Ann: Alcidion announce NZD1.60m contract with MidCentral DHB, page-200

Totally agree that this is a huge advantage of the ALC product.

My experience with how the public sector works suggest the following:

1) Many of the relationships with the big provider firms are very entrenched. A perfect example is the South Australian Government's foolishness to stick with the epas system for their new hospital despite its well-documented failures. It was once touted as the 'perfect system', value for money and etc. Costs have blown out from $200 million to $422 million (still rising). Recent media reports suggest that staff have given up on reporting its problems. Some doctors had even resigned out of frustration with a system that was making their work too difficult. (refer EPAS labelled a dud by South Australian doctors forced to use it and EPAS instability, lateness and cost blow-out to affect new RAH)

2) Bureaucrats are generally very risk adverse. They generally prefer to keep stick with the big firms (irrespective of the potential risks) rather than taking a risk on smaller firms with potentially more innovative products.

Just my two cents worth.