Wednesday 17th June

It is amazing how timing is everything really. For some it seems to come naturally - Paul Merton, Tiger Woods, Richard Branson when deciding that Braun would be a good car to sponsor in 2009. For others I am sure that they work extremely hard to make it look like they are always there or thereabouts at the right time. Is Alex Ferguson naturally gifted at removing players at the right time or does he and his backroom staff work very hard to make it look like they know when to hold them, or know when to walk away? Why has Kenny Rogers suddenly popped into my head?

Why do I care about timing? Well, because as October 1st gets closer and closer the reality is that the project becomes less about what is being delivered and more about when! The series of events that need to take place at the right time in the right order gets more and more extensive and thus the potential for things to get out of sync gets more real.

Last week we had hoped to get the cutover strategy from one data set to another agreed. However, it would seem that Companies House have still not fully agreed what data will be sent (and when) and therefore, quite rightly, people are holding back on confirming dates for delivery of snapshots and bulk updates until we are clear what will be delivered to us.

However, the current thinking is as follows:

· Last old data will be delivered on 1st October

· Last daily bulk file in the old style sent to our clients on October 2nd

· ICC database will then not be updated by Companies House data on Thursday and Friday (1st-2nd October)

· Companies House will send new snapshot data (NI data) on Sunday (potentially)

· New update files delivered from Monday night (5th October)

All of this could change - we await Companies Houses' final cut of solution to be signed off.

So I suspect that ICC will:

· Update daily on the 1st and 2nd with other data including CCJs / High Court data and update scores and limits

· Analyse accounts and annual returns and continue to update our financials and shareholder databases throughout the period - although we will have limited or no images coming through on 2nd October to analyse against

· Have a service ready on 5th October with the new NI data - but we will update this with new CAct data from Monday evening

· ICC online product will be able to access Companies House Filing History

· All report, image and package requests from the 1st, 2nd and 5th October will be delivered whether this is via our gateway or online products

Incidentally, one of the key architects in the communication of information to vendors at Companies House is leaving the organisation. Over the years I have known this person, he has done more than most to maintain dialogue with vendors and ensure that what Companies House is doing is known in advance and that the views of ICC and others are heard. I believe his contribution has been significant and will be missed. Whether his timing is as impeccable as Kevin Pietersen’s, we shall find out soon enough!!