Incisive columnist and IT expert Colin Beveridge looks at a hot
issue of the day.It's very nice to be popular, especially if you
have always been the poor relation at the party. But I expect that
public sector technology managers can remember how recently they
had to battle for the attention of suppliers and job-seekers.
For many years the public sector was definitely a no-go area for
ambitious vendors and staff keen to maximise their incomes. Now we
are well into the second year of a technology spending recession
and a lot of people have suddenly become very receptive to
opportunities that they would have previously shunned. Or, perhaps
more bluntly, not touched with a bargepole.
It seems that the public sector has come into focus as the only
part of the UK economy with serious money available for IT
investment - and also taking up a growing proportion of the
"situations vacant" columns. All based, I believe, on the drive
towards the 2005 deadline for the implementation of electronic
Government.
In the past most public services have struggled for investment in
new technology, but they are now finding that e-government is top
of their collective agenda and that they need to make a quantum
leap forward into the 21st century. And, most importantly, they
have the increased funding and headcounts to deliver their
essential new electronic services.
If that wasn't enough to put a smile on their faces, good old
serendipity has provided yet another jolly little windfall for the
public sector by creating a buyers' market for everything -
precisely at the time when they have a clear mandate to buy with
money to spend.
As we all know, the downturn has made most technology prices even
more competitive, as vendors compete to sustain their market share
and revenue. If you can't get a good discount now from anybody, you
are not really trying.
Sadly, over the past 18 months, many companies have also made
substantial reductions in their IT staff, which means that there
are a lot of very good people in the job market at the moment, many
of whom may well welcome the relative security of a public sector
appointment, at least until the job market picks up again.
After all, in uncertain times the lure of the tea-trolley and the
cardigan can become more attractive than the wine bar and the
Armani if it means that you can keep the wolf from the door and
food on the table.
But not everything is sweetness and light for the nouveau riche
public sector IT managers. There is always the real danger that the
smell of their ready cash will attract the attentions of those new
to the sector that are motivated only by their own (very) private
finance initiatives - the chance of some easy money.
I sincerely hope, therefore, that the Government has not just set
the deadlines and funded the spending spree but also put in place
an appropriate governance regime to make sure that the massive
investment in e-government provides real, tangible, value for the
public - after all, it is our money they are spending.
What is your view?
Have you made the jump into the
public sector?
Tell us why in an e-mail >>CW360.com
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Colin Beveridgeis an interim executive who has held
top-level roles in IT strategy, development services and support.
His travels along the blue-chip highway have taken him to a clutch
of leading corporations, including Shell, BP, ICI, DHL and
Powergen.