It’s been a long time since we’ve heard of a software implementation going so wrong that it risked compromising the ability to do business, but escrow and assurance provider NCC Group is in this sorry situation.
NCC has stopped the rollout of what was due to be a group-wide deployment of an integrated system to manage business processes, and act as a systems backbone for the group. It has reverted back to its old system in the divisions (UK Escrow, and the finance department) that had made the move. We don’t know whose software is at the heart of the problem as yet, or whether it was a problem with the software or the implementation process – in these situations the answers are never clear-cut. If we hear of NCC going down legal route in the coming months it will tell us more, no action could be equally informative.
NCC is having to write-off the £6.9m cost of the new system and the rollback, with the cost assigned to the year ending March 31 2012. Group chief executive Rob Cotton said the decision will not affect its day to day trading and that the company is on target to close the year in line with expectations (see NCC: retaining skills and growing the business).
We noted in the statement that NCC says there is “no prospect of an integrated solution being delivered for the Assurance division to meet its essential resource scheduling requirements.” Assurance is a growth area and NCC has struggled with staff retention so this is the last thing NCC needs now that it is getting into shape.