Local government needs IT revamp

Now tell us something we don't know

17 June 2003

Local authorities are in dire need of an IT revamp, according to finance directors polled by specialist local authority IT system supplier Netstore.

Talking to 50 Local Authority FDs, Netstore found the Key Peformance Indicators issued by government for local authorities have a huge impact on decisions made by them and CEOs, yet current IT systems do not enable them to get access to all the information they need.

Just over half of the FDs interviewed said their current systems do not deliver all the information they need. Of particular concern is non-financial information - something that 74 per cent of them say they cannot get properly.

This has meant that 56 per cent of them already have plans to change the way IT is sourced and managed across their authority, with even more wanting a brand new system. To achieve this, virtually all FDs say they have shifted responsibility for buying IT equipment from individual departments to one central office.

However, the never-ending problem of local authorities is, of course, finding the budget to pay for a new IT system that will enable managers to be able to pull together the facts and figures they need to gain a wider understanding of their authority.

Unsurprisingly, Netstore - which sells IT systems direct to customers including Liverpool City Council, the London Boroughs of Camden, Islington and Hammersmith and Fulham, and the Royal Borough of Kingston - feels it has the answer.

Paul Barry-Walsh, chairman of Netstore, said: "If IT is going to facilitate the provision of the performance management information that Local Authorities need to move forward, then the delivery model needs to change to one which really does make it easy to buy only what you need, when you need it, manage it easily and, crucially, use it effectively to make a real difference within the organisation."

What this means is local authorities would do well to look at outsourcing their IT needs and run their systems over intranets so they can benefit from all the third-party work that goes into making new software that runs over Internet browsers.

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