Mr. Paul O'Donoghue:

In so far as they have implemented similar systems, they would have had to go through exactly the same kind of process. They would not carry that expertise as part of their standing complement of staff.

We have selected a particular suite of IT systems, many of which have been mentioned, such as work and asset management, customer care and billing, Core for HR and Oracle financials. All of these systems must talk to each other. Every utility will have a different mix of systems and how we get them to talk to each other is unique. We need a systems integrator to get them to talk to each other to ensure the data from one system get on the bus and go to the other system when required in order that the records are kept right. This expertise is something one brings to the party at the time the system is implemented, but it is not kept among permanent staff.