After 16 Years, 'Interim' CTO Finally Eradicating Fujitsu and Horizon From the UK's Post Office (computerweekly.com)
- Reference: 0180837976
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/02/21/0735210/after-16-years-interim-cto-finally-eradicating-fujitsu-and-horizon-from-the-uks-post-office
- Source link: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639049/Eradicating-Fujitsu-and-Horizon-from-the-Post-Office-step-by-step
After over 16 years of covering the scandal they'd first discovered back in 2009, Computer Weekly now talks to [3]CTO Paul Anastassi about his plans to finally remove every trace of the Horizon system that's been in use at Post Office branches for over 30 years — [4]before the year 2030 :
> "There are more than 80 components that make up the Horizon platform, and only half of those are managed by Fujitsu," said Anastassi. "The other components are internal and often with other third parties as well," he added... The plan is to introduce a modern front end that is device agnostic. "We want to get away from [the need] to have a certain device on a certain terminal in your branch. We want to provide flexibility around that...."
>
> Anastassi is not the first person to be given the task of terminating Horizon and ending Fujitsu's contract. In 2015, the Post Office began a project to replace Fujitsu and Horizon with IBM and its technology, but after things got complex, Post Office directors [5]went crawling back to Fujitsu . Then, after Horizon was proved in the High Court to be at fault for the account shortfalls that subpostmasters were blamed and punished for, the Post Office knew it had to change the system. This culminated in the New Branch IT (NBIT) project, but this [6]ran into trouble and was [7]eventually axed . This was before Anastassi's time, and before that of its new top team of executives....
>
> Things are finally moving at pace, and by the summer of this year, two separate contracts will be signed with suppliers, signalling the beginning of the final act for Fujitsu and its Horizon system.
Anastassi has 30 years of IT management experience, the article points out, and he estimates the project will even bring "a considerable cost saving over what we currently pay for Fujitsu."
[1] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639049/Eradicating-Fujitsu-and-Horizon-from-the-Post-Office-step-by-step
[2] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366627174/Post-Office-inquiry-chair-cannot-rule-out-scandal-caused-13-suicides
[3] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366617366/Post-Office-creates-CTO-role-to-support-extensive-and-complex-plans
[4] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366638999/Fujitsu-will-be-out-by-summer-2027-says-Post-Office-CTO
[5] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366585812/Post-Office-directors-went-crawling-back-to-Fujitsu-when-IBM-project-got-complex
[6] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366613496/Post-Office-set-to-axe-in-house-development-for-NBIT-software
[7] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366586814/Post-Office-Horizon-replacement-project-labelled-unachievable-as-taxpayer-bill-reaches-1bn
Better, cheaper AND Quick (Score:3)
> Anastassi has 30 years of IT management experience, the article points out, and he estimates the project will even bring "a considerable cost saving over what we currently pay for Fujitsu."
Sounds like they are aiming to do in 5 years what they could not get done before, and for a lower cost. Ambitious!
Re: (Score:2)
oh, the aim is just to pretend they're fixing the it system, that huuuuge barely tractable problem that eclipses all the endemic corruption in their bureaucracy, government and justice system and their decades long cover-up which was the real cause of all that misery and death. if you can destroy a person's life because a bug in your software, and do it again, and again, and again, and do it over and over for over 30 years then software never was the issue.
but if you fail to fix the system in 5 years, and g
why can’t fujitsu make the thing better? (Score:2)
it isn’t like fujitsu couldn’t see the writing on the wall. would they rather lose a large contract than improve their services? and if the system is so intractable, then it is a clear signal to stay clear of their wares.
Outsourcing (Score:3)
The fundamental problem is the post office not seeing IT as a core function of its business, this is shown by outsourcing IT functions. If you treat IT as a commodity like your electricity supply or office cleaning then you will never get a system that provides a competitive advantage to the company. Sure, if you are a small company where off the shelf solutions for your industry meet your needs, then fine in house IT specialism is not a core part of your business. Once you require large scale bespoke systems IT is very much a core part of your business, that needs proper investment and in house expertise with a seat at the top table.
Why has no-one gone to jail yet? (Score:3, Interesting)
Apart from the innocent people who ran the post offices? There seem to be plenty of people who were complicit in this horrific cover-up - from the very top, down.
Re: Why has no-one gone to jail yet? (Score:2)
Has tony gone to jail over iraq? Only vat-paying commonets go to jail, government apointees never do...