Telstra’s $11M Network and IT Overhaul in Trouble

Australian telecommunications giant Telstra is struggling to successfully upgrade its IT infrastructure and migrate customers from its CDMA network to its Next G network, according to a story that appeared yesterday in The Australian.

“Work on Telstra’s billing and customer service systems has been in progress for at least five years. At $300 million, the Accenture-led initiative is the largest IT project on Telstra’s books,” The Australian reports.

Critics say the problems with the two related initiatives stem from a number of areas, including cronyism at the highest levels of the company, stodgy middle managers and high turnover in the CIO’s office. Last week, Fiona Balfour abruptly resigned from the CIO post at Telstra after only 10 months on the job. Telstra had recruited Balfour from Qantas in 2006 to oversee the company’s big IT transformation. The Australian article indicates that Balfour’s frustration with middle management may have led to her premature departure.

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