The Post Office has announced significant new contracts totalling £410 million to overhaul its core IT infrastructure, moving away from the Fujitsu-developed Horizon system that was at the centre of a widespread scandal. Accenture and OneView Commerce have been selected to deliver the new technology, a crucial step in the organisation's efforts to modernise and rebuild trust after decades of controversy.
Accenture has secured the largest portion of the investment, tasked with the overall system integration, data migration, and the establishment of a new digital platform. OneView Commerce, a US-based retail software company, will provide the new point-of-sale software that will be used across Post Office branches nationwide. This dual award signals a comprehensive approach to replacing the much-maligned Horizon system, which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters due to software errors.
The Post Office scandal, which unfolded over two decades, saw sub-postmasters accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to discrepancies in the Horizon system. Many were financially ruined, jailed, or had their reputations destroyed. The ongoing public inquiry continues to scrutinise the actions of the Post Office and Fujitsu, making the replacement of Horizon a highly symbolic and necessary step towards rectifying past injustices and ensuring such failures cannot reoccur.
This substantial investment is intended to not only replace the problematic technology but also to enhance the services offered by the Post Office. The new system is expected to provide a more reliable and user-friendly platform for sub-postmasters, enabling them to serve communities more efficiently and with greater confidence in the underlying technology. The contracts underscore a commitment to modernising an essential public service, ensuring its future viability and restoring its standing within communities.
The transition to a new IT system will be a complex undertaking, involving thousands of Post Office branches and a vast network of services. The successful implementation of the Accenture and OneView Commerce systems will be critical in demonstrating the Post Office's capacity to learn from its past mistakes and embrace a future built on transparent and reliable technology. It also marks a definitive break from the organisation's long and fraught relationship with Fujitsu, signalling a new chapter for the beleaguered institution.
Source: Post Office Limited