Post Office has this week published a tender to find a replacement provider for the Horizon system.
Through this tender Post Office will select a provider to take over the delivery of the existing Horizon system and infrastructure, and partner with them to support the future transformation.
Post Office said this work is part of the wider five-year Post Office transformation plan which will deliver a digitally enabled, more sustainable business with better supported postmasters, products and services.
“We are looking at Post Office’s technology and data strategically, to ensure that we reduce central costs and provide postmasters with the tools they need to serve their customers and run profitable branches,” a Post Office spokesperson said.
“We are committed to moving away from Fujitsu and off the Horizon system and this tender is part of our plan to introduce a new IT system in stages for postmasters and strategic partners.”
Earlier this year, Post Office extended its contract with Fujitsu to continue using the controversial Horizon IT software until March 2026 at a cost of £40.8m.
At least 900 subpostmasters and subpostmistresses were wrongly prosecuted for apparent financial shortfalls caused by faults in the accounting software, in what has been described as one of the UK’s biggest miscarriages of justice.
The Post Office previously said it planned to replace Horizon with “new branch technology” but would maintain the old IT software until the new technology is developed.
Fujitsu ruled itself out of bidding for government contracts in January last year due to its role in the Horizon scandal.