Private sector firms spend twice as much on business intelligence (BI) than public sector bodies, according to analyst Butler Group.

Only one in five public sector bodies in Europe and the US have already invested in BI, compared to two in five in the private sector, excluding small companies.

But it is the public sector which is critically in need of the technology to improve decision making and choose the best options for modernisation, says Sarah Burnett, senior research analyst at Butler Group.

As well as helping policy-level decision making, Burnett says BI tools can ensure operational efficiencies and performance improvements.

‘These figures indicate that the public sector does not have all the information that it can at its disposal for decision making, planning and monitoring, at a time when most governments are working on modernisation of their services,’ she said.

Butler says only 15 per cent of public sector organisations plan to invest in BI in the next two years, compared to 28 per cent of private companies.

IT security is the top priority area for the public sector with 40 per cent planning to invest in it in the next two years. Other investment priorities include IT framework, infrastructure and desktop management.

‘The modernisation effort is still mainly focused on getting the basics of IT right as opposed to more advanced deployments, such as BI, which is the cornerstone of decision making based on facts rather than perceptions,’ said Burnett.

She says with low-level BI investment, it is not clear how options for modernisations are evaluated and selected and progress against targets measured.

‘BI can help government departments and other public sector organisations make better informed decisions by using technology that is designed for that purpose,’ said Burnett.

‘They can ensure that the public sector meets its key performance indicators (KPIs), and manages its limited resource well.'