Some questions I keep getting asked
People keep asking me about likely consequences of budget cuts, the danger of losing good staff and whether and how IT will deliver. So here goes..
Has the emergency budget recognised the value of IT?
No. However, I think there is a growing acceptance that judicious technology investment is the single biggest opportunity to drive significant cost reductions, service re-shaping and the protection of essential public service delivery.
It is really important that IT is seen to be as lean as possible, challenging what it does and how it does it. We have plenty of scope within IT and the public sector to do this, in my view, with clear evidence of opportunities for greater integration, shared services, improved contracts, re-scoped or cancelled projects and more.
Socitm has warned of the negative impact of slashing budgets. How can we avoid this?
CIOs in particular have to be clear in their advocacy for investment in IT to protect essential services and continue the pace of change to modernise, promoting more efficient delivery models. Failure to do this is liable to result in Chief Executives and Service Managers simply cutting IT without a full understanding of its wider impact.
Canyou provide some examples of where IT can drive efficiency?
There are no end of them. The big ones would be internal and external self-service, removing layers of management, administration and direct intervention, greater workforce productivity through appropriate information systems and mobile and flexible working technologies. More directly within IT, integrated IT infrastructure, renegotiated contracts, lower administration and management costs, better management of upgrades and new developments will all create savings.
At a time of salary freezes and uncertainty, how can the public sector retain skilled IT staff who may look to move to the private sector?
This is a big challenge looking ahead. As the private sector picks up, it will become an attractive option for many of the best public sector IT professionals willing, able and competent in business-enabled IT change, to move. In practice, I am less concerned about the immediate impact of pay freeze and re-structuring than I am the constant criticism in the press and by pressure groups of the public sector more generally. Much of this is inaccurate, and will drive down morale at a time when we are all working hard to motivate staff to embrace change.
The 'G Cloud' is set to revolutionise the public sector. What are you views?
I think the 'G Cloud' the 'Public Service Network' and the proposed 'App Store' could offer enormous value for the public sector. Nonetheless, it will be the way in which these strategies are implemented which will determine their success. There cannot be a 'one size fits all', and unnecessary regulation and coercion to adopt particular models across the wider public sector will lead us into some of the same difficulties that were confronted in the 'Connecting for Health' programme.
Green IT remains a concern for the public sector but with cuts are there new challenges?
Carbon reduction is a clear priority for the coalition government and for public service organisations. We have to have a longer term concern for our environment, and to be seen to be setting a lead. However, it is essential that the realities of budget pressures ensure that our Green IT plans focus on tangible and measurable savings - energy reduction, reduced travel, greener procurement and energy reduction in data centres, for example.