Don't fight outsourcing, town hall IT bosses told. Mike Simons
reports
Public sector IT departments should emphasise innovation and
flexibility "even if this results in more outsourcing of current
production" says a new report from the Society of Information
Technology Management (Socitm).
Tony Blair's Modernising Government agenda puts information and
communications technology and the management of change at the heart
of local government. However, the need for investment, the impact
of service delivery and the scale of new programmes and the
associated risks require top-level decision making and management.
This can no longer simply be delegated to IT directors.
That is the warning from public sector IT managers' body Socitm
in an analysis entitled The Technology Challenge in Year 2000:
opportunities and risks.
Socitm has taken analysis from research organisation Gartner and
given it a public sector spin. The document studies technological
developments and looks at the business process and risk management
implications.
IT managers are advised to embrace Web technology and reshape
the organisation to do business online. They must alsolook for
opportunities to lead the organisation's innovation strategy rather
than produce the IT component of some one else's strategy, the
report said.
Socitm warned that IT managers should not fight outsourcing but
use it selectively and remain in control. However, they should not
outsource the capacity to innovate and must beware of being
squeezed, with innovation being "stolen" by users and the
outsourcing of production.
As top management teams get smaller, fewer heads of IT
departments have direct reporting lines to chief executives,
according to Socitm.
The report said, "Heads of ICT should use all means available to
establish a corporate leadership in ICT strategy whether by
management board, groups, elected member (councillors) committees,
or simply a regular item on the management team agenda, which the
head of ICT speaks to directly."
The Technology Challenge in Year 2000, Socitm, PO Box 121,
Northampton, NN4 6TG 01604-674800
Managing technology risk: Socitm
- Instigate effective medium-term planning to cope with the
growing shortages of ICT skills
- Create an information culture to exploit technology's
potential
- Be aware of the security implications and plan how to deal with
them
Technology Challenge in 2000: products
Linux
"Linux is right at the top of the hype cycle The advice is not
to commit to large-scale deployment. However, Linux may well be
used in an organisation as a niche product in selected areas such
as Domain Name System, Web, proxy and e-mail servers."
XML
"The technology clearly promises much, [but] it is not as simple
to use as it might seem on the surface. The problem is that it is
fast developing and loosely defined technology." Socitm said it
could not be confident that initiatives to agree standards would
succeed.
Voice over IP
"Voice transmission over the Net has obvious attractions.
[However] VoIP will not be a readily deliverable and cost
beneficial option in the UK for at least four years. The current
barriers are cost and quality."
Smartcards
"The technology has been around for some time but not really
advanced beyond the pilot and the experiment. If major service
outlets such as banks and petrol stations found smartcards a
commercial proposition, then local government would surely follow.
Local government will find it much more difficult to take a lead by
using their own cards for local authority services. The kind of
multi-function facility that will suit the variety of applications
in local government is a long way off."
Mobile devices
"In terms of total corporate traffic, wireless is likely to grow
from 5% to 15% over the next five years. Organisations should
consider providing private leased lines direct to their mobile
communications provider since many calls will be to/from the
corporate fixed infrastructure rather than over the public
network.
Digital TV
"This is the one channel that in the opinion of many will
transform the way government services might be delivered because it
takes government direct to the home Digital TV will become within
four years or so a standard business communication device."
Channel development
"The number of electronic service channels will increase... As
far as the public sector is concerned there is one other very
important point. The new electronic service channels will not
displace existing channels such as personal visits to offices or
transactions by letter. Private sector companies usually have
choice in this but local government at least is a people-centred
service and does not have that choice."