Council's outsourced IT cuts running costs by 10 per cent

Provider also assists with egovernment projects

Havant Borough Council has reduced IT running costs by 10 per cent in the early stages of a £2m, five-year managed services contract.

The council awarded the contract to IT services provider Steria last April. The company now has responsibility for Havant’s telecoms infrastructure and IT management, and is also assisting on egovernment projects.

The supplier’s advisory role has been particularly useful for Havant, says Susan Parker, the council’s IT and egovernment programme manager.

‘We are now better able to deliver on egovernment agendas,’ she said.

‘In September we agreed with Steria on something called the mainstreaming egovernment project, where we achieved a step-change in moving towards council business transformation.’

Parker says the egovernment element makes the contract unique.

‘What we have is an approach that will support business transformation at the council, which would have been difficult to achieve using an old-fashioned managed services contract,’ she said.

Havant wants to create a greater range of services for the borough’s citizens and businesses, providing more interactive contact with the council and working harder to give proactive support.

Parker says Havant has successfully worked with Steria to introduce mobile working practices.

‘At the moment we have a number of environmental health officers based in Havant Borough Council’s civic offices, who have to come in and pick up the details of the jobs they need to do that day and come back to input the details into our systems,’ she said.

‘With remote working, they won’t have to do that. They will be able to work wholly remotely and have access to back-office systems wherever they may be.’