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.
Running over budget and behind schedule, the NBIT project, which set out to replace the system at the centre of the widest miscarriage of justice in British history, could be about to see one of its core principles dumped.
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 middleware used in 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.”
In response to Computer Weekly questions about the possible plan to drop the in-house project in favour of a supplier system, a Post Office spokesperson said: “It’s critical that we provide postmasters with efficient, flexible tools and systems so they can provide the best possible experience to their customers and communities. We are exploring all options, working with a range of stakeholders, to ensure a better digital infrastructure for our branches.”
When the Post Office initially decided to replace Horizon, it ran a “buy versus build” project, and in 2022, a number of EPOS providers were invited to bid to supply should the buy option be chosen. Escher came out on top in the bidding process, which also included a bid from OneView, according to a source. The source added that the Post Office began to build in-house in early 2021, initially as a proof of concept that turned into a full build, but buying off-the-shelf was always held over as a contingency if build failed.
In April this year, the project appeared to be progressing well. At the time, the Post Office was seeking software developers to work on the project in new contracts worth up to £75m over three years. A tender showed the Post Office was seeking developers for financial analysis, accounting and procurement software as part of the in-house NBIT project. Accenture and Coforge were the main development partners, with the Post Office responsible for the programme using developers to bolster its resources. At the time, there were a significant number of IT developer jobs listed on the Post Office career opportunities site.
However, the NBIT programme has run into serious problems. Computer Weekly revealed in May this year that a review by government project management experts at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) rated the project as “currently unachievable”, with budgets ballooning from £180m to £1.1bn and implementation being delayed by as much as five years. Fujitsu’s contract is expected to be extended to cover this, at a cost of £180m to taxpayers.
A source close to the “build versus buy” discussions said there was a consensus within teams that building in-house is the best option for subpostmasters and the Post Office in the long term. “The spiralling costs have been an issue, but that’s a Post Office culture problem that needs to change. If the culture doesn’t change, they’ll have the same issue going down the buy route.” The source also said the early stages of the project did see a number of quality issues, but these have now been resolved.
A recent internal Post Office document 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.
A separate source told Computer Weekly: “There are lots of angry and frustrated people in NBIT at the moment so it is hardly surprising there are people whistleblowing.”
Chairman Railton also told the public inquiry that he was confident the project would be finished in 2028 and wouldn’t cost any more than the current £1.1bn predicted.
The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to Horizon accounting software, which led to the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history (see below timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal since 2009).
• Also read: What you need to know about the Horizon scandal •
• Also watch: ITV’s documentary – Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The real story •
• Also read: Post Office and Fujitsu malevolence and incompetence means huge taxpayers’ bill •