UK National Audit Office to Investigate DII Contract

The UK’s National Audit Office (NAO) is investigating the £5bn Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) contract.

The contract, which was awarded to the EDS-led Atlas consortium in March 2005, calls for the replacement of separate IT networks and systems with 150,000 terminals running on a single IT infrastructure for the army, navy and air force at 2,000 defence sites worldwide.

According to ComputerWeekly, 70,000 terminals were due to be delivered this summer, but only 17,000 were operational by the end of October.

In December 2006, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded Atlas a further £750m DII contract, before the first contract was complete and fully assessed.

The NAO will examine how the DII was planned and designed, how the implementation has gone to date and whether the right governance and management arrangements are in place to enable continued supply.

By staff writer