NPfIT vs Fujitsu
A long time ago in a government far, far away a contract was awarded to Fujitsu to implement a large chunk of a DoH/NHS system. As soon as the ink was put to paper, but probably before it had dried, the government side started to fiddle with the deliverables which soon lead to s situation where Fujitsu and probably anyone else couldn't have completed the contract as written, let alone as it now stood. Fujitsu knew that they were on a roller-coaster to a bad place indeed and were probably relieved to be sacked off the contract, particularly when it became apparent that they had been sacked in a way that made the breach of contract the government's fault. It also gave the company a cast iron excuse for no bonuses or pay rises for that year, to the delight of management and the dismay of those working on profitable accounts. There then followed many days in court and much lucrative trade for our learned friends before it was found that the government, by dint of the contract that they had drawn up, now owed Fujtisu a large amount of money plus costs. Fujitsu still owed some subcontractors some money but they were still very much quids in.
I guess that Capita are now hoping for a similarly incompetent sacking, legal play time and hefty cheque heading their way. I wonder how many MPs or their spouses sit on the boards of the usual outsourcing suspects? There certainly seem to a lot of cash cows being milked.
TL;DR - government are really bad at outsourcing but they still keep on doing it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
