure; a partner which would allow it to focus on delivering excellent service within its core business. TAC chose Fujitsu as its information technology service provider for the company's ability to deliver end-to-end e-services. The $20 million contract will see Fujitsu supply a range of information technology services, including help desk and desktop services, network services, managed application services and disaster recovery services.
It represents the first step in a major e-commerce initiative for the TAC, which will transform its interactions with its clients, stakeholders and the broader community and improve its service and operation efficiency.
Even the contract signing was a landmark event: It was the first time high-grade Gatekeeper certificates had been used to sign a digital contract under Australian law. The digital certificate technology was supplied by eSign Australia.
The Australian - and possibly world - first signaled a major move forward for Australian businesses. Using the digital certificates streamlines and simplifies the contract signing process, and is expected to become common practice.
The digital certificates deliver TAC more than kudos - they deliver business benefits too. One of the key benefits of digital certificates is that they are tamper-proof - if anyone tries to change the document it will indicate to all parties that it has been modified since it was signed.
At any time in the future, the identity of a signatory can be verified by querying the independent certifying authority - in TAC's case, eSign. eSign was responsible for the registration authority services, including validation and authentication of the individuals signing the contract. In addition, eSign created and issued the digital certificates containing the TAC's and Fujitsu's electronic credentials.
As businesses adapt to this increasingly digital world, the TAC has already been proactive in assuming a leadership position, with assistance from Fujitsu.
