An ICT benchmarking service designed specifically for smaller local authorities.

The new ICT Benchmarking Lite option from Socitm is designed with the needs of the smaller councils in mind – low cost, more streamlined, and with practical support to deliver service improvement.

Priced at £3750 per annum, here’s what you get:

Why pose these questions? Your ICT function may deliver 99.9% service availability and deliver projects on time and on budget, but this is no longer enough. Unlocking the value of information by making it available to citizens, businesses, partners and employees just when they want it, in the format that they need it, and only what they need and no more, requires inspiration, imagination and innovation.

Many IT services have undergone major cuts and restructuring in recent months, often resulting in the loss of some of the best people, and of the source of much of the detailed knowledge that helps to make the ICT service perform.

The cost of the desktop, when multiplied by the number of devices in use in a council, is a very significant expense. The variability shown from the Socitm Benchmarking data on desktop costs shows the extent of the savings that are possible - and these are only touching the surcface. Driving down the cost to 50% of its current value is certainly not out of the question.

To be clear about what the costs of the desktop consist of, the costs are made up of:

The Isle of Man Government (IoMG) now has a comprehensive understanding of the value-for-money it obtains from its IT services thanks to expert support from Socitm Consulting.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 is intended to deliver “a single framework for civil protection in the United Kingdom capable of meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century”.

The green agenda is gathering pace as the impact of climate change is now being felt in more unstable weather events, and as government steps up policy and legislative initiatives to cut carbon emissions and promote sustainability. 

1st April 2009 was an important landmark in UK local government. In yet another reorganisation, nine new unitary councils replaced 44 English two-tier authorities in seven county areas. Looked at from another perspective, it also means shared services imposed by legislative diktat. With major funding problems now confirmed by the budget, what can the ICT community in the public sector learn from such sharing? 

The project issues
The Head of IT decided that the management structure of the ICT department needed to be reviewed. The structure had been largely unchanged since the Council was formed ten years ago, and with the loss of the internal Housing Service to an ALMO, the department is facing major budget cuts.

The Head of IT commissioned Socitm Consulting to consider the issues, cite modern practice and case studies and make appropriate recommendations for the way forward.