The Horizon IT Scandal: A Symptom of a Larger Epidemic in Enterprise Tech

This might not be my usual post, but before stepping into data strategy, I spent the first eight years of my career knee-deep in global ERP and CRM implementations. I’ve been inside the engine rooms of large-scale transformations, sitting in workshops, untangling processes, and watching first-hand how organizations throw hundreds of millions at tech platforms… and still they miss the mark.

I fell into data back in 2002, but I never stopped seeing the same patterns repeat, with over-promised tech, underestimated complexity, locked-in contracts, and outcomes that barely reflect the investment made.

The Horizon IT scandal isn’t an isolated story, it’s just one of those that has been the most visible, as it caused a massive amount of pain to the lives of countless post office masters. This is a very painful example of a much deeper problem that plays out across ERP, CRM, Data Lakes, and every shiny new stack.

This scandal isn’t just a cautionary tale, it’s a glaring example of a pervasive issue in enterprise technology. Organizations, both public and private, often find themselves caught in complex, vendor dependent systems that drain resources and deliver minimal value.

The Hidden Trap

A Business Reporter article took the example of SAP. It stated that their recent strategy limits access to AI and sustainability features to customers who migrate to their cloud-based solutions via “RISE with SAP.” They go on further and state that this move leaves on-premises customers reliant on these systems for critical operations and stranded without access to the latest advancements unless they commit to costly migrations .

In another article in Computer Weekly, it outlined the UK Government’s shift to cloud computing is aimed to escape the grip of traditional vendors. Yet, it has led to a new form of dependency, with major cloud providers like Microsoft and Amazon dominating the market. This concentration not only stifles competition but also poses significant risks to data sovereignty and security.

The Cost of Complacency

Another article in Business Reporter article, reported that, organizations often allocate a substantial portion of their IT budgets, sometimes over 50%, just to maintain existing systems. This leaves little room for innovation or strategic initiatives. The financial implications are staggering, with annual support fees consuming around 20% of the software license fee, often surpassing the original cost of the software itself.

Breaking the Cycle

I took some of the points from a Computer Weekly article, and added a few of my own, to avoid repeating the mistakes highlighted by the Horizon scandal. The list below isn’t in priority order, but there are a few items that stick out, and those are points 2 and 3, where so many times I’ve seen organisations just let these slide. So, in my opinion, organizations must follow some if not all of these, and I’m sure there are far more points that you can add in the comments:

• Do Your Due Diligence on the Vendor System: Don’t just take the sales pitch at face value. Speak to current users, dig into the limitations, and understand the roadmap (or lack of one).
• Encourage Accountability: Hold vendors and internal stakeholders accountable for project outcomes.
• Invest in Oversight: Establish robust governance structures to oversee IT projects and vendor relationships.
• Understand and Document Your Business Processes: Before you even consider a system, get crystal clear on how your business works — not how the vendor says it should work.
• Demand Transparency: Insist on clear, open communication from vendors about system capabilities and limitations.
• Map Your Business Processes to the Underlying System Data Model: This is where many projects go off the rails. If you don’t understand how your business maps to the system’s logic and structure, you’re flying blind.
• Prioritize Flexibility: Choose solutions that offer interoperability and avoid proprietary lock-ins.

The Horizon scandal serves as a stark reminder of what can go wrong when organizations relinquish, decision making, control and oversight.

It’s time to rethink your approach to enterprise technology before history repeats itself. It becomes a very expensive error!

Check it out yourself, here is the link to the BBC article.