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Pennsylvania Sues IBM Over Jobless Claims System Upgrade (cnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the unfulfilled-promises dept.

Pennsylvania has sued IBM for $170 million, claiming the company failed to deliver a promised upgrade to its outdated system of processing unemployment claims. From a report: IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment but a company representative told the Associated Press the suit had no merit and the company would fight it. The suit stems from a 2006 fixed-price contract awarded to IBM for $109.9 million with a completion date of February 2010, the state said in a press release. As delays and costs mounted, the state let the contract lapse in 2013 when an independent assessment determined the project had a high risk of failure.

4 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Nice headline there by chispito · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The headline is kind of rough. I first parsed it out as "System upgrade claims that Pennsylvania sues IBM over jobless."

    --
    The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
  2. Seems on PAR for IBM by jediborg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have only used 2 IBM products in a professional setting, one of which was ClearCase (the other I forget) In both cases the tech was horribly out-of-date. Seemed like it was programmed in the 1980's, i originally assumed both software packages where free. Then i found out the company actually pays HUDGE contract money out to IBM to support these products that haven't been updated (from my perspective) in over ten years. Turns out the company keeps paying IBM because of vendor-lock-in, their data is basically held hostage because IBM refuses to program ways to migrate it out of the IBM proprietary format.

    totally anecdotal, but i was told by a senior engineer that "IBM doesn't make software anymore, they just keep taking payments from these gigantic legacy contracts, occasionally fooling a new company into signing up based on the name recognition of IBM"

  3. NEVER by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Never use IBM or Oracle.

    On time. On budget. Functional. Pick zero.

  4. IBM and Unemployment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Kind of ironic that a company known for firing North American workers and replacing them with Indians is working on an unemployment project. On second thought, they are masters of making people unemployed.