I have made this comment on idealgov - emarkets.
I find this all very surprising. I don't think the ideas being discussed here are particularly big and, more to the point, I don't find them particularly relevant to the existing IT landscape. I am going to develop my comments further elsewhere - on this site and in other places - but the main point is that government IT procurement is completely mismanaged. So it really doesn't matter what vision you have, the reality is that fine words, for instance as they come in bucket loads from the Cabinet Office, actually are little more than expensive hot air. Think about the appalling record of cost overruns in this industry. There is a whole army of ICT professionals advising the government, helping them waste tax payers money. The first point to grasp, after this fact is accepted, is that this is actually bad for all concerned. It is bad for the tax payer, it is bad for the client, the government, it is bad for the IT industry and it is bad for the country by some broader definition than just those who pay tax here. The second point is that many of these ills are due to the contractual arrangements formed between government and suppliers. Government needs to get a grip, the situation at the moment is far too close to corruption and plain criminality, the Civil Service should be moved to shame at this. If I could find a way of putting this more forcefully I would. The third point is that of business and Civil Service culture. It is only government, through the Civil Service, that can change this culture. And cultures are very difficult to change in a creative way. The last most dramatic change was brought about by Thatcher, who did much that was welcome, and much that was, with hindsight, destructive to the Civil Service. I see the forthcoming period of ensuing cuts as potentially positive, but any opportunities will soon be lost if an indiscriminate broom is passed over our institutions. It is not a question of the potential of technology, that is simply boring, it is a question of how to go about creating that technology, which is the stuff of the very young profession of software engineering and should be the preoccupation of the as yet missing profession of software surveyor or, perhaps, software quantity surveyor. Independent professional partnerships able to act on behalf of the client. These are services that have been offered by the likes of Price Waterhouse. Unfortunately the long gestation period of independence necessary for unbiased advice has not been afforded these companies and this is the other side of the coin to the governments own mismanagement. I will elaborate more elsewhere. Meanwhile, I have to say, I really think this conversation on the wiki just wont do. -- AsaltlIdeal (2010-03-01 23:17:58)