The government has revealed its new ICT strategy aimedat delivering better public services for less cost.

The strategy calls for ICT to be open to the people and organisations that use its services and open to any provider – regardless of size.

The government has committed to:

·     introduce new central controls to ensure greater consistency and integration

·     take powers to remove excess capacity

·     create a level playing field for open source software

·     greatly streamline procurement and specify outcomes rather than inputs

·     create a presumption against projects having a lifetime value of more than £100m

·     impose compulsory open standards, starting with interoperability and security

·     create a comprehensive asset register

·     create a cross-public sector Applications Store

·     expect SROs to stay in post until an appropriate break in the life of a project/programme

·     encourage boards to hold ministers and senior officials to account on a regular basis for the progress of ICT projects and programmes.

Martyn Hart, chairman of the National Outsourcing Association, says: “At present, the government is tied into a range of contracts with large suppliers, which could mean that they struggle to get the best possible service as a result.  

“In recent weeks, we’ve seen the coalition government pledging to support SMEs with a broad range of initiatives aimed at ensuring that larger outsourcing suppliers are not the only ones with access to public sector contracts.

“This morning’s announcement is designed to take this a step further and ensure a fairer procurement process for IT contracts in the public sector — which can only be a good thing.”

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/uk-government-government-ict-strategy_0.pdf