The MOD'sDefence Information Infrastructure(DII) project was "badly planned" and suffered "major
delays" as a result, an influential group of MPs said
today.
The
£7bn IT system was designed to replace hundreds of old IT
systems, but the Public Accounts Committee, which oversees
government spending, said it was "badly planned in important
respects".
Committee chairman Edward Leigh said, "No proper pilot for this
highly complex programme was carried out."
"Entirely inadequate research" meant the IT was housed in
buildings that were in poor condition, he said.
In addition, the Atlas consortium of suppliers led by
EDS - a company, according
to Leigh,"whose track record of delivering government IT projects
has not been exemplary" - underestimated the complexity of the
software it had agreed to create. It took two years to deliver a
system that could safely handle secret material.
While there has been recent progress, the PAC said terminals
need to be rolled out quicker if the department is to meet its
latest deadlines. While 3,400 terminals a month are now being
rolled out, this will need to be increased to 4,300 if deadlines
are to be met.
Leigh also urged the department to turn down any more claims
from Atlas for higher costs, if further software errors occur.
The
DII began in 2005 and should be finished by 2015. Its
implementation has suffered major delays. While 62,800 terminals
should have been installed by July 2007, only 45,600 were in place
at the end of September 2008.
The Atlas consortium has also slowed the provision of core
software because of its "inability to meet the department's
requirements". Word processing, internet access and security to run
on the new system should have been available in June 2006, but less
than half had been delivered by June 2008.
The problems mean existing computer systems have been used for
longer than intended, with increasing risk that one or more will
fail. The
cost of the project has also increased by £182m.