UK public sector not getting get value for money from IT services

Analysis of IT outsourcing contracts in the UK has shown that the public sector is paying 40 percent or more above the market rate for outsourced services.

According to Compass Management Consulting, which has analysed contracts within central government over the past five years, this means the public sector could save up to £6bn on its annual IT spend of around £14bn without affecting front line services.

Compass arrived at the 40 percent figure after comparing the prices paid by government departments in their outsourced contracts with the market price paid by the private sector for a comparable bundle of services.

Says Gary Bettis, UK president for Compass Management Consulting: “There has been heavy criticism of public sector IT for the problems that have occurred in a series of high profile projects such as the National Programme for IT in the National Health Service. However, it is not just development initiatives which are costing too much and delivering too little, there is significant scope for savings – of 40 percent or more – in day-to-day IT service delivery.

“Currently, savings of around £6bn are being left on the table and whilst the initial target of £95m this year is a start we are hoping larger more aggressive targets will be set sooner rather than later. A number of reviews and studies on value for money have been completed in the last three years which prove the £6bn to be accurate.”

Compass claims that the approach taken in past value for money initiatives in government IT services were “far too timid” and that instead of savings of 35 percent or more in year one of a transformation project, the public sector benchmarks are set at 5-15 percent.

“This poor performance reflects a combination of questionable procurement practices and inadequate management of the demands that public sector clients make on the service provider for extra services and customisation which drive up costs,” says Bettis.