The coalition governmentâ??s emergency Budget announced what is set to be very much an age of austerity. Departments preparing for cuts of around 25 per cent over four years government IT departments are undoubtedly feeling the pressure.
However, technology has a vital role to play in reducing public sector costs, while maintaining high levels of public service. Spending cuts frequently drive both innovation and creativity. Local and central government IT departments now have the opportunity to examine the benefits of new technologies that can promote greater efficiency, improve working practices and, ultimately, result in cost savings. A technology that is set to step into the limelight is cloud computing.
Look to the clouds
Many private sector organisations, both fledgling and well-established, have already embraced cloud computing. They have recognised that the cloud, offering low cost software that everyone can access via the web, presents organisations with benefits such as increased flexibility and scalability. Cloud computing’s ability to deliver functionality at low cost and with more agility is one of the reasons that analyst firm Gartner predicts global cloud services revenue to reach $68.3 billion in 2010.This growth is set to continue until 2014, reaching $148.8 billion.
While a number of government organisations, such as the Home Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, are already using web-based tools, the latest Budget is likely to propel cloud computing to the top of the IT department’s list of ways to drive savings.
Although cost may be the key motivation for examining these services, the cloud presents government organisations with a wealth of other opportunities. For example, as web-based email, word processors and communication tools can be accessed by employees with an internet connection from anywhere, at anytime, they are ideal for remote and mobile workers. As well as having the opportunity to rationalise their building stock and reduce office overheads, government organisations that support mobile and remote working can offer their staff a better work/life balance as information can be accessed from wherever they are located. Employees can work just as effectively from their home or a satellite office as they can when sitting next to their colleagues, reducing the time and cost spent travelling and increasing staff motivation.
Cloud-wide communication
Transparent communication and effective collaboration is key in the public sector. Sharing knowledge and information cross-department or with external organisations can help ensure that projects are delivered successfully and within the required time scales. However, communication silos frequently develop both within and between organisations. While people within the same department may be able to work together effectively, this is often not the case for teams that are dispersed across multiple organisations and departments the length and breadth of the country.
Some of the most important collaborations occur between different teams, non-governmental organisations, research centres and external consultants. However, with information stored on in-house servers that cannot be accessed by external parties, working on projects together can be a challenge. Time is often wasted trying to keep track of and access required information, email is used extensively and a lot of time is spent travelling to and from face-to-face meetings. With different versions of documents and files being transported to and from people’s inboxes, there can also be confusion over which version of a document or file is final.
Not limited by firewalls, cloud-based tools break down communication barriers. To drive projects forward, increase cross-government collaboration and improve communication with both internal and external stakeholders, web-based collaboration and knowledge management tools provide complete transparency of the conversations and documents relating to projects. Skills, knowledge and ideas can be easily shared and staff can work far more efficiently.
The Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) Social Security is a good example of a government organisation that is exploiting the opportunities created by new technology. On 1 July, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union arrived in Belgium and the FPS Social Security’s EU 2010 Presidency Team turned to cloud computing to prepare for the conferences and meetings that would occur during the country’s six month Presidency. Faced with sharing a large amount of documentation and scheduling events with people from both inside and outside of the organisation, the FPS Social Security recognised that its in-house network, shared drives and email system were simply not up to the job. Consequently, the team used Huddle, which lets you connect and work securely with people online, to communicate with national and local public institutions, universities and other external parties.
Try before you buy
In light of the Budget, there has never been a more pressing time to evaluate better working practices and new technologies. However, some organisations may still have reservations about using cloud-based tools due to concerns about slow take-up, lengthy training processes, perceived costs, security and complexity. With free or trial versions offered by many web-based tools, public sector organisations do not have to take the plunge and sign-off the purchase order until they are convinced that the technology is right them. Perhaps it is time to see what the latest technologies can do for government.