Cloud Computing: Government needs to rethink IT

The government must use virtualisation and cloud computing to save costs said Adam Afriyie, shadow minister for innovation, universities & skills.

"The pace of technology change is breathtaking but the government has been slow to respond," he said, speaking at the Business Cloud Summit 2009 in London.

He said there was no longer a need for huge IT programmes like the National Programme for IT at the NHS. Afriyie said that as long as it could be made secure, there was no reason for not putting patients' health records in the cloud.

Afriyie blamed the government for outsourcing its inefficiencies, which has proved costly to UK taxpayers. He said the Chinese motorcycle industry has become a world leader because it specified outcomes rather than exact requirements. It is an approach the UK needs, but he said, "This requires a change in the civil service."