A hybrid cloud movement is a key pillar in advancing Transport for NSW’s IT. However, it faces major delays and has already cost nearly $50 million.
The deal with Indian IT service provider Wipro has also grown to $158 million, almost 40% higher than when it was signed in November 2018.
This program stems from the previous “Making IT Work for You” initiative, which evolved from the Next Generational Infrastructure Service (NGIS) project.
Transport for NSW planned to migrate more critical projects. These include speed camera management, the NSW driver and vehicle IT system (DRIVES) database, and facial recognition systems.
Government Information (Public Access) Act records reveal that the September completion date is now “highly unlikely.” By April, only 21% of applications had been migrated.
The migration has been slower than expected. In March 2021, only two applications and one integration platform moved.
Executives admitted progress would remain slow in the coming months. Of the 12 applications scheduled for migration in April, only two were likely to succeed.
“Throughput to the hybrid cloud remains low,” the report noted, “making completion by September improbable.”
Delays threaten decommissioning plans
The agency scheduled critical planning sessions to get the program back on track. However, the schedule continues to show “RED.” These delays jeopardize the decommissioning of legacy applications.
TfNSW warned, “We risk missing deadlines for decommissioning because planning began late. This could extend the program and compromise deliverables.”
Resourcing issues add to the problem. Staff face burnout due to shorter delivery timeframes and increased workloads. Covid-19 has also made it harder to secure skilled professionals.
At the time of the Wipro contract, Roads and Maritime Services announced that offshoring 20% of work in the first year, and 30% in later years, would support local jobs.
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