Spending bonanza to come in public sector IT

The shift to shared services in the public sector will drive an increase in tech spending, one analyst predicts.

With the government pushing for increased sharing of IT systems, spending on areas such as IT consulting and training will grow, says analyst Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC).

Whitehall is looking for public sector organisations to share core tasks, such as HR, finance, IT and procurement, to reduce costs and promote the distribution of information across departments.

Cost savings targets were set by the government following the Gershon Review of efficiency in the public sector in 2004.

The emphasis on shared services was confirmed in the Transformational Government Annual Report 2006 published yesterday, which also names the biggest public sector spenders in 2005/06.

PAC said the spending increase will especially benefit organisations providing applications software and project and outsourcing services.

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The analyst expects public sector spending to peak in the run-up to the government's Comprehensive Spending Review at the end of the 2006/07 financial year in March.

Spending growth is predicted to stabilise after 2007, once the majority of shared services have been adopted in the public sector.

One example of shared services in the public sector is the Government Gateway, which allows users to access government services through a single website which promotes the 'joined up' government strategy.