Open Line acquires Waterschap Rivierenland IT
Open Line, provider of managed cloud services to over 140 companies primarily in healthcare, public authorities, social housing and manufacturing, acquires the entire generic IT of the 'Waterschap Rivierenland' water board. Open Line emerged as the best tenderer after an extensive European procurement process.
Waterschap Rivierenland is first Dutch water board to outsource its entire generic IT. An exhaustive market consultation and an intensive selection process led to a 10-year agreement with IT service provider Open Line.
The outsourcing is the result of a sourcing strategy that was developed on the instructions of Richard Bremer, CIO of Waterschap Rivierenland. “We wanted to reduce vulnerabilities caused in part by the increasing number of cyber threats. We also want to benefit from the economics of scale of a service provider. It is, for example, expensive for a water board to optimally set up a recovery facility.” Finally, the intention was to increase the agility of the organisation. “Developments are rapid, both socially and in strictly IT terms.”
Meticulous selection process
Once the sourcing strategy had been determined, the meticulous process that would eventually lead to the outsourcing began. After discussions with other water boards, Rijkswaterstaat and the Shared Service Centre of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, preparations for outsourcing were made along two tracks. On the one hand, a market orientation began and, on the other, the internal organisation at the water board had to be prepared. For this purpose, a control organisation was set up, which will act as an intermediary between the water board and the external ICT service provider.
Following the market consultation, an RFI was prepared by Waterschap Rivierenland, followed by a number of intensive dialogue and exploration sessions with a total of four potential service providers. Based on this extensive exchange of views and a well-matching proposal, Open Line was awarded the deal.
Affinity with the water board
Bremer is delighted that the choice was made for the Limburg service provider. “In terms of organisation, Open Line is a good match for us. The choices we made in setting up our environment are in keeping with the way Open Line sets up environments. That makes the transition easier.”
Roland Kieboom, COO at Open Line, says that Waterschap Rivierenland as an organisation aligns well with Open Line's culture and ambition. “We have a good understanding of the business of a water board. It is important to recognise what the moments of truth are for a water board and what consequences this has for the IT organisation.” Open Line also offered a very good technical package. “Our offer means that the water board can meet their self-imposed targets in a very short period of time”, Kieboom explains.
The collaboration between Open Line and Waterschap Rivierenland has now begun. The project consists of two stages: the first stage involves the one-on-one transfer of the environment. In the second stage, the actual transformation takes place. The migration will be complete in mid-October.
About Waterschap Rivierenland
Waterschap Rivierenland is one of the 21 Dutch water boards and with over 1,000 employees, is one of the top three in the country in terms of size. The service area lies between the Dutch major rivers the Rhine, Meuse and Waal, and the Linge. The three main tasks of the water board are to create and manage strong dikes, treat waste water and distribute surface water evenly in its management area.
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