Government, technology and the language of business change - How government can position itself to achieve real transformation through IT
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Government, technology
and the language of
business change
How government can position itself to
achieve real transformation through IT
A research report by EduservIntroduction
When the Government Cloud Strategy was launched in
2011 it promised a step change in the economics and
sustainability of public ICT enabled services.
The ambition was to deliver IT that was not only more cost effective
but also more responsive, focused on customers, and agile enough to
support new policies and strategies.
Four years on, it’s important to take stock of where we are – not just in
terms of how many people are buying cloud services, but how people
really perceive the potential of technology to drive real change in the
way the Cloud Strategy promised.
This executive report contributes to that conversation by investigating
what senior professionals working in central government think about
progress so far. We also look at how well IT and business teams are
working together to achieve common transformational goals.
Our analysis of the survey results shows there is still a way to go,
especially in terms of establishing genuine belief in the ability of IT
to deliver real transformation. What’s also clear to me is that this is
as much to do with problems with perception and understanding as
anything else.
Indeed, few would doubt there are areas where central government has
made substantial progress with technology – especially the delivery of
digital public services. But what’s also evident from our findings is that
the new government still faces a big task in persuading civil servants of
the deep transformational opportunities that new IT delivery models
can offer.
The following pages identify the biggest gaps
in understanding and offer ideas for how they
can be filled.
Ivan Harris
Chief Strategy Officer for Managed Cloud Services
EduservResearch findings
We partnered with iGov Survey Government is
to find out how well current IT
systems and cloud adoption making progress:
are stacking up against
business needs and objectives At a glance:
in central government.
●● Encouragingly, many of the government
professionals we surveyed believe
The research captured the
that the top priority for IT is improving
views of 100 senior government service delivery.
professionals that manage
or influence decisions on ●● They also said the most appealing
IT and was carried out from opportunities arising from cloud are to
improve services and get more flexibility
January-February 2015
– ahead of cost reduction.
●● Evidently people believe in the potential
of cloud to drive service transformation.
●● They are adopting cloud services, albeit
gradually. Where barriers to adoption
remain they are practical – issues with
legacy contract lock in, for example
– rather than theoretical.
www.eduserv.org.uk 3Government is There’s still room
making progress: for improvement:
Senior decision makers want more At a glance:
from IT than ways to reduce costs –
they want a business enabler ●● There’s a mismatch between the areas
where our respondents say they want IT
What government wants most from to support them (such as improving
IT in 2015: service delivery) and the ones which
Improved service delivery 87% are getting investment.
Reduced costs 68% ●● The areas where respondents are least
Increased collaboration with confident around the capability for IT
49% to deliver and attract investment are
external agencies
among the top priorities for business
Remote working 47% change (e.g. better procurement, better
Increased security for data sharing 44% collaboration, improved service delivery).
●● Most decision makers point the finger at
budget rather than lack of skills and are
The most appealing aspect of cloud convinced that lack of investment will
is its ability to improve services prevent them from achieving their goals.
The cloud benefits government ●● Overall there is poor understanding at all
find most appealing: levels of how current IT strategy aligns to
Improvement of services 49% future business needs. IT and business
teams need to work together effectively
Ability to scale up/down 47% to work out what can be achieved.
Reduced cost of IT infrastructure 43%
Support for remote working 43%
More time to focus on core functions 38%
Support for BYOD 20%
Barriers to cloud adoption that remain
are largely practical and solvable
The main barriers to the use of cloud:
1 Security concerns 25%
2 Legacy IT contract lock in 24%
3 Other 12%
4 No barriers 9%
5 Internal resistance 7%
4 www.eduserv.org.ukDecision makers are lacking Budget is perceived to the big
confidence in IT blocker to progress
The big priorities for 2015, such as improving Main barriers to driving business change:
service delivery and increasing collaboration,
1 Budget 37%
are areas where the majority of decision
makers are not yet confident IT can deliver: 2 Lack of skills 15%
3 Security concerns 12%
Confident IT Not confident
will deliver IT will deliver 4 Business objectives not aligned to IT 10%
1 Increase collaboration 33% 67% Other 18%
2 Improve service delivery 35% 65%
3 Better procurement 41% 59%
IT is not working closely enough
4 Reduce costs 41% 59% with the rest of the organisation
5 Remote working 51% 49% Percentage of people who agree
6 Reduce buildings 52% 48% with the statement:
7 Increase security for Senior managers support IT in current /
59% 41% future service delivery 31%
data sharing
Employees at all levels understand the
importance of IT 27%
Most decision makers also My organisation has an IT strategy
lack confidence that their key aligned to future business needs 22%
priorities for IT will be supported
by sufficient investment IT works effectively with department
10%
leads to identify/meet needs
Confident Not confident
of investment of investment
1 Better procurement 29% 71%
2 Increase collaboration 35% 65%
3 Improve service delivery 47% 53%
4 Reduce buildings 47% 53%
5 Remote working 48% 52%
6 Reduce costs 49% 51%
7 Increase security for
52% 48%
data sharing
www.eduserv.org.uk 5How IT can
drive change:
1 2
The results of our survey Creating more innovative Getting everyone
show that many senior procurement models speaking the same
government decision makers alongside G-Cloud language
currently fail to see how
cloud services and IT in According to our research Our survey highlights poor
general are positioned to there is currently little understanding at all levels
deliver on their needs. confidence in the capability of of how current IT strategy is
IT to deliver on a number of aligned to future business
What’s clear is that there key objectives set out by the needs and supports
now needs to be as much Government Cloud Strategy, initiatives such as Digital by
attention directed towards including procurement Default and Cloud First.
