A FIRM whose managers were branded “headless chickens” by north councillors has won a multimillion-pound contract extension with the local authority.
The 18-month deal will be worth £14million to global IT giant Fujitsu – which has been heavily criticised for its performance on an existing package of work for the council.
And a former councillor said people would be “dismayed” by the move, which was rubber-stamped at a private meeting of the local authority’s finance, housing and resources committee.
John Finnie, who is now a Highlands and Islands MSP, said Fujitsu’s performance in the past had been “lamentable”.
The technology firm’s £66million, five-year contract to upgrade equipment in council offices and schools has been plagued by delays.
It is due to run until March 2015, and the new deal will continue the Japanese firm’s association with the local authority until October 2016.
Last night, the council insisted the move would save it £1.2million.
But Mr Finnie said: “Certainly, many people will be dismayed to hear that £14million of public money is going to a company whose historic performance at times was lamentable.”
And the Highland representative for the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said teachers had a “built-in lack of confidence” in Fujitsu because of their past experience – which included delays in introducing new equipment to schools.
The contract extension means that, after March 2015, the firm will continue to provide only part of the services it currently handles.
Fujitsu will deal with the data centre – which handles storage and back-up of files and managing printers, computing devices and software in both council offices and schools.
The phone framework and computer networks are not part of the agreement and these services will be put out to tender, or could be dealt with in-house by the council.
Housing, finance and resources committee chairman Dave Fallows, said the council had negotiated a cut-price deal with Fujitsu and saved £1.2million on the contract continuation.
He said: “Fujitsu agreed to a saving over the rate previously agreed for the contract that we had. It is quite sensible because a lot of the infrastructure is there and we reached an appropriate and amicable settlement.”
He added: “It would be fair to say that there were aspects of the service which gave us difficulties and Fujitsu, for whatever reason, did not perform well in. Like any company in that situation, they have learnt from that.”
The Badenoch and Strathspey councillor said his colleagues were not looking to “get rid” of Fujitsu for any sections of the contract but were “looking to deliver the best system for ourselves and our people”.
He added: “We are looking to continue with services which are now running very well indeed and which we are very satisfied with.”
He added: “I think John Finnie is out of touch with the reality of what we have in terms of working systems in the council and the benefits that they are yielding for us.”
Fujitsu said the contract extension would provide more stability for the company in the north, allowing it to attract substantial new contracts from other clients. Its client executive for Scotland, Dave McCann, said: “We are delighted to be continuing this important contract which has enhanced the Highland Council’s IT network with world-class, state-of-the-art devices across a variety of different working environments.
“The systems are stable, consistent and performing well on all fronts, providing an enhanced, more reliable system, more efficient working practices and improved operations and services.”
A Fujitsu spokesman added: “Mr Finnie is referring to truly historical issues and we remain focused on bringing new jobs to the Highlands.”