Tech strategy needs backing from the top

Politics must take second place to technical realities, says lobby group

The Transformational Government technology strategy is a positive step, but will need high-level political backing to succeed, says a public sector IT group.

The strategy was published by the eGovernment Unit in November with three main themes: customer-oriented services; the use of shared administration systems; and the development of the public sector IT profession to improve project delivery.

Interested parties have until early February to submit comments. The Institute for Management of Information Systems (Imis) recommends mandatory procedures to prevent policies gathering political pace before IT implications are worked out. It says organisational change and training issues should also be included in the government’s Gateway review programme.

‘This is a great opportunity to move forward but only if we understand why good practice has so often been ignored in the past,’ Philip Virgo, strategic adviser to Imis, told Computing.

‘We must involve those people with practical experience of delivering major systems at the start, before the politicians commit themselves, not just when the procurement begins.’