IT given Go-Ahead for growth plans

Dave Lynch does not have a fixed office location or a PA, and commutes between London and Blackpool every weekend. After almost two decades living out of a suitcase, Go-Ahead’s group technology director has never been busier.

For the past four years, Lynch has been in charge of all the technology and procurement at the fast-expanding £2.3bn transport company.

After finishing a business and finance degree in the 1970s and realising that football was not a realistic work prospect, he started his career developing electronic ticketing equipment at Blackpool Transport and has been involved with the sector ever since.

Lynch’s contact with Go-Ahead started in the late 1990s, after the group was established following the privatisation of the UK bus industry.

“The initial arrangement was to work five days a month. But six months later, the company began consolidating at a fast rate and the five days a month soon became 20,” said Lynch.

“But even though I had to start from scratch in terms of IT infrastructure, I was given a lot of autonomy to get on with my work and get some economies of scale in place,” he said.

Strategy and integration are a key part of Lynch’s role as he ensures that companies newly acquired by Go-Ahead are integrated as seamlessly as possible.

“In 2000, it was clear we needed a good IT plan that allowed growth without the pain of spending millions integrating businesses,” said Lynch.

Before deciding on integration standards, the group invested in the foundation for its IT by implementing a group-wide Cable & Wireless network. This was followed by the setting up of two datacentres and a business continuity facility, and the centralisation of systems such as payroll and accounting.

After making an acquisition, Go-Ahead follows guidelines for a 12-week plan to transfer all the organisation’s existing applications to the group structure before covering specific IT needs.

“Having a reliable foundation means we can spend more time looking at individual application areas, because we know that a solid base is already available,” said Lynch.

The integration template is constantly upgraded according to individual experiences and technical advances. An example is the replacement of the group’s departmentalised Sun Microsystems storage in less than 18 months by a centralised infrastructure to keep up with business growth.

“We are always fine-tuning our template. Every inherited business is different and we take more time to understand existing systems and learn from these processes,” said Lynch.

“But the basic principles of our plan such as network, corporate internet access and security are fixed and we tend to bring some things in quicker, especially if there is a cash advantage to it,” he said.

Bringing in proven IT to acquired firms also prompts big savings. By rolling out new technology, Southeastern Railways reduced its IT spending by £3m in the first year of the franchise.

Rail management contracts present great opportunities for IT departments to improve operations, said Lynch.

“Business plans that are presented in the bids for franchising contracts are all about innovation and a commitment to the public,” he said.

“Companies able to make a difference will have their chances of winning the franchise again increased.”

Lynch ­ who sits on the board of smartcard standard association ITSO ­ highlights the challenges of moving to e-ticketing.

“The government has required we implement ITSO and the industry recognises the importance of interoperability. But moving from paper tickets to the new cards is a big jump and needs to be planned,” he said.

Smartcards for the London Midland rail franchise is one of Go-Ahead’s main IT projects and trials are scheduled to start in January 2010.

“There is a lot going on for IT, but this is my single most important project,” said Lynch.

However, Lynch wants to take a break to “re-focus” next year: “I really enjoy what I do, but I want to retire the suitcase.”

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CV: Dave Lynch

Since 2004: Group technology director, Go-Ahead Group
After four years working with Go-Ahead as a contractor, Lynch and his small team of specialists joined the transport group on a permanent basis.

2000-2004: Director, Effective Technology Management
Started his own company carrying out projects for large transport groups.

1998-2000: Business development manager, Sema Group
Co-ordinated the redevelopment of Meridian’s software portfolio and worked on new transport projects in the UK and North America.

1990-1998: Managing director, Meridian Information Systems
Designed software applications for the transport sector, acquired by Sema for £2.8m.

1985-1990: Computer co-ordinator, Blackpool Transport
Lynchs first IT job involved implementing new IT systems ahead of the company’s privatisation.