Leaked documents from the Government back in December have proved to be true as predictions of clouds and app stores come to life in its Government ICT Strategy.
Officially launched yesterday, the document outlines plans to make the public sector both more efficient and easier to access for UK citizens, saving an estimated 3.2 billion.
Number one on the list to cut costs is the Government Cloud or G-Cloud enabling different public bodies to share their ICT environment. The report suggests that this would be the biggest contributor to the multi-billion cost reduction.
It also confirmed an applications store to allow public sector workers to access business applications and services from a central pool rather than bespoke apps for each area. This again is set to save the Government over 500 million a year.
The report also outlines plans for a new telecoms network for converged voice and data communications, with predicted cost savings of 500 million a year, a set of common desktops across the public sector and data centre consolidation.
"We have seen a period of significant change over recent months and years. Technology has changed, the economy has changed and ICT in government must also change," said John Suffolk, the Government's chief information officer (CIO), in a statement.
"This strategy sets out a new model for Government ICT which will deliver a secure and resilient ICT infrastructure that will enable faster, better services for the public."
Yet the Conservative party, which leaked the initial document last year, said they thought there was a "better way" such as opening up the debate and allowing people to put forward their ideas for the strategy.
The strategy outlines plans for up to 2020 to be implemented by the public sector itself rather than by central government.
-
Software developer salaries are surging in the UK as AI skills gaps drives demandNews Stack Overflow says positive growth in developer salaries shows the community is thriving
-
Darktrace bolsters expansion plans with double C-suite appointmentNews Industry veteran Samun Raju joins the security vendor as CFO, while former KnowBe4 executive Hein Hellemons becomes CRO
-
UK government to fund regional tech programs up to £20mnews Local and regional partnerships invited to bid for support for established or developing projects
-
‘A major step forward’: Keir Starmer’s £187 million tech skills drive welcomed by UK industryNews The ‘TechFirst’ program aims to shore up the UK’s digital skills to meet future AI needs
-
Government’s ‘Humphrey’ AI tool helps local authorities cut costsNews The Minute tool, part of the Humphrey AI assistant, is being trialled at 25 councils
-
The UK government hopes AI will supercharge public sector digital transformation – IT leaders aren’t so sureNews Research from SolarWinds shows public sector transformation is progressing at a snail's pace despite IT leaders pushing for rapid improvements.
-
Starmer bets big on AI to unlock public sector savingsNews AI adoption could be a major boon for the UK and save taxpayers billions, according to prime minister Keir Starmer.
-
UK government targets ‘startup’ mindset in AI funding overhaulNews Public sector AI funding will be overhauled in the UK in a bid to simplify processes and push more projects into development.
-
UK government signs up Anthropic to improve public servicesNews The UK government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Anthropic to explore how the company's Claude AI assistant could be used to improve access to public services.
-
The UK’s AI ambitions face one major hurdle – finding enough home-grown talentNews Research shows UK enterprises are struggling to fill AI roles, raising concerns over the country's ability to meet expectations in the global AI race.
