Government set to embrace cloud computing?

gallery

This year will see the UK Government ramp up use of cloud computing and business process outsourcing (BPO), an analyst firm has claimed.

The need to cut costs will be a significant driver behind the move to the cloud, while access to cloud and BPO services will be more open than ever before in 2011, an Ovum report indicated.

Whilst there will be a notable shift to the cloud within Government, some departments will steer clear of handing over data to third parties due to privacy and security issues, the company claimed.

"Governments should push beyond knee-jerk cost-cutting measures and adopt a long-term vision of how fundamental changes to the way they deliver services will bring efficiency," said Jessica Hawkins, Ovum analyst and author of the report.

"Many will look to their IT vendor to guide them through the new technologies that can help them achieve this and vendors should be ready to do this."

Government procurement will also see a shift in 2011, Hawkins said.

"With every penny counting and Governments keen to ensure there’s more visibility and accountability of how taxpayers’ money is spent, in 2011 agencies will look at new ways of procuring services," she added.

"In addition there will be changes in how contracts look – in some cases we will see consolidation."

Around this time last year, the previous Labour Government revealed it was to set up a G-Cloud so departments could share ICT resources with greater efficacy.

The recent departure of Government chief information officer (CIO) John Suffolk, who was a major force behind the G-Cloud idea, led to concerns over the future of the initiative.

Meanwhile, the Government appears to have remained serious about investment in the tech sector, after it outlined proposals last week for a £200 million network of technology and innovation centres.

Email to a friend

Print this page