Security and virtualisation high on public sector agenda

The Public Sector is missing huge opportunities by overlooking Shared Services

It seems ludicrous that shared services should come so far down the list of public sector priorities.

If approached using the business world as inspiration, the countless benefits will be instantly visible to public sector organisations, encouraging them to see this shift as the incredibly positive one that it is.

A substantial reduction in running costs as a direct result of shared services is the most obvious benefit.This thinking is directly in line with Sir Peter Gershon's 2004 Public Sector Efficiency Review in which his rationale was "share the service, share the cost and exploit the economies of scale." But it doesn't end there. Add to this the huge plus of reducing environmental impact (another public sector priority according to the survey) and already cost reduction is no longer the only benefit, but just one positive component of sharing services.

Further still, pooling resources enables the introduction of standardised business processes and provides a vehicle to embed best practice into even the smallest of organisations.

Large commercial firms have been reaping the benefits of centralising previously splintered corporate support functions already for a decade. Local authorities need to realise too that IT should no longer be seen simply as a cost that has to be borne. Instead it has to be acknowledged as a crucial tool that can help support the business and one, which, if used imaginatively, can generate enormous advantages.

Joanna Sedley-Burke
Business Development Director
Sovereign Business Integration

Posted by: Joanna Sedley-Burke  08 Apr 2008