DTO launches Digital Marketplace beta

The Digital Transformation Office has launched a beta of the new Digital Marketplace initiative, which aims to transform how the government buys digital and technology services.

The Digital Marketplace Beta aims to simplify the process of technology procurement for both government departments and their vendor providers, while helping SMEs and start-ups secure a share of government ICT spending through providing specialist digital services.

Government buyers will use the platform to publish briefs specifying their requirements, and suppliers can respond and open up negotiations.

More than 220 digital service professionals have been added to the Digital Marketplace following an open tender process seeking businesses to join a panel, which was conducted in March.

Speaking at the launch of the beta in Canberra recently, Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor said the project aims to improve traditional procurement processes based on four principles — innovation, interactivity, accountability and transparency.

“The good news is this Digital Marketplace is working towards all of those principles and embedded in it, you will see in the beta here, are all of those principles at work,” he said.

“I’m sure we can improve. That is exactly the philosophy with everything we do — that we get started, we beat the blank page and we continually work from there, which is why of course it’s a beta.”

Development of the Digital Marketplace is ahead of schedule. An alpha prototype was developed in July and the beta version was completed in five weeks.

The project has a budget of $18.8 million and forms part of the government's $1.1 billion National Innovation and Science Agenda.

Image courtesy DTO