The government is seeking to apply cost-cutting green ICT
targets retrospectively to existing IT contacts and is setting up a
taskforce to persuade suppliers to accept the changes.
Suppliers have been reluctant to change existing contracts to
accommodate green IT measures, such as longer technology refresh
cycles,
introduced by the CIO Council last July.
The extent of their resistance will become apparent this July
when Cabinet Office minister Tom Watson publishes a one-year review
of the strategy. Watson plans to mandate 10 green measures, in a
move that could force government departments to reach a compromise
with suppliers.
Catalina McGregor, deputy head of the Green ICT Delivery Unit,
said a taskforce would seek to make suppliers accept changes to
their contracts.
"We are setting up a new group with the OGC to look at
green
ICT and how we can add new terms and conditions in existing
contracts," she said.
"It's a lot harder than you think to deliver green ICT when you
have longstanding contracts. People just think you just snap your
fingers and say, pull this service, aggregate this," said
McGregor.
"Certain departments, fortunately, were beginning procurement
when the [green] strategy was launched and have been able to
include it in tenders and assessment," she said, adding: "Most of
the tenders that we have in government today were issued before the
strategy. Very few included criteria in tenders."
Sureyya Cansoy, associate director at trade body Intellect, said
industry supported the green initiative but raised questions:
"I assume there will be a cost involved for suppliers. The issue
would be who would be paying for that, especially if it's not part
of a contractual arrangement."
Government ICT goes
green conference 2009 >>