Firm measures will put stop to disjointed gov't IT

It is not good enough just to say government departments must work together over technology. The time has come for a corporate-like governance function in government, says Nick White.

It is extraordinary that in these days of advanced digital networks and seamless global information sharing, governments and public services continue to struggle to join up their systems and information at national and local level.

Many UK national technology projects have failed or have run into budget overruns and delay. If there were some blueprint within which these projects fitted, there would be less opportunity for making and repeating mistakes. But beyond the avoidance of mishap, the real benefit would come from more efficient and effective use of consistent information.

Of course, there are those who actively seek to block information-sharing, for fear that it would invite misuse and more governmental snooping. You only have to look at the furore over the identity card scheme to see how such things trigger strong emotions.

Better planning and management
The spectre of Big Brother continues to loom large in the imagination. But those fears are no excuse for preventing better overall planning and management of systems, networks and information. Next-generation networks provide the ideal opportunity to remedy this failing.

Imagine a similar negative attitude in a multinational. The result would be — and, indeed, used to be — uncoordinated technology investments and strategies, in which the left hand did not know what the right was doing.

But now the practice of using privileged information to preserve turf power has been replaced by using common architectures of open systems linked by modern networks to cut operating costs, speed up implementation of new applications, and enable the exploitation of knowledge and consistency in key decision-making. The role of the chief technology officer is now crucial in enabling joined-up corporate business processes.

Government departments at national and local level invest heavily in technology. Their IT and network strategies must ensure that interoperability between departments and agencies is facilitated with maximum effectiveness and minimum operational costs.

Shared tech thinking
But do they talk to each other enough on this issue? What shared tech thinking and network planning is there between the Department of Transport, HM Revenue & Customs, Health, Education, Employment, Defence, FCO, the Justice Department and indeed with local government? One hopes they are not all individually tendering for independent next-generation networks to different architectures and standards.

There is a strong case here for a corporate-like governance function in government. The consultation on the role of telecoms regulator Ofcom prompts one to wonder if this is an area where it might help, by co-ordinating the processes of network planning in national and local government.

Ofcom would, of course, have to retain technology neutrality and could not intervene in the government procurement process. Ofcom did perform a useful role in 'helping' BT consult...