Our new best practices guide ‘GovCloud 2.0‘ focuses on the intersection between Cloud computing services for the public sector, with governments remit to achieve Open Government, via social media and open data technologies.

Procurement is one rich opportunity area for applying this effect, that offers a hugely economic-boosting catalytic effect given how much trade is done this way.

Earlier this year I wrote this piece MERX 2.0, highlighting the deficiencies of the incumbent portal and how it might be improved through a modernized strategy and platform.

In short the current procurement portal in Canada is MERX, which is very much a “Web 1.0″ site in terms of functionality and how the business itself works. This lends itself to maintaining an equally rigid and traditional approach to procurement as well – Very slow, long-winded, document-heavy procedures that cause considerable delays and costs.

The Province of Ontario has now posted an RFP for their own e-tendering system, presenting an opportunity to lead and pioneer innovations in this field.