London Stock Exchange – Taurus

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. London Stock Exchange - UK Project : Taurus (Transfer and Automated Registration of Uncertificated Stock) Project type : Share trading system Date : Mar 1993 (filed under golden oldies) Cost : £75M lost by the London Stock Exchange and as much as £400M by other stakeholders Synopsis : Efforts to move form paper based stock trading to a computerized system b...
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G4S – Olympics Security Shambles

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. G4S Security Services - UK Project type : Provision of security personnel for the 2012 London Olympic games Project name : Olympic games Date : Aug 2012 Cost : $60M Management fee Synopsis : 3,500 British military personnel are called in at the last minute to plug gaps in the 2012 Olympic Games security after G4S Ltd failed to deliver on their contract t...
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British Home Office

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. British Home Office - UK Project type : Mobile computing implementation Project name : Mobile Information Programme (MIP) Date : May 2012 Cost : £103M Synopsis : Equipping 41,000 British Police Officers with Blackberry devises was intended to cut down on paperwork, improve efficiency and allow officers to spend more time on the beat.  Savings from the plan ...
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Knight Capital

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Knight Capital - USA Project type : Share trading system Project name : Unknown Date : Aug 2012 Cost :$440 USD Synopsis : In a story that reminds us of the need for proper testing standards, a software "glitch" at Knight Capital resulted in a $400M lose in just 30 minutes! According to press reports the lose amounted to 3 times Knight's annual earnings.  Alt...
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Tacoma Narrows

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Washington State - USA Project name : Tacoma Narrows Project type : Suspension bridge Date : 1940 (filed under historical failures) Cost : $6.4M in 1940 - $105M adjusted to 2012 costs Synopsis : If you are putting together a list of failed projects from the history books it would be hard to ignore the Tacoma Narrows bridge. At the time of its opening in sum...
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