[LINK] EDS faces fight to hang onto [UK] taxman millions

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

EDS faces fight to hang onto taxman millions
But will anybody brave such a tough task?
Thursday 1st November 2001 12:42pm 
Silicon.com
http://www.silicon.com/a48778

The Inland Revenue has launched a campaign to tempt the great and the good
of the IT services industry to bid for its IT support contract when the
existing deal with EDS runs out in 2004.

Worth an estimated £300m to £400m per year, EDS will have a fight on its
hands to retain the lucrative 10-year deal, one of the largest public
sector technology contracts on offer.

The winner will face a tough task. The tax department is determined to
transform its business and become more service orientated - a change which
will be underpinned by a complete upgrade of legacy systems.

When it handed its support contract to EDS in May 1994, the Revenue
estimated it would have to pay out around £1bn to the services firm over
the 10-year cycle. Seven years later and the figure has shot up to £2.4bn.

In front of the Public Accounts Committee last year, Revenue IT director
John Yard admitted his department invoked 100 penalty clauses against EDS
during the first five years of the partnership. 

A National Audit Office report in March 2000 warned the department should
"retain sufficient independent capability to assess projects objectively"
to avoid "becoming locked into the partnership".

<snip to end>

I think there is something in that for all of us.

-- 
Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons
of wise men.
-- T. H. Huxley

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Sydney Australia
brd@austarmetro.com.au