back to article UK's Post Office shells out for SAP software it thought it had

The Post Office, a UK government-owned company, has awarded SAP a contract worth up to £2 million for software services following a misunderstanding of its SAP licences and service bundles. A contract award notice issued last week shows the Post Office – which issues postage stamps, manages the postal service, and runs one of …

  1. 0x80004005

    Nice business you've got there squire...

    ... it would be a shame if something happened to it.

    1. Cereberus
      FAIL

      Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

      So you are saying it is all due to shady practices by SAP?

      I'd argue it is the Post office at fault for not doing due diligence on the contract.

      If I am spending that kind of money I make sure I know exactly what I am getting, and will go out to site to make sure what is delivered is to spec.

      The story quotes they were 'significantly under licensed', had significant negotiations to significantly reduce compliance costs, which only meant they reached compliance and no other business benefits were included. Shame they didn't spend any time significantly reviewing what they got from the reseller to make sure everything they needed was included but left as an expectation that the reseller would provide additional services, so obviously not checked.

      You'd think they'd be more careful in how they operate, especially after the significant impact they had on employees with the Horizon failures.

      1. Christopher Rogers

        Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

        The people who did Horizon should be in prison. But instead some of those scumbags are probably still in position making these half assed decisions instead.

      2. vogon00

        Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

        Upvoted for the Due Diligence observation. When I read the "We have been facing operational issues since the last two years as SAP stood down our Customer Success Manager as that service is not available for indirect contract, something SAP failed to disclose" I burst out laughing and thought 'What did the idiots expect? They should have asked better questions when negotiating'. "Failed to disclose" is bizSpeak for 'We did not see this unintended consequence coming and now need to whine about it to avoid owning any blame'. That, and there is *always* someone smarter than you in the game, somewhere.

        Not being a SAP user, I don't know how byzantine their licensing is, but I'd bet that it's a royal pain in the arse to understand, let alone achieve compliance with... which gets the RMG/PO off the hook just a little bit in my book.

        Business relationships have got very convoluted and way less transparent than they were or should be - everyone is trying to create leverage, get an 'edge' and grab a bigger slice of the pie at the expense of others anbd noe to themselves....especially now with so many threats to revenue and stability.

        Q:When is a opportunity not an opportunity A:When you just jump in without looking all the way to the bottom...

      3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

        "You'd think they'd be more careful in how they operate, especially after the significant impact they had on employees with the Horizon failures."

        Horizon was the my first thought on reading this story. Maybe SAP should have had them up in court for fraud? Sadly, unlike the PO, SAP don't have the ability to actually investigate and bring charges directly.

        (Yeah, I'm being ironic/sarcastic)

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

      SAP and Oracle have obnoxious T&Cs that basically amount to being able to charge for breathing air. But nobody's prepared to challenge them in court for fear of their business going down the tubes while the case proceeds. Oh, and the monopoly commissions don't tend to get involved because the contracts are all under non-disclosure agreements.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

        And yet companies keep falling for it.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

      Did SAP hire a load of Oracle salesdriods? This seems like a textbook Oracle move.

      There is a lesson there for everyone. Just avoid Oracle/SAP and the other usual suspects.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

        It's a shared culture.

      2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

        You really need to talk to people who've "bought" SAP. Though, obviously they won't be able to tell you about the contracts because it's trade secrets. One of the best tricks, allegedly, is SAP owns any data processed with its products. Yep, you no longer own your own (sic) data! This goes beyond even Oracle's licence for switching the machine on.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

          <cynic>If only "no longer own your own data! " included them being legally responsible for all the data protection fails.

          That would be a great selling point.</cynic>

          1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

            Re: Nice business you've got there squire...

            They just own data and you get a licence to use it. C'mon, they're not stupid.

  2. pavel.petrman

    Disappointed...

    ... as I expected Capita to feature in this sort of a story, too.

    1. TimMaher Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Capita...

      They could join up with ICL/Fujitsu.

  3. Christoph
    Flame

    Jail the post office managers for theft. If it's good enough for the entirely innocent sub-postmasters it's good enough for the managers.

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