Benchmarking services summary for 2008

Produced by: Socitm Insight

Type: Briefings

Socitm Insight has published its annual summary of benchmarking in 2008 covering the results from over 150 organisations that have used one of our two major benchmarking services.

With an extremely tough outlook for public sector finances, benchmarking can improve ICT service performance, and identify potential economies in the use of resources.

ICT is a key enabler for transformation and efficiency, but probably will have to take its share of cuts. Benchmarking provides the information that managers need in order to streamline their operation, whilst doing least damage to the ICT service.

Overall, ICT managers have improved service standards and driven down costs in 2008, an achievement that top management teams should recognise. ICT managers may need to do more to publicise their successes.

Section 1 - Introduction

Following five series of Benchmarking the ICT service, and four series of Benchmarking user satisfactionin 2008, we take this opportunity to combine and analyse the overall results and reflect upon the current development of public sector ICT compared with our records of achievement to date.

Section 2 - ICT resources

We look at the proportion of their budgets that public sector organisations choose to spend on ICT, and the trends over the previous two years.

Section 3 - ICT performance

By analysing the data from our benchmarking surveys, we look at the broad trends and issues that ICT services faced in 2008, identifying priorities by their frequency of appearance as the top issue for any type of organisation. We compare these results with our historical data from both services in order to highlight trends and the important issues for ICT management to address in 2009.

Section 4 - Users' perceptions

ICT looks like the saviour in an extremely tough outlook for the national economy, declining public sector resources, and ever increasing demands for service. User engagement is critical, and so are their perceptions of the service that ICT offers.

Section 5 - Outsourcing

Interest in outsourcing may increase following the messages about public sector savings in the Chancellor's budget speech, and the final report of the Operational Efficiency Programme. Does this approach really offer big savings?

Section 6 - Green ICT

For the first time this year, we began to collect data about the environmental commitment of councils and their ICT function. The adverse economic climate adds another reason to retain a focus on green issues, as implementing a green policy for the ICT service is most likely to lead to cost reductions.

Section 7 - Conclusions

ICT faces severe budget pressures internally whilst needing to help services to transform and economise. Simultaneously, it must address its own green agenda whilst helping others. Meanwhile, there are calls to outsource the function in the name of efficiency. ICT managers may need to promote their successes more strongly.

Last modified: 3rd February 2010