Codestone

Category: Support & Managed Services

The British government looks set to keep pushing the use of outsourced IT in order to cut costs in the public sector.

Last month, the coalition confirmed it is encouraging government departments to consider employing offshore solutions as a way of driving down ICT expenditure.

Latest figures from the Cabinet Office show that between May 2010 and March 2011, closer scrutiny of spending on ICT by the state helped it save in the region of £300 million.

This enabled the public sector overall save £3.75 million throughout this period.

However, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said he believes this is "just scratching the surface of what we have planned" for the future.

"We will continue to seek out and eradicate waste in government," he commented.

The Cabinet Office believes using offshore solutions could be one way to deliver better value for money in ICT.

Nevertheless, some restrictions are being put in place, as departments have been told information that could compromise national security cannot be stored in this way.

The National Outsourcing Association has welcomed the move towards offshoring and predicted the government will adopt this approach "more and more" over the coming years.

Posted by Jamie Rees