Efficiency to top Government IT spend

The drive for efficiency is set to overtake service levels and budget concerns in influencing the way IT is spent at central government departments, a report by Kable has said.

The growth in public spending overall has slowed from four per cent to two per cent, the public sector analyst firm said, making the drive for efficiency more challenging.

Kable's associate director Seyi Agboola said: "Central government is under more pressure to show it can deliver improvements while facing the squeeze of a tightening public purse. When managers spend money on ICT they will have to show it can make a serious contribution to the drive for efficiency."

While spending on government IT will continue to grow, it will slow after 2009, but still rise from £3.58 billion in 2008 to £3.78 in 2011.

IT services will make up the bulk of that spend, with the amount spent set to rise from £2.73 billion to £2.89 billion over the same time period. Kable said this is partially from a boost in spending on outsourcing and managed services.

The amount spent on software is also expected to grow, from £188 million to £212 million over the period, with central government departments purchasing business applications, document management packages, and customer contact tools off the shelf, as well as investing in bespoke or customised software for larger systems.

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