Doomwatch - EDS

[Cowboy Bob]

b) Out of interest, and I'll put this to the floor, which companies would be able to fill the shoes of EDS in a more efficient and cost-effective manner?

Many, many smaller companies. 99% of the time a project is only complicated because the consultancy wants it to be and because the staff are incompetent - lets face it, the only people who would work for EDS, Accenture and the like are those who don't know any better or can't do any better. I've contracted for a small company in the Midlands that actually won quite a large Gov department integration project (for Prescott's office when he was around) and it was completed on budget and on time - it was actually reported in the press as a rare case of Gov IT success.

[gingerjedi]

Many, many smaller companies. 99% of the time a project is only complicated because the consultancy wants it to be and because the staff are incompetent - lets face it, the only people who would work for EDS, Accenture and the like are those who don't know any better or can't do any better. I've contracted for a small company in the Midlands that actually won quite a large Gov department integration project (for Prescott's office when he was around) and it was completed on budget and on time - it was actually reported in the press as a rare case of Gov IT success.

I resent that statement!

My last contract was with EDS and my current one is with HP, their 'Borg' like approach has left us with little choice if you want to work on the support side of things.

The last 3 client sites I've worked on used to have their own IT department and the users resent EDS & HP taking over but they themselves are taken over by a massive conglomerate that want HP to support them and that’s that. I would rather contract for a smaller more specialist outfit but they are all being ‘assimilated’ so what can I do?

[TheBigYinJames]

Blind leading the Blind - that was my view whilst consulting for EDS on one of their government projects. Completely and utterly inept.

Agreed. My experience too.

[stingman123]

Idiots the lot of them, I contracted for the for about 5 years on various projects and all of them went massively overbudget. Once example that springs to mind is me runnnig a rollout for a site for @ 5000 users, completing the rollout and my RDM sends me 24 servers with backup units, 24 UPS's, 300 laptops and 4000 base units and TFT monitors (they were really expensive a few years ago) 200 KVM's, and 300 Cisco switches. I ring and ask him what they are for, he doesn't know, nobody at Telford knows, ComputaCenter have their money so they don't care, I get asked to take the serial no's of all the kit so they can keep a record of it. Most of it got nicked (by bloody civil servants) in the end and nobody seemed to bother.

I also worked on the prison service and MOD projects without any SC! They assumed I had it!

[stingman123]

Oh, and also their FBI does IT attitude,
i.e masses if EDS staff in dark suits and shades, bluetooth headsets on, mumbling "Nothing to see here" whilst sheperding you away from another EDS mess (I've seen it happen, many times)

[Flashman]

Oh, and also their FBI does IT attitude,
i.e masses if EDS staff in dark suits and shades, bluetooth headsets on, mumbling "Nothing to see here" whilst sheperding you away from another EDS mess (I've seen it happen, many times)

They do seem to b reliant on using spreadsheets for everything and anything.

EDS - powered by Excel !

[s2budd]

EDS and the like

I have sympathy for the staff members of EDS who are loosing their jobs on a personal level but no sympathy at all for EDS, Accenture and HP. On a more general level they are very badly managed and resourced - i.e. cheap.

I have worked with an for HP, EDS, IBM, Accenture and Sun.
The best in general by far is Sun. It's a shame that they disdanded the department. IBM - in gereral good but sometimes instead of getting an end product you just get a report!

It all comes down to the cost for the job. If someone wants something cheap
that may or may not work / no handover and cost overruns etc then the EDS types fit the bill. It they want a product that costs what it says on the tin and is handed over professionally then IBM/ Sun fit the bill.

You get what you pay for and with EDS, Accenture HP etc that is not very much.

[Bob Dalek]

I have sympathy for the staff members of EDS who are loosing their jobs on a personal level but no sympathy at all for EDS, Accenture and HP. On a more general level they are very badly managed and resourced - i.e. cheap.

I have worked with an for HP, EDS, IBM, Accenture and Sun.
The best in general by far is Sun. It's a shame that they disdanded the department. IBM - in gereral good but sometimes instead of getting an end product you just get a report!

It all comes down to the cost for the job. If someone wants something cheap
that may or may not work / no handover and cost overruns etc then the EDS types fit the bill. It they want a product that costs what it says on the tin and is handed over professionally then IBM/ Sun fit the bill.

You get what you pay for and with EDS, Accenture HP etc that is not very much.

This spelling error is now a capital offence. Write your will now and make peace with your God.

[s2budd]

I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.


(doing lines is so much easier now than in the old days)

[DiscoStu]

I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.
I'm sorry god. It will not happen again. Honest.

(doing lines is so much easier now than in the old days)

God