Bonfire of the Vanities
Not only did we successfully privatize the banks but vital functions of state. It is of great comfort to us to know that our information systems are safely in the hands of private corporations (now rescued) which in turn are serviced by international giants.
Everyone can recite the mantra “private is better than communism” and inter departmental jealousy did not harm either.
New “Viking” owners, with their new products for the old vessel, – couldn’t fail, – the customary and massive taxpayer involvement is unfortunate but of course the “little people” should not bother their harts. The adage “The Best Way to Rob a Bank…” is only applicable to banks of course.
Buying “consultancy” from “interns” for a decision already made is as old as dirt. Nevertheless, I’m sure they scrupulously vetted: licensing costs, vendor strategy, vendor/product viability, solution manageability, skills availability, third-party support, performance & scalability – undeterred by the Clash of the Titans.
Flagging standardization and international professional standing are platitudes of the propaganda type which at best are totally meaningless.
However locking an entire state in a proprietary software prison is every corporations wet dream.
Will we fire the international corporations (who rule the day) or the unlucky National Audit Officer who happened to inherit a draft report stating some of the facts?
Having just got rid of an “overeager” Director General of the Financial Supervisory Authority my bet is as good as yours.
Groucho Marx was right when he said “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.”
However, the warm fuzzy feeling of buying iPhone 5 (on micro loan) gets us through the day, – right?
The Draft Report (is)
Regulatory capture
Public–private partnership
Power Economics, and Deep Capture
–
23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism
Control fraud “reactive” or “opportunistic”
Similar IT disasters…(uk)