BBC ditches Steria and picks IBM to overhaul payroll and finance tech

Corporation hopes to embrace mobile working and better analytics on financial transactions

IBM has been chosen by the BBC to supply key financial, accounting and payroll software in a move that will see the corporation ditch Steria as its financial software services provider.

IBM said it was chosen over four rival bidders after a detailed tendering process by the BBC. The tools cover financial requirements, such as purchasing and sales transactions, artist and contributor payments, project accounting and payroll and expenses management.

The BBC picked IBM owing to its ability to offer these capabilities to mobile devices via the cloud along with an improved use of data analytics on financial transactions.

IBM said that this will help the BBC push its remote and mobile working practices to drive further efficiency from its workforce by having better insight into how it spends licence payers' money.

The deal will run for five years with the option of a two-year extension. The switchover to IBM from Steria will occur in November.

Ian Haythornthwaite, BBC director of finance, said that the deal will make the BBC's financial operations fit for purpose in the modern digital era. "We are confident that this contract will bring advantages to the BBC in terms of simplicity and innovation as well as making a significant contribution to our savings targets," he said.

Anita Karlsson-Dion, vice president of client services at IBM Business Process Services, added that the deal is a notable win for the organisation and shows what it can provide to organisations of the size and complexity of the BBC.

"We are looking forward to bringing the best of IBM's innovations and collaborative working to deliver a highly effective service and an improved user experience for all BBC public services broadcasting and BBC Worldwide employees and customers," she said.

The deal follows the recent publication of a new tender from the BBC for enterprise ICT and hosting services that forms part of the corporation's switch to a multi-sourcing approach for its £560m Aurora programme.

Digital transformation such as this embracing mobile, cloud and data is becoming central to organisations of all types, and to celebrate this Computing 's sister publication V3 has launched the V3 Digital Technology Leaders Awards. These are free to enter and open for submissions now.