Fujitsu'd

Why could Fujitsu do no wrong ?

ICL (International Computers Limited) was a Tony Benn wheeze, set up in 1968 to compete with international giants like IBM, and formed by merging a number of smaller British companies, with a 10% government stake. As ICL, they supplied mainframe systems to much of the UK public sector, including Post Office Ltd, the Inland Revenue, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Defence, plus local authorities and nationalised utilities. 

Fujitsu came on board as partner in 1981, supplying stuff ICL couldn't make and a range of IBM clones, then became a minority shareholder, then acquired 80% in 1990, and the whole shebang in 1998. ICL was rebranded Fujitsu in 2002. 

Fujitsu/ICL powered the BBC's doomed beeb.com, first appearing in 1998, which became a sort of ad-funded website-come-shopping channel. 

 

In parallel, a news site was envisaged, also with ads, until John Birt realised this would be a mistake, at least in terms of a site viewed by UK licence-fee payers. There were clear problems with Fujitsu's web content production software, known as "Commands"; it was so slow to publish that the beeb.com sports site, The Score, couldn’t get the football results out on a Saturday evening. 

The BBC got out of the Fujitsu deal for news and built its own system. It was at this time that Fujitsu was also developing the Horizon system.  

Entertainingly, John Birt as Lord Birt married his second wife, Eithne Wallis when she was managing director of the Government Division at Fujitsu, with contracts with the Home Office, Cabinet Office,  Treasury and DWP.  She left this position at Fujitsu in 2011, having led the business through growth to £1bn turnover.