Richard Bennington

The total cost of Birmingham City Council's Oracle implementation disaster is set to reach £216.5 million ($280.4 million) by April 2026, according to a new audit report. Europe's largest local authority went live with the Oracle Fusion single platform for finance, payroll, HR, procurement, supply chain management, and customer relationship management – replacing an SAP system first introduced in 1997 – in April 2022. Since its introduction, the council has been unable to file auditable accounts. It is set to re-implement an "out of the box" version of the solution after customizations in the first effort disrupted its bank reconciliation system. The system also left the council unable to provide an audit trail or detect fraud for 18 months. The cost of the Oracle project increased from an initial estimate of £19 million to a projected cost of £131 million, including the re-implementation. However, a fresh report from the Audit Reform Lab, a collective of academics, consultants, and activists based at The University of Sheffield , estimate the true cost of the Oracle implementation disaster is set to be £216.5 million until April 2026 as the council's spending plans had relied on expected costs savings from the ERP system, which it had later canceled. Credit: Lindsay Clark via The Register #oracle #birmingham #council #erp https://lnkd.in/eCBg9u23

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There has been lots of turmoil in the Automation Market in the past 2 years or so - IBM divesting IWS to HCL, Redwood acquiring Tidal and now changing hands, and last week BMC announcing their split into two organisation.This is creating uncertainty for many organisations and they are, or will be, reviewing their strategic automation choices. Should an organisation choose to migrate to a solution that has long term stability and vision, the following blog shares how they can accelerate and importantly de-risk this migration. Automation Analytics and Intelligence (AAI), the first and only solution which offers proactive monitoring, predictive analytics and SLA management across all the major enterprise automation and cloud automation solutions. #Automationbybroadcom #Automation #SOAP

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To fully realise the benefits of AI and tackle data management challenges, more integrated decision-making is crucial. #DellTech UK CTO Arash Ghazanfari speaks with ITPro. https://dell.to/3yKMA5u #GenAI #iwork4Dell #iwork4dell

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This @ Oracle implementation at @ The University of Edinburgh continues to underline the complexities of migrating to the cloud. Attempting to go for a big bang re-implementation can be highly disruptive. Far better to map out a migration path that optimises existing stable ERP systems, then targets modernisation where it will deliver most value for the organisation and its customers https://bit.ly/3K48kep #clouderp #erpsoftware #publicsector #Oracle #riministreet  

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Is cloud optimisation more than just cost reduction? We think so! Listen to our bite size clip from a recent webinar as we discuss a complete definition of cloud optimisation. #cloudoptimisation #cloudtechnology #cloudcosts #publiccloud #aws #azure IBM Apptio, an IBM Company

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A full house with some interesting discussion today - AIOps in partnership with IBM, hosting UK Govt to share insights around engineering excellence. Special thanks to Jocelyn Pearce, Steve Wallin, Nick J. and Claudia Chiurlia #AIOps #Finops #ITautomation

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This post educates on the evolving landscape of cloud migration for enterprises, particularly regarding VMware estates transitioning to the cloud. The partnership between Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and VMware stands out as a pivotal solution catering to the rising demand for enhanced flexibility, scalability, and performance while maintaining operational familiarity. This collaboration signifies a significant advancement in cloud storage performance standards, aligning with the evolving requirements of modern businesses.

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In this broadcast interview with Sky News at #CloudWorld Tour Singapore, Oracle's Gary Miller discusses how increasing number of Oracle customers are adopting #AI to experiment and improve efficiency and productivity and more. https://lnkd.in/eb6RYt68

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In our latest #B1X video podcast with Corey Mendelsohn at NewIntelligence, I share why sustainability isn't just a nice to have anymore, and with a growing number of SAP Business One users are being targeted on achieving a higher level of sustainability, how Cloud4Partners and Amazon Web Services (AWS) can help them to achieve this. What are you doing about sustainability? #aws #B1X #SAPBusinessOne #Sustainabilty #Responsibility

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To keep up with the growing global demand, Oracle Database@Azure is now generally available in Brazil and Italy, with an additional 24 more regions planned by the end of 2025: https://lnkd.in/e9i4Exec

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In our new report with Raconteur, Colin Jack uncovers how to tackle licensing complexity and boost your cloud efficiency.

