Network Communications News (NCN) December 2016 | Page 16

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Mark Hall, public sector director at Redcentric, looks at the need
to improve public sector infrastructure by increasing centralisation.

T
Mark Hall says
technology has the
potential to increase
performance and
save money.

he UK is in a time of political change,
which is why it has never been
more important for public services
to provide a seamless and secure
experience. Collaboration within
the sector is essential for creating
an efficient public service. Despite
this, many local and central departments
are currently operating on siloed systems
which hinder communication.
The public sector has a history of
IT failures, with citizens and businesses
often on the receiving end of complex
systems and slow services. The sheer
size of the volume of data has made
it difficult to digitise many of the
processes, with most transactions seeing
little transformation. Over the past
10 years, however, the landscape has
begun to change for government IT, with
investment in central networks offering
collaboration between departments to
improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Although adopting this technology
hasn’t been a priority within the sector.

Fragmented networks

Past government
IT failures must
not act as a brake
on embracing the
change needed.

Police departments are an example of
where siloed networks have become
unmanageable and as a result, difficult
to access information. For instance, tax
avoidance within the UK is costing the
government approximately £16bn a year.
By implementing a centralised network
which connects the police to HMRC, it
could significantly lower the amount of

revenue lost. Such a move would enable
the government to gain intelligence
on who is committing fraud as well as
internal errors and legal tax avoidance.
The mass of different platforms
has made communication between
departments complex, which often leads
to additional work, cost and disruption
to services. For those working within the
public sector, this lack of communication
can become increasingly frustrating
for employees wanting to make crucial
progress. Similarly, taxpayers unsatisfied
with government services may refrain
from using the service in the future.

Connecting the public sector
Collaboration between services has already
proven its worth. For example, renewing
a driver’s lic ence has been streamlined by
connecting to the Passport Office. The
DVLA can now validate citizenship using
a nine digit number from the applicant’s
digital passport. The process is simplified
further by the DVLA having access to
passport photos digitally, instead of the
applicant sending it through the post. For
citizens, it not only simplifies the process,
but ensures taxpayers’ money is spent
more efficiently. The collaboration also
enables the Passport Office to manage the
increase of applications during the holiday
season efficiently. This can all be achieved
without employees having to work longer
hours to complete the job and without
the delay of waiting for postage.

IT transformation
The success of previous public sector
IT projects is the key to driving further
investment in connecting departments.
The Public Services Network (PSN) was
introduced to combat security risks,
simplify procedures and offer advanced
levels of availability. Now all public sector
organisations are urged to deploy PSN
wherever applicable to provide the best
possible service and reduce the risk of
cyber threats. By bringing the mass of
frameworks into one centralised network,
it will not only increase productivity and
efficiency within the organisation, but will
result in a flexible IT system which enables
departments to communicate quickly.
In the digital age, the public sector
must invest in services collectively rather
than separately, especially in a time of
increased data collection which comes
with the risk of personal information
ending up in the wrong hands. The PSN
has provided IT departments with secure
and flexible solutions which have helped
eradicate reoccurring issues in the past.
Carrying out this collaboration between
other departments has the potential
to bring local and central governments
together to improve internal security and
protection of personal data.
There is limitless potential when
investing in centralised systems that will
benefit local and central government
departments. Digital technologies
will modernise services whilst being
the most cost efficient approach
to combating the major issues the
public sector is faced with daily. Local
authorities who have begun embracing
the PSN have already reported savings
of up to £1.5m – which equates to 40 to
60 per cent of their costs. Furthermore,
the sensitive information gathered and
held by departments will be protected
securely and would be able to be
accessed more effectively.
Ultimately, local and central
governments which ignore the benefits
of the PSN are not only failing to create
opportunities to minimise inefficiencies
while putting crucial information at risk
of a security breach, but they are also
preventing citizens from receiving the
best possible service.

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02/12/2016 11:01