UK government to drastically cut IT procurement spend

The UK government has published its new IT strategy document in an attempt to raise the success rate of their delivery and to save money.

The UK Cabinet Office has published details of its plans in a new Government ICT Strategy document, with an emphasis on breaking down projects, moving away from 'big bang implementations' and encouraging smaller companies to bid for business in the field.

It is also aimed at increasing the use of open source software, building up relevant skills in the civil service and developing a single government web domain.

"For too long, government has wasted vast amounts of money on ineffective and duplicate IT systems," Francis Maude, minister for the UK Cabinet Office, said.

"We need to ensure that frontline services have the tools to do their job to deliver effective public services. We will cut out duplication and wastage by sharing more of our assets across government and using common systems,” Maude said.

"We will end the oligopoly of big business supplying government IT by breaking down contracts into smaller, more flexible projects. This will open up the market to SMEs and new providers," he added.

Key elements of the strategy include the application of 'agile' project management methods to ICT procurement and delivery. The document says this makes it possible to respond to changing requirements and ensure that solutions meet business requirements.

It emphasises the importance of interoperability through the use of common and open standards, with the creation of cross-government standards on application programme interfaces and the development of a quality assurance mark.

It also points toward the use of a common ICT infrastructure and asset register, and an online applications store, to encourage the sharing and re-use of ICT systems and services in the public sector.

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