Lawks a mercy. Actually, there's no reason why they shouldn't use Excel for T&T given that: a) it is meant to be localised (so multiple instances, rather than a central DB, may be fine); b) Excel has built-in DB tools & can operate as a DB front-end (common in ERP & fin-tech);
https://twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1313066062284500993
& c) this may simply be a prototype prior to a port to a back-end RDBMS. What the use of Excel suggests is that Serco had no prior capability, so the real issue is why they were awarded the contract rather than why they're using a particular technology.
The suspicion is that the tender simply didn't bother setting out IT criteria. That may not necessarily be wrong in the circumstances, but it does highlight how outsourcing is sold on tech capabilities that are often fictitious & turn out to depend on low-tech manual data entry.
The other thing this highlights is that you really need someone with at least a basic understanding of technology in charge of a technical operation (T&T is as much about data as it is about virus-testing). As she proved at TalkTalk, Dido Harding doesn't have a scooby.
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