Labour IT plans put focus on consolidation

Labour plans to introduce cloud-based desktop services across central government

A leaked copy of the government’s 42-page IT strategy for 2015 to 2020 was published last week on a Conservative Party web site called Make IT Better.

The document reiterates the aims of the 2005-2010 strategy, which includes making “the citizen” the centre of public services, which are increasingly provided online, improving shared services between departments and reducing costs.

Although the aims of the current government strategy for the next five years are similar to those of the past five years, the methods and technologies proposed to achieve these, as outlined in the new strategy, are very different.

Some 14 key strands in the report can be broadly divided into three sections: procurement, infrastructure and increasing professionalism.

Procurement
By the end of 2010 the government will have rolled out standard desktops across the public sector. All desktop hardware will be purchased through a common framework to ensure low cost and compatibility with the new infrastructure.

This framework will give assurance that hardware meets minimum government standards on information assurance, value for money and common technical standards, saving time in the due diligence process.

The strategy includes an action plan that will ensure a level playing field between open-source and the more widely used commercial off-the-shelf software in government procurement programmes.

The government also plans to progress its scheme to make all public-sector IT carbon neutral throughout its life cycle by 2020 by sharing best practice, implementing new contract terms with sustainability requirements and developing a scoring model to assess suppliers’ relative sustainability.

Infrastructure
The government intends the most radical changes for its IT infrastructure. The proposed Public Sector Network will deliver a single IP-based telecommunications infrastructure for the entire public sector. In addition, a government cloud (g-cloud) would see all public authorities provided with secure common software applications via the internet.

Work is under way on a g-cloud prototype and several initial services will be run using the infrastructure throughout 2010, with plans for a working model by the end of the year.

To deliver the g-cloud scheme, hundreds of government datacentres will be consolidated into about 12, reducing costs by £300m a year by 2020.

The strategy envisages delivering a number of applications common to all public-sector bodies from the public cloud. There are currently more than 10,000 unique applications used across the public sector but there is considerable overlap, with many of them performing the same tasks but for different authorities.

Many applications will be similar for all bodies, such as those for back-office and HR functions.

“Even where organisations have unique requirements it is normal to find that many of the steps in the business process are similar to those of other organisations,” the strategy said.

The government cloud will absorb the existing public sector shared services initiatives. The strategy envisages that by 2015, 80 per cent of central government desktops will be delivered through a shared utility service.

The chief technology officers from each council will work together to create a common information architecture, meaning all data in the public sector is held in a similar form and can be shared easily.

This scheme will also look at how the public sector manages its information. For example, will the public sector hold multiple copies of information or will it be held centrally and accessed by many?

Increasing professionalism
The scheme will set new standards, policies and guidance to ensure that workers in the public sector are adequately skilled. As skills improve, the strategy s ees a reduced reliance on external contractors and consultants, enabling a five per cent year-on-year reduction in staff costs over five years.

The aim is to allow public bodies to grow their in-house expertise through local talent management schemes based on a proven methodology by 2014, and to have a public sector standard for excellence in IT recognised by the industry by 2015.

The Cabinet Office will also develop a revised programme of work to improve training in supplier management. About 65 per cent of central government’s IT provision is outsourced to the private sector, and the government expects this to increase as departments look to cut costs.

Some practical implications of the UK government proposals

• Datacentre
  Rationalising datacentres, offering utility computing
  

• Open source, standards, reuse
  Allow for open source, greater reuse and innovation
  

• Public sector network
  Single communications cloud, more shared resources
  

• Common desktop strategy
  Common models for procurement, better supplier management