Project Odyssey
The blogger got it wrong mate, it’s only $10 million, promise
By Ian Apperly
Blogged at strathmorepark January 23, 2015.
Bubble bubble toil and trouble. The City Council spin doctors are due to release a statement in regards to Project
Odyssey I am told. It no doubt will be along the lines of “the blogger got his facts wrong, mixed it up with
amalgamation, and has no idea what he’s talking about.” Whispers in the wind of a briefing for all of the Councillors
and Mayor, along the same lines.
Let’s recap.
I’ve asked thirty six questions about Project Odyssey that haven’t been answered yet. But of course, there’s more.
• It started here. Project Odyssey is awarded to an international company and when you examine a Deloitte report, that mentions Odyssey fourteen times in an amalgamation context, the high end
cost is $150 million.
• Nope. Says the Chief Executive. The budget is only $10 million. The nasty blogger got it wrong. Funny that, because replacing 120 IT systems is expensive, really expensive, they just
replaced their website in the last couple of years, and that cost over $2 million.
• But what about the fact that the Council is pro-business, investing heavily in a “High-Tech Capital” programme, and a tonne of other local support for IT. So, is the Council really saying that not a single IT company in
Wellington, or even in the whole of New Zealand, can do the job?
• Then, I found some early official information requests, which, since writing, have been bounced by the Greater Wellington Regional Council (after pretty much waiting until
the very last day) and referred back to the WCC, resetting the clock.
• “Can our local IT companies be that shit that they aren’t up to the job?” I wondered to myself at 3am one
morning. Well no, it appears that they are pretty awesome in general, and really awesome at Council IT stuff.
•Then I went back to that Deloitte report. Remember, Project Odyssey is about replacing 120 IT systems AND four other Councils want in on it. Now, the Deloitte
report looks at the cost of amalgamating, you guessed it, IT systems across a number of Councils and it mentions Project
Odyssey, fourteen times. They are basically the same.
• Then there is the fact that the Council is pushing hard toward Smart Cities. IT hates this, well, old IT hates it, because they lose control. So I went and found some cool examples of what Council’s are doing overseas.
• Given that one of my areas of expertise is, you guessed it, Smart Cities and IT, I then started thinking about
how you could reboot Project Odyssey into a Smart City initiative.
• Then I posted the thirty-six questions, based on a range of stuff, feedback, and so on.
Here is what the Council is likely to say.
The nasty blogger got it wrong. He’s confused a Deloitte report with Project Odyssey. They are different. Project
Odyssey is only $10 million and will be only replacing a very small part of the IT systems. Honest. (Don’t trust the blogger, he’s rubbish).
OK. Let’s deal with this as a response.
First, Project Odyssey’s stated, publicised, presented, aims over the last year or so have been to replace 120 systems
across up to four City Council’s. It has not been to replace a small part of the overall IT system. One. Hundred. And.
Twenty.
Forget the Deloitte report for a moment, forget it, put it out of your mind.
If there are 120 IT systems, and they include big ticket items like a replacement of the rates system, finance system,
human resources, hardware, and the other 117 IT systems, then the cost will be tens of millions of dollars, probably
close to a hundred million or more, over a number of years.
Here’s the presentation at ALGIM, just recently. 136 IT Systems, of which 31 are core. Reducing to 60 IT Systems, of which 15 are core. Over two years…
That’s not $10 million.
The Odyssey project, as it is known, will provide a single platform for core applications. There are currently more than
120 systems. Four of the six councils in the region will take part in Odyssey. – Source
So. “Naughty Blogger! Wrong end of the stick. We are only replacing this wee little bit here and it will only cost $10
million and you need to check your facts” blah blah blah.
So… If that is what they are going to reply with, then, how did we go from the 136 IT systems down to just one or two
for $10 million?
That’s weird.
Regardless. This is pure obfuscation. Go after the messenger, discredit, spray and walk away. It’s fab. Because they
don’t have to answer any of those other questions.
So if I were a Councillor, what would I ask?
• What is the scope of project odyssey (what does it deliver), over what period, how much is the total cost, and
where is the business case?
If the scope is teeny tiny, only $10 million ish, then:
• When did the scope change? It has been no secret that Project Odyssey is to replace “120 IT Systems” and that
“four other Councils” were going to be involved. So why is it now suddenly pared all the way back to, whatever they say,
and what is the expected cost of replacing those 120 systems, over what period, and where is the business case?
Also;
• Why are we doing this now, when amalgamation is on the cards this year? Shouldn’t we wait until that is sorted
given that any number of scenarios absolutely will impact project odyssey?
• Why is it that not one single IT company in Wellington, let alone New Zealand, was selected? Are we absolutely
certain that there is no one in this country that can do it?
• How does this fit with the significant investment that the Council is making in terms of “Wellington as a High
Tech City”? Shouldn’t we be drinking our own champagne and leading by example?
• For transparency’s sake, can we answer the thirty six questions that “the blogger” has raised? If not, why not?
They are after all, extremely reasonable.
• Where is the communications plan from this point forward to ensure that the city is kept regularly informed, and
this kind of confusion can’t occur again?
• How are you going to give confidence to the Councillors and Mayor, that this will be a success and how will they
be kept informed?
Yours,
Bemused
PS: My motivation is pretty simple. Transparency. It may be that this is the correct answer, but when you see people
running like mad men in all directions it means that something ain’t right. They should be able to lay their hands on
this stuff instantly. Secondly, I love Wellington, and I know that there are at least a dozen companies here who could
do this standing on their head, so why have they been ruled out? Consultation. We, the residents, are the end user, and
we haven’t even been asked what we want. Finally, this is old school IT, for god’s sake, let’s do something innovative
and special.
PPS And nope, I don’t get any cash out of this blog, or any of my writing, nor do I stand too. Worse, it costs me damn
money.
*************
Ian Apperly is a Freelance Writer and sometimes ICT Consultant. "I've been in IT for over twenty years and a freelance
writer for longer. I live in Wellington, New Zealand, the city on the edge of the world."@ianapperley on twitter. Blogs at http://strathmorepark.org/ . Appears occasionally at scoop.co.nz .