Has government succeeded in safeguarding against ITSM disasters?

It’s easy to mock central government’s attempts to a pattern of wasted IT spending, but there are reasons to believe it may succeed and create a model for ensuring that all businesses get value form technology spending.

IT projects that go over-budget and under-deliver are an unwelcome and sadly common occurrence, irrespective of business type or sector.  However, whether it deserves or not, the public sector has an unparalleled reputation for flippant technology spending (the multi-billion pound, still unfinished NHS patient record system disaster has probably built that image on its own).   

Yet changes to central government policy introduced last year and taking effect now are designed to reverse this perception, with a £100 million cap on projects and decreased reliance on the larger technology providers and consultants, by pledging to award 25 per cent of contracts to SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises).  Designed to get spending under control, attract fresh and eager to please talent and bring faster ROI to the fore, the changes are very promising.

It’s fashionable to be cynical about any government policy, but we shouldn’t forget that the public sector has at least one glowing reference proving its ability to improve IT delivery: ITIL.  Starting a niche, relatively simple set of reference books giving public bodies a common reference point for building IT services, ITIL became a global phenomenon.  By ensuring a starting point, a clear plan for rolling out and supporting IT, ITIL surely saved countless millions on consultancy and technologies by ensuring that project managers weren’t forced to start from scratch.  Although it is has become a victim of its own success (chiefly caused by hype generated by vendors and service providers keen to piggyback its popularity) and since Version 3 arguably become too ambitious and removed from its original purpose, ITIL was and is a government IT success story.

Regardless of the outcome, the policies are a sensible starting point for any IT spending which other industries should pay heed to.  This same mindset is what inspired us to create the Richmond Systems campaign calling for improved quality and value of service desk implementations to ensure that IT contributes to business success rather than being a drain on resource. 

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