SAP and IBM Unit Ensnared in $800 Million Quebec IT Fiasco
Mathieu Dion | BloombergSoftware company SAP SE and an IBM Corp. subsidiary are embroiled in a C$1.1 billion ($810 million) technology boondoggle that triggered both a public inquiry and an anti-corruption investigation in Quebec.
The Canadian province’s Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel also ordered Quebec’s procurement watchdog to conduct an “in-depth analysis” of how the government awards technology contracts, she announced Monday. The mandate came after the ongoing inquiry revealed cost overruns, potential conflicts of interest and unexplained contracts for a bungled IT upgrade.
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The Quebec project began in 2017, when the province’s automobile insurance board, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, began modernizing its IT system. SAP and IBM’s LGS subsidiary were lead advisers under an entity called Alliance, and the overhaul was initially budgeted at C$638 million.
The result was SAAQclic, a new platform for booking driving tests and renewing driver’s licenses. It crashed when it launched in 2023, leading to long lines in SAAQ offices and sparking outrage across Quebec, as well as a provincial audit.
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Alexandra Langelier, executive vice president with the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations, said the inquiry is an essential exercise in determining whether the board asked “questions at the right time” and understood the complexity of IT implementations.
- Topics:
- Ethics
- Public governance
