Shared ICT Services Business Case

The Socitm Consulting team met with the three ICT Managers and found that the three authorities had been working together towards developing a shared service environment. Some progress had been made with sharing posts at a senior level between the authorities and some early attempts to share applications had also been introduced. Through such activity it became clear that ICT must underpin the wider sharing agenda both in terms of its ability to deliver shared applications and to comprehensively manage the delivery of support services such as help desk and business development.

Socitm Consulting undertook to devise a sharing plan for ICT services that would incorporate the skills and expertise of all three current services and would provide a firm foundation for the development of shared applications to support front line services among the three authorities. The business case not only identified savings in the delivery of ICT services but also highlighted the potential for even greater savings in the future sharing of applications and improved service delivery.

By adopting our recommendations the three authorities would have a single ICT Management structure based on a single standard for communication between all three authorities. This would allow for progression towards integrated applications that span all authorities and better opportunities for remote and home working services. In addition, we recommended early use of a single email and calendar facility. By implementing these recommendations this would enable the authorities to control costs through a shared ICT budget and improve end user support to provide a better service.

Our recommendations met with significant support from the Joint Steering Group who accepted the business case and all of the recommendations in our report. The Joint Steering Group acknowledged the significant contribution made by Socitm Consulting.

Paul Burgess, Head of ICT at West Devon Borough Council commented that he was very pleased with the work done by Socitm, and that it provided a firm and practical base from which to implement a shared ICT service. Unfortunately though, an unexpected review of the structure of all Devon district councils and the County Council was announced before implementation could start and the project was put on hold.

Project identification
Client organisation: South Devon and Dartmoor Joint Steering Group
Client contact: Paul Burgess, Head of ICT, 01822 813601, pburgess@westdevon.gov.uk 
Lead consultant: peter.drew@socitm.gov.uk
Project no: 6421