Dear Jim,

Please can you fix it for me to have a growth strategy that recognises the importance of the role of technology in the UK’s economic growth? Whilst the chancellor of the exchequer has announced some supportive and welcome measures in his budget on Wednesday, I can’t help but feel it’s missed a bit of a trick here.

I’ve taken some time to think about it and now the dust has settled on what was, to be fair, a budget that was always going to be constrained in what it could deliver. However it is hard to see how emphasis can be put on ‘putting fuel into the tank of the British economy’ without attaching equal importance to the actual ‘engine’. As you well know Jim, this particular engine is the technology industry and the role it plays in underpinning every aspect of our economy, from advanced manufacturing to life sciences, creative industries to business services is all-encompassing.

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Last December, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond and Business Minister Mark Prisk outlined government policy to make 2011 the year of the electric car for the UK. Car manufacturers are lining up new electric cars. Energy providers are looking at the need for a smart grid to accommodate an EV infrastructure network. Many of the UK’s cities have a number of electric vehicle trials underway. But an EV network needs investment, well informed policy, and the coordination of a number of different industries.

On May 5, we are hosting the Intellect Electric Vehicle conference, bringing together government and local government policy makers, analysts, the energy industry, the automotive industry, and the ICT industry to look at the various challenges and opportunities of rolling out a EV network across the UK. The ICT industry has a key role to play across the value chain: from the car itself to the charging points, and all the critical infrastructure in between.
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Technorati Tags: Electric Vehicle Conference, ICT and EV Network, Intellect Transport and Smart Grid

As George Osborne puts the finishing touches to his Budget speech and dusts of his red box what are the top issues that the technology sector would like to see covered in the Budget? A short, snap-shot survey of Intellect members came up with good news and bad news.
The good news is that this is a sector ready for growth. The bad new is that 75per cent of people who took part in the survey said they don’t think the Government understands the importance of technology based innovation for delivering growth and that they are not giving it enough prominence. So if it’s correct that the Government don’t “get tech” then what does the sector want them to do? Better support for the sector as a whole and particularly for SMEs were popular requests. However, more than 50per cent said they felt there was a lack of a strategic vision for growth coming from the Government and they expect to see this addressed when the Chancellor stands up on Wednesday.
This is a subject that Intellect raised with both Vince Cable MP and Ed Vaizey MP at a recent meeting. We believe that there is untapped potential to drive productivity growth through better use of technology across the economy. We will be developing this argument over the coming months working with Government and others, but we hope to see the issue mentioned in the Budget and an indication that the Government is begining to “get tech.”.
The good news for the Chancellor, and I’m sure he could use some, is that almost 95 per cent of companies that took part in the survey said their top priority for the year ahead is increasing sales. The other top two priorities where accessing new markets and developing new products. This is a positive picture of a sector that is looking to grow.

Technorati Tags: Budget, Chancellor, government, growth, intellect

The importance of getting government ICT right was explored once more this week, as Intellect gave evidence at the Public Administration Select Committee’s second evidence session of its inquiry into the Government’s use of ICT. I was joined by Janet Grossman, Intellect’s Public Sector Council Chair to represent the industry position. Also on the panel were David Clarke MBE, CEO of the British Computing Society and Martin Rice, CEO of Erudine, a small IT company who are also Intellect members.

The key points discussed included the role of large companies versus SMEs in the public sector marketplace, agile development, skills, open source and public sector procurement. Intellect sought to highlight the importance of focussing on business needs and outcomes first, before deciding on what technology solutions can help achieve those outcomes. This is in line with our key message around government ICT which we have been setting out for more than a decade.

We acknowledged that there have been mistakes made in the past, but made clear that industry is eager to do its bit to help government improve its use of ICT. Change can only be achieved if government and industry work collectively. I would now like to expand on some of those points that were discussed at the hearing.

Helping smaller companies and new entrants
We recognise that the current environment makes it difficult for SMEs to do business with government. Opening up public sector business to different types of organisations – especially SMEs, as well as social enterprises and charities, is clearly a high priority for the Government. We attended the SME summit hosted by David Cameron and Francis Maude at the Treasury last month, where a number of initiatives were announced to make it easier for SMEs to do business with the public sector.

As over 60% of our members are SMEs, we strongly support this agenda. However, we are also strong advocates of the creation of a diverse ecosystem. The best results for government can be achieved through a broad ecosystem of different suppliers doing different things, including large and small companies. A public sector market that attracts a range of suppliers, large and small, will have added benefits in that it will lead to increased investment and the creation of more jobs in the UK.

