Security tops public sector agenda

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Over 40 per cent of public sector IT professionals put security at the top of their lists of concerns, according to a new survey.

The research carried out by Citrix, found that 43 per cent of senior public sector IT decision makers put the security of their infrastructure at the top of the agenda.

The survey of 30 senior IT decision makers at Citrix's Government Solutions Seminar in February this year found that other pressing technology problems included providing adequate services for staff (36.6 per cent) and meeting efficiency targets (33.3 per cent).

The study also found that half of respondents were "deeply concerned" about data theft, 40 per cent about employee negligence, 30 per cent about password breaches and 20 per cent about viruses.

However, the survey found that high-profile projects, such as implementing shared services, rank pretty low in the minds of respondents (3 per cent), as did upgrading applications or operating systems (7 per cent) or implementing e-Payments systems (3 per cent).

"While in some ways it's surprising that major projects are not top of the IT agenda for public sector IT managers, it is understandable that getting the basics right is a priority," said Richard Jackson, area vice president at Citrix UK, Ireland and South Africa.

"Keeping systems secure and giving staff access to the resources they need create an efficient workforce. This is vital to the well-being of public sector organisations, as factors like these are what enable people to do their jobs without interruption," he said.

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