Public Sector Cuts.

I work in the public sector and have done for the past 3 years, and I may be very weird and strange, but I don’t fear the huge cuts that are expected over the next few years. It might be that I have a confidence in what I do or just that the architecture team here is very small but has been explicitly mentioned in the 7 year plan. Either way I see these changes as a potential for improvements.

Within the Public sector there is a great deal of the “This is how we have always done it” mentality, with this level of cuts this will have to change and ultimately that is what IT Architecture is about CHANGE.

Now is the time to be pushing this view point into the high levels of management so that they also realise that there are going to be more than 1 way to provide the services that the end business wants and a change in emphasis and direction need not cost any significant amount of money. But change can be achieved; we can look to use virtual servers so that each project only leases part of a server rather than have to purchase outright a physical box. We can look at more flexible working patterns using laptops and remote access solutions to reduce the amount of desk space and ultimately close buildings.

Ultimately the cuts to the public sector will succeed or fail based on whether the management and workers in the public sector want them to succeed or not. If not it will be a simple task to just close services and reduce the wage bill, but the brave will look at what they do and ask the question “How can we do this differently, and cheaper” they to will probably reduce the wage bill but may have done so without reducing the services they provide the public, and IT can pull its weight and make systems that are more efficient and easier to use to help achieve this.