Improving procurement
One of the biggest barriers for SMEs and new entrants to the public sector market is the cost and length of procurement in the UK. Procurement of a major project or programme takes an average of 77 weeks in the UK, as opposed to 40 weeks in Germany. Bidding for a major procurement can cost millions of pounds to suppliers which clearly hinders many SMEs. By making procurement simpler, faster and cheaper, government can open up the market to many new players, including SMEs. Intellect has worked closely with the government for many years on reforming the procurement process. However, many of the good ideas that have been jointly developed have not yet been fully rolled out across the public sector.

One of the key elements to successful procurement is early engagement with key stakeholders and particularly with the supplier community before the start of the formal procurement process. Intellect’s Concept Viability is a service that does just that. This enables public sector customers to consult with a broad range of experts from the technology industry before the launch of a procurement. It helps the customer assess the potential risks associated with a specific project before committing to a particular approach. Concept Viability has been used for over 80 public sector projects and is recommended by the National Audit Office.

Open source and open standards
Open source should be used where it makes best business sense, where it provides best value for money and where it delivers the best solution and outcome. Innovation and value for money can be derived from both open source and licensed software business models. But even more important in this debate is the need for open standards. Open standards are fundamental in ensuring that systems mesh together across government and enable greater interoperability.

Intellect is looking forward to working closely with our members, both large and small, and with government to ensure that technology is used more effectively by the public sector in future. And we hope that the next time we are invited to give evidence to a select committee, it is to share the lessons learned from the successful use of ICT by government!

Technorati Tags: Government ICT, Open source, open standards, PASC, procurement, Public Administration Select Committee, SMEs in government

Market and industry analysts have finally done their number crunching for 2010. It’s no secret the electronics industry across Western Europe rebounded last year, with production of electronic equipment and components increasing by 6.8%, according to figures recently released. The drive for growth has been the export led recovery in Germany, particularly in the area of industrial electronics and the recovery in automobile production. On the other hand, component shortages had a negative impact on equipment growth in 2010 although the situation eased towards the end of the year. Looking forward, the industry will definitely continue to rely on the automotive, industrial, high-end communications and defence segments. Analysts are currently forecasting further growth in 2011, albeit a more modest increase of 1.6% according to some, with downside risks still very much present, particularly due to fragile consumer confidence and the impact of reduced government spending.

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Technorati Tags: electronic equipment, Electronics Manufacturing, growth, Innovation

The fact is that the UK currently lags behind many other countries, both developed and less developed, in the integration of technology into its payments systems. A constant stream of news from the US about the burgeoning success of innovative companies offering new payments systems – most notably contactless – is hard to ignore. It’s also hard not to compare it to the current state of our payments systems in the UK. As someone who did the majority of his Christmas shopping through various commercial smart phone apps, I yearn for the time when I can pay for my breakfast with my smart phone and pay for the hire of cricket pitches through a [unnamed and shamed] London borough council with something other than a post dated cheque or postal order.

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The latest of our Innovation Den’s took place yesterday and saw a total of 23 SME member companies pitching their ideas to three separate panels of representatives from central government, local government and large suppliers to the public sector. The number of follow- up appointments requested following the presentations totalled at around 30 which was hugely encouraging. (more…)

Technorati Tags: Cabinet Office, Innovation Den, SMEs, Stephen Allott

With news that the Liberal Democrats are feeling the pinch and are moving out of their historic offices in Cowley Street and looking for somewhere, well, more economically frugal, maybe it’s time for the ‘party political’ to take a leaf out of the private sector’s book and work from home a bit more.

A ludicrous suggestion I hear you say? Well, maybe. How, after all, is one meant to keep tabs on one’s own [sometimes ‘independent’] MPs, party members (there are some left you know), run fundraising events and ensure the party’s image is maintained against the backdrop of the Coalition Government?

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The Institute for Government (IFG) launched its eagerly awaited report on Government ICT on Wednesday last week. Within a day of release, it was already the most downloaded report on the IFG website which highlights the level of interest in the way government makes use of technology.

I was at the launch event and was struck by the sheer size of the audience which was well over 120. There were a lot of familiar faces in attendance from the civil service, the ICT industry, a variety of trade associations and from the press. Ian Watmore and Mark O’Neill gave speeches and the likes of Bill McCluggage, Tom Steinberg and Annette Vernon acted as members of the taskforce which provided guidance throughout the development of the study.

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Technorati Tags: Government ICT, Ian Watmore, Institute for Government

Yesterday morning the King’s Fund Telehealth and Telecare Congress opened with optimistic remarks from Chris Ham (CE King’s Fund), Stephen Johnson (Head of LTC, DH), and Prof Stan Newman (lead WSD investigator). Although the audience expected some results from the Whole Systems Demonstrator (WSD) programme to be announced we were informed it was too early in the days. DH wants to have all results firmed up before they are announced publicly. Suffice it to say that they look promising. (more…)

Technorati Tags: health IT, Intellect Telhealth Group, Telehealth, The King's Fund