Re: Can this really be that complicated*?
You have to have the data stored in unalterable format (i.e. once a piece of data has been added, it can't be changed or deleted, just "extended"), otherwise a corrupt official could easily just delete entries or reduce their worth, whilst packing the "goods" into a white van at the loading ramp.
That means a lot of encryption, auditing options and much more, to ensure the database can't simply be altered and any changes are accredited to the correct user, so you have full traceability.
The large part of the price is probably servers/server licenses, CALs for access to the database, then comes the development of the software and maintenance.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
