Public sector budget cuts could force schools to outsource ICT

Survey shows over 80 per cent of schools facing real ICT budget cuts in 2010

Could budget cuts force schools to outsource?

Public sector budget cuts after the 2010 general election could lead to schools actively outsourcing their ICT, according to a survey by Redshift Research on behalf of ICT provider The Stone Group.

The study found that budgetary restraint was the top concern for 84 per cent of schools in 2010.

Stone Group technical services manager Richard Stockdale argued that historically there has been a reluctance to outsource IT in schools. “But then they have never faced a situation like this one, where the funds available will be reduced,” he added.

The survey also showed that the majority of schools and colleges have in-house ICT systems, with 93 per cent also managing their own network.

Additionally, desktop and server management are handled internally by 91 per cent and 90 per cent of schools respectively.

ICT has become embedded in the national curriculum, but schools also need it to comply with the government's pupil/system ratio targets. "It is very much something they can't do without now,” said Stockdale.

Stockdale said that schools will be forced to look at outsourcing because they are increasingly run like businesses.

The survey polled 200 ICT decision-makers in the UK education sector.