education and change of services (only 41% are
management as there is confident IT will deliver on this This problem needs to be
on the way technology is point, while 59% are not). solved by the introduction of
managed and procured. multi-level skills accreditation
As cited by many, G-Cloud programmes – covering
To move forward, and the Digital Marketplace technical, operational and
we propose focusing need to continuously commercial functions – that
on 5 key areas: improve to address this get everyone speaking the
perception, particularly in same language and that are
the areas of search, more sharply focused on helping
flexible contract lengths cross functional teams to work
and supplier showcases. together more effectively.
However, we believe a further
step change improvement Ideally the programmes
can be achieved by creating should also work across
more innovative procurement government, enabling
models that align the interests easier transfer of skills
of suppliers, government and knowledge between
and citizens more closely. departments without
causing further breakdowns
Such models should embrace in understanding.
the idea of shared risk and
reward (proportionate
to the supplier’s balance
sheet, of course).
It’s all very well having a great
online shop front, but the
real key to better government
contracts is a spirit of true
buyer/ supplier partnership
that delivers public benefit.
6 www.eduserv.org.uk3 4 5
Investing more Limiting investment Getting the
seriously in employee in legacy systems implementation of
engagement Government as a
Freeing up resources Platform (GaaP) right
Alongside the need to skill- and finances for digital
up staff in the language of transformation will of GaaP has the potential to solve
IT strategy, there is also now course be a challenge. many of the investment issues
a pressing need for better But there are ways and we’ve seen in this report. It can
employee engagement means of getting there. do so by creating a common
programmes that are designed core infrastructure of shared
to get everyone on board with We often see the private digital systems, technology and
the transformation agenda. sector find innovative processes that makes it easier
new ways to invest in the to build better and more user-
Only one in ten say IT future, even during the centric government services
currently works effectively sharpest of downturns, and faster and at lower cost.
with department leads to the public sector should
identify and meet needs - really be no different. It’s not yet clear how GaaP
that’s clearly not adequate. will be delivered, but in our
In both the private and public One way government view the way to get this right
sectors, we see time and departments can get started is to not make the mistake of
again that any change brought straight away is to limit doing it DIY, or handing the
about by IT will only be investment in existing legacy build task over to a few big
effective if the implementation systems unless there is a suppliers, but to publish the
pays as much attention to clear roadmap to new digital, standards and processes that
the impact on people, trust cloud-based systems. suppliers must meet and let
and relationships as it does the open market compete to
to the impact on systems. This means stopping adding build best-in-class solutions.
new features and functionality,
If budget is an issue in funding pausing hardware and A great example of how this
such programmes, then software refresh programmes has happened in the private
budget has to be re-adjusted and whenever an opportunity sector is the eTOM business
and found, because genuinely exists, terminating contracts process framework that has
impactful transformation is early or renegotiating hard. helped define standards
not going to happen without it. There can be a lot of fear and interoperability in
around stopping legacy the telecoms industry.
systems, but explaining
the benefits is all part of Only by following this kind
the change management of example will we see a
employee engagement government platform that is
process that needs to happen. innovative and fleet-of-foot
enough to drive up genuine
belief and trust in what
technology can deliver.
www.eduserv.org.uk 7About Eduserv
Helping the public sector and charities make
better use of their IT. Our customers include
Department for Education, Information
Commissioner’s Office, Higher Education
Funding Council for England, Bristol City
Council and the British Red Cross.
Get in touch
If you would like to find out how Eduserv
can help transform your IT please contact:
Tel: +44 (0)1225 470 597
Email: sales@eduserv.org.uk
WEB-149
www.eduserv.org.ukYou can also read
