When the States dumped Agilisys, the IT firm went out with a warning that things could go very wrong for Guernsey’s government and its new ‘multi-vendor model’.
States staff have been told this week that things are actually looking very positive, but it is very early days in this new multi-vendor scenario.
It’s been just three weeks since that system went live with C5 and JT among the firms now covering services that used to come under Agilisys’ remit.
Sharing that work load out, meant the island should “take it carefully” warned the former Managing Partner of Agilisys Guernsey, but the States Chief Digital and Information Officer has given the changeover a glowing review this week.
Background
The States of Guernsey signed a £200million 10-year contract with Agilisys in 2019.
That deal saw Agilisys act as the government’s IT partner, overhauling States’ systems.
But the partnership was beset with problems including the mass IT outage affecting all States departments in November 2022.
The States broke the contract with Agilisys earlier this year, and it came to an end at midnight on 31 July 2025.
The people involved in the signing of the contract were either no longer working for the States or Agilisys at the time the contract was broken, or they were in different roles by then.
From 1 August 2025, a multi-vendor model was instigated, meaning services and projects are now delivered by a range of providers rather than one.
A States spokesperson said working with a range of providers would bring “many benefits” to include:
- The ability to select the best vendors/suppliers for specific services or
technologies. - Working with a range of providers will increase supplier accountability to
deliver. - Easier access to specialised expertise.
- Enhancing the States’ resilience and reducing the risk of service disruptions as
less reliance on a single supplier. - Selecting the right supplier for the right service/project supports aims to
improve IT services and provide a better experience for users.
Agilisys’ warning
Agilisys warned that the multi-vendor model won’t bring benefits in the long term and it would infact put Guernsey’s government IT systems at risk of “avoidable disruption to public services”.
Former Managing Partner of Agilisys Guernsey, Cheryl Bennett said switching from a solo-vendor provider to a multi-vendor system overnight would mean a ‘critical challenge’ and cause ‘likely disruption’ to the island’s core IT systems.
She had previously warned the States against a rushed transition but further explained to Express that there was a risk of unseen failures in essential public services.
Drawing a parallel to the classic film ‘Jaws’, Ms Bennett said Guernsey’s authorities should not ignore the warning signs.
“Despite my Aussie roots, I’m no expert on sharks, but having formerly worked for Agilisys for six years, including leading the local team, I feel uniquely placed to highlight the IT challenges that now lie ahead in the wake of this transition.”
She added: “It’s essential that Deputies hold civil servants accountable for the promises and decisions that have been made if the island is to realise the benefits of its long-planned digital transformation.”
Ms Bennett revealed her concerns were magnified over the speed at which Agilisys was kicked out and the new vendors were appointed.
“Transitions of this scale and complexity are typically delivered over a period of 12 to 18 months, raising serious questions about the pace and planning of this handover,” she said.
“If it does go wrong, the impact will not be felt in committee meetings or strategy documents. Instead, it will be felt by islanders and businesses trying to access everyday services.”
She described her fears over the risks Guernsey’s public services face, if the IT systems fail, musically.
“It’s the musical equivalent of asking a new conductor to take over a live symphony performance halfway through. No rehearsals, unfamiliar sheet music, and some of the musicians playing from custom-marked scores that only the previous conductor truly understands. Even the best conductor would struggle to bring it all back into sync without time to observe, rehearse and adjust.”
The States view
By chance, this week an internal email went out to all States employees, sharing a very positive view of the transition from Agilisys to the multi-vendor model.
Penned by Gé Drossaert, the States’ Chief Digital & Information Officer, the email gave a “substantive update on various IT-related matters”.
“I’m very pleased to report that the transition has been relatively seamless, and we are now returning to business as usual,” wrote Mr Drossaert.
He explained that the new Service Desk inherited 1,123 tickets when it launched on 1 August.
Mr Drossaert said this gave C5 Alliance, the new help desk provider, an initial priority to work on.
By 14 August, an additional 1,007 new incidents were logged too, adding to that workload.
“Of these, 64% have already been resolved, with 70% of those completed within 24 hours,” said Mr Drossaert.
Next on the IT to-do list for the States internally is setting up staff on Windows 11 – described as an “essential upgrade” by Mr Drossaert.
Aside from those day-to-day topics, Mr Drossaert said that projects requiring IT support that were identified as critical during the transition period continued with minimal disruption, but other non-critical projects have been paused.
“I’m pleased that as part of our move to business as usual we are now looking to restart paused projects in a phased way,” he said.
The future
Despite the initial positivity from the States Chief Digital & Information Officer, the words of warning from Agilisys Guernsey’s former Managing Partner are still ringing.
While systems may initially appear stable, Ms Bennett warned of “quietly developing” issues that could undermine reliability.
“Systems may appear fine on the surface while small issues quietly develop in the background,” she said. “Missed updates, undocumented dependencies, gaps in support. Sometimes those issues cause a gradual decline in reliability. Other times, they sit unnoticed until a key service suddenly fails.”
Ms Bennett has also highlighted the loss of institutional knowledge, following redundancies both on-island and in the UK.
“Replacing that is not simply a matter of appointing new suppliers. It requires careful transfer of operational knowledge, new suppliers shadowing old, to provide continuity of support and detailed testing.”
Cybersecurity risks are another pressing concern, Ms Bennett warned.
“If cybersecurity responsibilities before, during and after transition are unclear or processes are disrupted, the door is opened to potential vulnerabilities. Transitions need not just continuity, but resilience.”
Most worryingly, Ms Bennett has said that officials’ tone shifted from initial confidence to admissions that “things will get worse before they get better”.
She urged the States to define and deliver measurable outcomes, such as reduced outages, faster problem resolution, and better healthcare outcomes, while holding civil servants accountable.
“Guernsey may only get one chance to get this right. It must take it carefully,” she said.
Mr Drossaert’s email to all States staff this week was unflinchingly positive though.
He welcomed the new recruits to the government’s Digital & Technology team and said the hard work they’ve already put in will continue, to ensure it remains ‘business as usual’ for the States’ IT-reliant services.
“We have welcomed many of the Guernsey-based staff from the previous IT partner to our team and I would like to thank them for their trust, patience and hard work going the extra mile during the transition, making the initial operational experience as seamless as possible to you, with improvements set to continue in the months ahead.
“As I’m sure you can all appreciate, transitioning the many IT systems the States of Guernsey relies on for the delivery of public services is not an easy task and we have certainly encountered some challenges. All of these issues were swiftly resolved and business continued with minimal interruptions. For me, this highlights the huge amount of work that has taken place in recent months to ensure we were as prepared as possible to transition from the previous IT partner to our new multi-vendor model.”