The much-criticised Capture computer system was developed in-house by Post Office. The Horizon system was developed by ICL/Fujitsu. The New Branch Information Technology system was being developed in-house, and is running way over budget - and is unlikely to be available for several years, during which Post Office Ltd will have to continue to use Fujitsu to maintain Horizon.
According to Computer Weekly:
As things stand, the Post Office contract with IT supplier Fujitsu to
support Horizon ends in March 2025, and if that’s not extended, the
consequences could be catastrophic for the branch network. Even Fujitsu
is cautious about continuing, and has said it will only do so if
convinced the Post Office has a viable replacement plan in place.
The Post Office has asked for a five-year extension, with a three-year break point. The full five years could see up to £180m of additional taxpayer money go to the IT supplier.
According to witnesses at the public inquiry into the Post
Office scandal, the two companies have yet to agree a new contract, with
less than six months to go.
Former Post Office chief transformation officer Chris Brocklesby told the inquiry
that, if everything went according to plan, the earliest the Horizon
replacement – dubbed New Branch IT (NBIT) – would begin roll-out is June
2026, with Horizon finally switched off at the end of 2028.
But according to another CW report today
The “writing is on the wall” for the Post Office’s plan to build its
New Branch IT (NBIT) system in-house, as it considers dumping it in
favour of an off-the-shelf electronic point of sale (EPOS) alternative.
A source said the Post Office looks set to U-turn on its current plan to replace the controversial Horizon IT system with in-house developed software and either switch to an off-the-shelf system from a supplier or bring Horizon in-house.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Post Office is
considering a contract with EPOS platform provider Escher, the supplier
of the Riposte middleware that was previously used in early versions of
the Horizon system. There is also support within the Post Office IT
department for bringing the existing and controversial Horizon system
in-house. The source said a decision has not been made yet, but it
appears “the writing is on the wall” for the in-house NBIT software,
which is expected to be dumped.
This follows an admission by recently installed Post Office chairman Nigel Railton, during his appearance at the Post Office scandal public inquiry this week, that the company’s decision to build the new system in-house was one of two reasons the project was “set up to fail”.
Railton told the inquiry: “One was the decision ‘to get off Horizon’,
which is different to building a system for the future, and the second
was the decision to build in-house.” He said there are many “horror
stories” of people trying to build systems in-house, adding: “I think,
based on my experience, that this was always set up to fail in the first
place.”
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A recent internal Post Office document sent to staff by acting CEO
Neil Brocklehurst revealed that changes to the NBIT programme are being
considered. “While the strategic review is ongoing, and informed by
other discussions with the board and stakeholders, we have taken the
opportunity to review our current approach to our delivery of new
technology, to make sure it will deliver what postmasters need in the
most effective way possible,” it said.
“This means from next week we will start reassessing and
reprioritising the NBIT programme. This does not mean we will be
stopping everything. Critical investment in Horizon’s infrastructure
will continue and, importantly, we will be moving forward with the
installation of new technology into branches over the next 12 months,”
the document said.
According to the source, the NBIT team has been told to hold off
building any more features until a decision is made on whether to
continue with the current in-house project.
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