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How is your environmental responsibility? Whether you only use recycled post-consumer biodegradable transparent goods...or are just now figuring out what the ♻️ sticker means on the bin in the break room, we are all better than we would be without systems!! People are so busy these days and most don't have the time to learn what needs to be done to do their part. That's why we have things like ♻️ (recycle btw) bins, sustainable goods, and biodegradable wares. So now we are on the right track ✅ What about your company and the impact it is making on the world?? Same issue...most don't have the time or resources to find out, or even do anything about it! That's where Oracle comes in! #Digitalimscloud #CIO #OracleEPM #Oracle #Cloud #ESG

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How power packed FlashSystem is geared for today’s needs of performance and data resilience!   For organisations struggling with resource constrained data centers and large demanding workloads, IBM FlashSystem 5300, a powerful entry-level storage solution that delivers exceptional price performance, high availability, and enterprise-class data services to all sizes of businesses in just one rack unit.   Join the webinar with us! In this webinar, we will share:   - How power packed FlashSystem is geared for today’s needs of performance and data resilience  - How IBM Storage delivers unparalleled ransomware threat detection using FlashCore Module 4 (FCM4) and computational storage - Demo, use cases, offerings and live Q&A with eminent storage experts   Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/gv-ERJ52   #IBM #IBMStorage #IBMFlashSystem #dataresilience #cybersecurity

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An exciting update on Vodafone's journey with M365 Copilot and their partnership with Microsoft! Following their pilot they're rolling out to 68,000 staff, and here's why: - **Productivity Boost**: Copilot automates tasks like drafting emails, summarizing meetings, and info search, saving employees around three hours weekly. - **Enhanced Customer Experience**: Integrated into customer service and product development, Copilot enhances personalized services for Vodafone's 350 million customers worldwide. - **Innovation and Growth**: By freeing up time for creative tasks, Copilot supports Vodafone's growth strategy in Europe and Africa. - **Positive Employee Feedback**: 90% of employees benefit from Copilot, with 60% seeing work quality improvements. It's notably helpful for neurodiverse employees, reducing writing stress. Impressive strides by Vodafone, showcasing the power of innovation and technology in shaping the future of their organisation! #Copilot #M365Copilot #Microsoft #MicrosoftAdvocate #Innovation #Vodafone #Digital

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If you didnt manage to catch Satya Nadella's opening keynote at #msignite; I've put a quick recap summary online. https://lnkd.in/ezK9Umhf A few things that caught my eye:- 1) The launch of Copilot Actions and Agents - taking the existing capability of Copilot and turning that into action, so the value is extended to a genuine work companion conducting tasks for you and your team. 2) The launch of #Copilot Analytics - Giving you the ability to measure copilots effectiveness against business metrics (not just adoption). 3) The launch of Windows 365 Link - A dedicated secure, adminless device for #Windows365 users. 4) Microsoft Fabric - A single source of truth in the form of OneLake, pulling data in from any and all sources provding a data layer for AI workloads in one place. 5) Continued commitment to sustainability - Finding new ways to run Data Centres more sustainably. They build two new data centres out of low carbon timber, a 35% carbon reduction compared to steel.... Gareth Barber Daniel Robinson Ben G. Andrew Sellers Bradley Valentine Ryan Godfrey Cally Fisher Cherise Trimingham #microsoft #w365 #avd #ignite

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Oracle have added Google GCP to their Authorised Cloud Environments list, which may well be of interest to their joint customers. Check out this video on our snazzy new SynyegaTV YouTube channel where me and Stephen Old talk through this development. While you're there, make sure you like and subscribe* for future updates! *I feel like a proper YouTuber now 🤣 #Oracle #Google #Cloud

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Why OCI UK Sovereign Cloud? 👇 With an increasing amount of data being collected and stored, concerns about #datasovereignty are growing. Oracle shares 5 key data sovereignty challenges, and how to overcome them: https://lnkd.in/er7EpBMP

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To keep up with the growing global demand, Oracle Database@Azure is now generally available in Brazil and Italy, with an additional 24 more regions planned by the end of 2025: https://lnkd.in/ekTu-YUp

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