ICT industry gives thumbs up to Coalition plans

According to a report based on conversations with 19 key ICT companies about the new ICT strategy published in the Cabinet Office Structural Reform Plan, analyst firm TechMarketView says that 100% of companies questioned are said to support reform of government IT procurement, outsourcing of back off functions and reduced spending on consultancy while across a range of pledges  there was an average of 82% of respondents in support. 

 

"The new government has placed huge emphasis on IT in its quest to reduce spending and pay back the UK's national debt," said Georgina O'Toole, author of the report. "However, with recent news of the £1m cap on IT project spend, ICT suppliers are increasingly trying to demonstrate that their services are not 'just another cost to be cut' but that ICT should play a central role in supporting government-wide reform."

 

But the government does need to clarify a number of areas, particularly around contract size limit and open source software."Whilst the results of this survey demonstrate that the ICT industry is largely in agreement with the new government's policies on IT reform and spending, some policy areas are seen as contradictory or unclear," said O'Toole. 

 

“If the Government’s aim to favour open source software is to reduce costs, then this decision will not necessarily deliver the desired results as the cost of support can increase ‘total cost of ownership. The survey found that almost a third (32%) of respondents were against the UK Government creating an open playing field for open source software.”

 

“Now is the time for tough Government. For the new ICT strategy to succeed reform must be implemented both carefully and robustly – enforcement of policies being a case in point,” said O’Toole. “However, where the UK Government has contradictory aspirations with broader government policy, these areas must be defined clearly. One particular issue to highlight is that outsourcing on a wide-scale will not achieve the desirable economies of scale if an arbitrary limit is put on the size of ICT contracts.”

 

A common theme cited by respondents was that of a ‘mandate’ for the use of central framework agreements or common infrastructure, or  for the use of back office outsourcing. Respondents also raised the issue of skills within the civil service with a need to up-skill in several areas of UK Government. "The government must go further to clarify its position before the key ICT suppliers will fully rubber stamp these proposals, especially on topics such as contract size limit, open source software and the creation of a government 'skunkworks'," said O'Toole.