ICT still vital to UK public sector

Nearly three-quarters of senior finance officers in the public sector believe IT is integral to cost cutting efforts, with over 90% believing it has the ability to transform the ways in which organisations operate.

That's according to the results of a ComRes/VMware survey of senior finance officers in the public sector, which also revealed the sector still have to cut £2.6 billion from its total IT spending over the next three years.

The survey results also revealed a belief by 87% of respondents that IT delivered public sector organisations value, while 83% said it was an essential part of delivering shared services - one of the key technologies and philosophies regularly touted as a solution to doing more with less.

"We're seeing a major shift in the way IT is perceived in the public sector," commented Mark Newton, UK MD, VMware. "This research clearly shows that financial decision makers recognise that smart allocation of IT spending and resources can make a fundamental impact on their organisation. Rather than seeing it as a drain on resources, IT has the power to drive positive organisational change."

Newton continued, "By simplifying IT and accelerating the transition to cloud computing, where the goal is to deliver IT as a service, the public sector has a real opportunity to lead the way in achieving major transformational benefits. Cloud computing is an enabler for shared services, and as this model is increasingly adopted, the role IT will play in the delivery of vital public sector services will become even more crucial."

Roger Bearpark, Assistant Head of ICT at Hillingdon Council, believes technology offers real promise for government services. "Our council administration saw the need for cuts long before the CSR was on the political agenda, but without question we are far better placed to deal with the need to find savings because of a virtualized infrastructure. Not only can we contribute to the overall cuts by keeping our own costs low, but we can also drive efficiencies throughout the rest of the organisation, and because we have such an agile infrastructure, we can make these changes quickly."