BA rules out outsourcing as a cost-cutting measure

Good relationships with core suppliers and the ability to challenge the business side of the company were key to British Airways cutting IT costs by £50m per year, according to its IT chief.

The airline reported a £135m profit today compared with a £200m loss last year, and the IT21 review of its IT infrastructure has played a major part in an organisation-wide cost-cutting programme.

BA's chief information officer, Paul Coby, told silicon.com that hard bargaining with the business side of the airline was behind initiatives such as turning off redundant systems and cutting the number of printers.

Coby also ruled out outsourcing the IT function as a way to save money, but now works more closely with fewer key suppliers in developing BA's future technology strategy.

"Outsourcing doesn't mean you don't have key relationships with suppliers. An effective relationship with your core suppliers is absolutely crucial. You have to get that right at your peril.

"The objective was to have a change programme that actually made a difference. We took some difficult decisions and needed the guts to challenge the business."

Support for the programme was essential not only at boardroom level but throughout the company, explained Coby.

"One of the things was to enthuse people all the way through the organisation and convince people we were serious. We took some of our key managers offline and put them in charge of different streams. Then we actually tried to get people close to the business involved."