Review of ICT Infrastructure in the Public Sector in Scotland

16 Executive Summary of Review

The public sector is lagging where it should be and there is an opportunity to capture a multiplicity of benefits in radically changing how ICT is adopted and deployed and in how it enhances access to and improvements in the quality and value of services. Shared ICT platforms, a connection and spread of exemplar projects and enhanced engagement with the industry would reduce the proportion of cost invested in ICT by individual organisations and deliver local savings which might be partially reinvested in advancing the progress of ICT. It would also open the door to significant additional and wider savings in public sector costs by providing a platform for the operation of other shared services and better support sustainability goals.

The public sector should recognise that in the current economic environment a largely standalone and "self-sufficient" operating mode is no longer affordable and should commit to an era of sharing in ICT that will not only offer better value but also still meet the needs of individual organisations and their customers.

These views are emphasised by the following key points:

• ICT adoption is progressing but still lagging where it should be.
• There are many outstanding exemplars and much progress can be made through a strategy of extending adoption of the practices and sunk investments executed by these exemplars.
• The use of ICT is not yet pervasive in the delivery of services and online access to services is still limited.
• Deployment is far from optimum and there is insufficient sharing.
• The standalone self-sufficient operating mode for ICT needs to be discontinued.
• Fragmented operating practices and structures are adding significant unnecessary cost.
• Procurement, commissioning and engagement with the industry are inadequately performed.
• Sustainability impacts and opportunities are not fully addressed.
• Lack of "oversight and governance" is a key reason for the current status.
• A complete paradigm change is required.
• If the recommendations from this review are implemented savings in ICT investments can start in 2012/13 and grow progressively over five years to between £230m to £300m per annum with a cumulative saving over five years of from £870m up to £1bn. It should be noted that this assessment excludes any further savings from shared services in other business operations which are facilitated through this transformation in ICT.