Public sector IT: A look ahead to 2013
Computing examines what lies ahead for public sector IT in 2013
Public sector IT had to adapt to a number of changes throughout 2012, with new schemes such as G-Cloud and gov.uk launched as the government aimed to overhaul how business was done in addition to cutting costs.
The government wants to continue with these reforms and more in 2013 as it pushes to establish a ‘Digital by Default' standard for public sector IT by 2014.
A digital strategy document, launched in November, set out plans to save £1.7bn by moving many government services online. The cost reduction will come from moving away from what the government says is the unnecessary cost of phone calls and administration costs that come with face-to-face contact.
The digital strategy agenda will see all 24 ministerial departments plugged into the government's centralised services and information site, gov.uk, by March 2013, in a move the Cabinet Office says will save £70m a year. A handful of government departments, including the Department for Transport and the Ministry for Defence, have already made the switch and are live on gov.uk, with the rest to follow in the first quarter of the year.
Three hundred other departments and public bodies are also set to make the switch to gov.uk by 2014 in a move aimed at making it simpler, clearer and faster for users to find out about government business in addition to cost-saving.
Government bodies will also need to adhere to Open Standard Principles introduced in November, which aim to cut costs and encourage more competition for public sector IT contacts.
It's a move that Cabinet Office IT adviser Mark Thompson believes marks the start of things to come for IT in the public sector and society as a whole.
"It's fantastic, the mountain's up there and we've had a few skirmishes, but this is an important one, we've planted another flag a little further up the mountain," he told Computing earlier this year.
"But the mountain is about taking that argument out there into society, helping people understand what de-verticalisation means for this country, what they need and don't need to know about technology.
"A lot of the techie parts of technology will vanish, it'll sublimate as people just consume it, but they've got to understand enough about it and what that means for their businesses and organisations, you can be charity sector, public sector, private sector, it doesn't matter," he added.
But there are those who are less enthusiastic about the government's IT strategy, with LinuxIT CEO Peter Dawes-Huish recently labelling the G-Cloud network as ‘suicidal'. His negative outlook, combined with the fact that programme director Denise McDonagh says there's much work to be done, suggests 2013 could be a make or break year for the initiative.
Public sector IT: A look ahead to 2013
Computing examines what lies ahead for public sector IT in 2013
The government is already looking to make improvements to G-Cloud, with government CIO Andy Nelson suggesting the procurement service takes on an App Store structure as part of changes to improve usability that are likely to be implemented in the year ahead.
"What we'd love to be able to do with this is be in a world where it's more like an app store, where it works on multiple devices, and has an online catalogue that's just there all the time, and where you can find ratings. We're not there yet," Nelson said.
What 2013 is unlikely to bring, however, is G-Cloud beyond central government, with Nelson telling the audience at December's Westminster Cloud Computing eForum that it would be too much of a stretch to reach that goal.
"We're primarily focusing on central government. If you listen to Frances Maude, it's apparently hard enough joining up central government, let alone the rest," he said.
"But we have local authority representation on the CIO council. And we try to invite people; the best evangelists on the CIO team are from local authorities."
Not being part of the G-Cloud probably isn't high on a list of concerns for many IT professionals working for local authorities, considering the prospect of what could be another turbulent year ahead.
2012 saw cost-cutting and job losses across local government IT departments, as jobs were outsourced to private firms. Often, the process didn't go smoothly, with local protests or disputes with the private firms, but it's hard to see the trend for outsourcing IT in local government coming to a halt anytime soon.
The use of tablets and smartphones is increasing among businesses, but key issues such as security have prevented wide uptake of BYOD in the public sector. However, speaking at the Business Cloud Summit in November, one Microsoft employee told the audience that even the government could make the move towards seriously introducing BYOD in the near future.
It's certainly possible, but much has to be done to satisfy the need for confidential information to be properly secured if government employees are to be officially permitted to use personal mobile devices in their work.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will certainly keep a close eye on organisations going down the BYOD route, especially after it slammed what it calls "an underlying problem with data protection in local government". The ICO's rebuke came earlier this week after four councils were fined a combined £300,000 for losing personal data.
The past year saw radical changes in public sector, changes that look set to continue throughout 2013. The government hopes its continuing reforms will revolutionise IT for public services, but the impact of Digital by Default, open standards and all the rest won't be fully known for some time. What is clear, however, is that much last year, 2013 will be an eventful time for public sector IT leaders.