Tories promise to break up big IT contracts

[fullyautomatix]

A Conservative government will use open standards to break up large government IT contracts into modular components, according to the party's pre-election technology manifesto.

In the manifesto, published on Thursday, the party said the breaking up of large contracts into interoperable modules would reduce risk and let smaller businesses bid for government IT contracts. It also said the use of open standards would "create a level playing field for open-source IT".

"To ensure that high-tech small businesses are not locked out of the IT procurement process, a Conservative government will also introduce a presumption against government IT contracts worth over £100m," the Tories said in the manifesto. "These policies will not only save costs, but will also help to catalyse the growth of the next generation of high-tech British IT companies."

The Tories have been promoting the idea of a decentralised approach to government IT for the last two years. In April 2008, party leader David Cameron blogged that the use of open standards and modular contracts would "follow private-sector best practice".

According to the manifesto, the Tories will to institute a moratorium on all planned government IT procurement projects to make sure small businesses and open-source providers are not shut out of the process.

In addition, the Conservatives intend to publish online "all IT tender documents and IT procurement contracts, to enable the public to root out wasteful spending and to help more small businesses bid for government contracts".

The party also pledged to appoint senior private-sector figures as non-executive members of government department boards, and said it would recommend that any department that significantly used IT to deliver services have at least one non-executive board member with "strong ICT/operational experience".

"We will also create a small IT development team in government — a 'government skunkworks' — that can develop low-cost IT applications in-house and advise on the procurement of large projects," the manifesto authors wrote. The Conservatives intend to give the government CIO powers to implement open standards, open data and other IT policies across government departments.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement...0088287,00.htm

[AtW]

When large Govt contract is awarded the cost calculation should factor in whether money paid by Govt would return back to Chancellor by virtue of them spent locally.

Effectively this means that awarding £100 mln to foreign company can be much more expensive than awarding £200 mln to local.

Note - this isn't protectionism, this is a fairly simple cost calculation.

[threaded]

This is only the Tories saying to EDS et al to give them loads of party donations, or else.

It is so transparent, it's not even funny.

[HairyArsedBloke]

This is only the Tories saying to EDS et al to give them loads of party donations, or else.

It is so transparent, it's not even funny.

Aye.

[minestrone]

This is only the Tories saying to EDS et al to give them loads of party donations, or else.

It is so transparent, it's not even funny.

It is depresing that I cannot muster an argument, a reply or a return to defend the party I have always voted for to what you have said. I think now I am voting for the very very slightly better option than something I believe in.

EDIT: Sorry, I know not think I am voting for the very very slightly better option

[HairyArsedBloke]

I used to think that it was a cunning ploy to not will the election so that nuLieBore would face the music.

I no longer believe that. I now think that they are not even capable of that level of sophisticated planning. They are just another bunch of useless frack-wits.

[AtW]

I now think that they are not even capable of that level of sophisticated planning.

I thought Eton was a good school?

[gingerjedi]

This is only the Tories saying to EDS et al to give them loads of party donations, or else.

It is so transparent, it's not even funny.

I hate EDS/HP with a passion, I was getting cushy gov gigs with good rates before they literally stole the show.

It's got to be better to overpay a contractor who will blow his cash in the UK than overpay a giant multinational corp for a lesser service?

[mrdonuts]

When large Govt contract is awarded the cost calculation should factor in whether money paid by Govt would return back to Chancellor by virtue of them spent locally.

Effectively this means that awarding £100 mln to foreign company can be much more expensive than awarding £200 mln to local.

Note - this isn't protectionism, this is a fairly simple cost calculation.

ATw does actually speak soem sense - sometimes

[Troll]

I hate EDS/HP with a passion, I was getting cushy gov gigs with good rates before they literally stole the show.

It's got to be better to overpay a contractor who will blow his cash in the UK than overpay a giant multinational corp for a lesser service?

Accenture make HP look good

HTH