back to article BAA outhouses 200 IT workers over to Capgemini

BAA has inked a five-year £100m deal with outsourcing outfit Capgemini. Under the agreement, 200 staff at BAA – which oversees the management of Heathrow, Stansted and four other UK airports – will be offered a transfer to Capgemini under TUPE conditions. The deal gives Capgemini overarching responsibility to run BAA's core …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "It is not clear what will happen to the airport operator's remaining few hundred techie staff."

    They'll just have to find a way to shaft them too.

  2. Juillen 1

    Works fine until..

    Something goes badly wrong, and the question is asked "who can fix this with the in-depth knowledge of all the systems and how they work".. When the answer comes back "the people we outsourced, who have now gone", and the cost of lack of local knowledge becomes apparent (increased outages/downtimes), then it doesn't look so rosy.

    Outsourcing is a very cost effective option, right up until the point it isn't. Then it really smarts.

  3. Drummer Boy
    FAIL

    Yep

    That's why we, when knowing we have to deal with outsourced customer IT depts, put our prices up!

    The amount of grief to implement all but the simplest IT projects via an outsourcing organisation is too painful to behold!

    As the saying goes - 'Accountants, know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.'!

  4. CaptainHook
    WTF?

    Wow

    "Because our focus is on running airports, it makes sense for specialist IT functions to be outsourced, which is also much more cost effective," said BAA chief information officer Philip Langsdale.

    Given the volume on information that large airports have to deal with in real time, I can't think of many industries where IT's isn't directly what you are selling but is still such a core function.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Big Brother

      Brilliant, isn't it?

      Just wait until you next fly all the way to the US and they won't let your plane land because they still haven't got the passengers' names, ages, inside legs and ethnic meal choices after ten hours.

      If these people have any sense they'll take a redundancy offer and run like hell - and not in the direction of any flightpaths.

  5. Elmer Phud
    FAIL

    "Offered"?

    The usual 'offer' no doubt.

    'You can move or you might get laid off. When you move it'll be shite and still no actual job security but it won't be us that gets rid of you'

  6. JaitcH
    WTF?

    So when is Philip Langsdale moving on? To Capgemini to collect his appreciation

    Given the mismanagement of BAA airports, this can only improve passenger conditions.

    Does Capgemini do snow, too?

  7. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Joke

    But what about the *real* question

    So how does this affect whose to blame for failing to clear the snow *next* time?

    I sniff some definite CYA going on .

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ah! The outsourcing as the final solution.

    Doubtlessly the following isn't the case at BAA, but it's how I'd describe serveral others.

    1. Company becomes big and successful.

    2. Can afford suddenly to hire non deliverers with strange and esoteric job titles.

    3. Succession of failed developers arrive who've worked hard to get promoted out of the area they knew they couldn't compete in, come in, with the express intention of getting the staff to introduce numerous new products into the building, just so they can write "Managed migration to X on seven figure project." on their cv.

    4. Cue empire building types, and dozens and dozens of Architects talking about models, and the latest silver bullet.

    5. Along comes the statement "We can just get xxx" to disguise the fact that losing all in house skills because of the surge of products and lack of training, due to stupid, incapable middle management believing sales hype.

    6. CTO, who let it all happen, with no options left, either leaves and is replace with someone who outsources, or outsources himself.

    7. Trebles all round, as they'll be gone to another prospective failure by the time the outsourcer's got enough grip that they can screw the company.

    Excuse the cynicism, I just want to win Euromillions and retire to somewhere without politicians, religion, human rights organisations, and everyone must have prizes, that's all. I'm tired.

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