IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

This paper looks at the top 10 vital ingredients used to build and run these networks based on the experience of MLL Telecom, a specialist public sector network operator.

Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Minister of Public Administration explained: “Shared service is not a new concept. Many private sector organisations use shared services to realise greater efficiencies and savings. Public sector organisations in many Commonwealth countries are following this trend.

Commenting on the programme, the Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Minister of Public Administration, said “Shared service is not a new concept. Many private sector organisations use shared services to realise greater efficiencies and savings. Public sector organisations in many Commonwealth countries are following this trend. We already have a pilot programme in place between the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of Communications that is being used to help define a model for wider application of this concept.”

Executive agencies will be required to consider the use of shared services for all future financial systems, according to a new Obama administration policy announced earlier this week.

Specifically, agencies will have to consider shared financial services -- including cloud systems -- in analyzing any proposal to upgrade their core accounting systems, payment and invoice systems, procurement systems, grant systems, property management systems, travel systems and other systems that support financial functions. The Office of Management and Budget, in turn, will look negatively on any agency-specific approach to upgraded or new financial systems.

In an "effort to contain costs and manage resources in a difficult budget climate," the courts plan to "voluntarily share administrative services," according to a statement from Third Branch News, the newsletter maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Federal courts are absorbing their share of the $85 billion in automatic cutsfrom sequestration under the Budget Control Act. Earlier this year their budgets were cut by $350 million, to roughly $6.6 billion.

This announcement was made today at a press conference at Dubai Police headquarters. The agreement was signed by Maj. Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Deputy Chief of Dubai Police, and Mr. Ali Ibrahim, Managing Director of Emcredit.

UK ParliamentThe Next Generation Shared Services Strategic Plan outlines how government departments and arms-length bodies will work together to share functions such as HR, procurement, finance and payroll to deliver potential savings of between £400 and £600 million a year in administration costs.

The business consultancy said Whitehall could slash the estimated £1.14 billion administration of purchasing with a move away from a “large numbers of small and widely scattered operations”.

Instead, by “consolidating operations into a ‘middle office’ in lower-cost areas could reduce facilities costs dramatically, while lowering headcount, eliminating redundant activities, encouraging more on-contract buying, improving productivity through process standardisation, and simplifying the task of enacting and measuring continuous improvements,” said the report, Seven Procurement Initiatives that Can Stretch Public Sector Budgets.

Councils from across the country have been competing in the Transformation Challenge Awards, which grants government funding to councils who can demonstrate the ability to remain “at the cutting edge of service transformation” said local government minister, Brandon Lewis.

By integrating local health and care services, sharing finance and human resource functions and creating partnerships for better asset management, the money will help councils “overhaul the way they do business” says Lewis.

The five-year deal is the second of two independent shared service centers under the Cabinet Office’s strategic plan for next-generation shared services, which aims to save £600m per year.

This second shared service center will be the divestment of shared service centers currently operated by the Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the deal is the offshoring issue. Steria are already the Department of Health’s partner in the NHS Shared Business Services operation. That has used offshore resource, although SBS would also say they are employing more people in the UK year by year. And at the Cabinet Office briefing session last week, I had a couple of off-line chats which made it clear that offshoring is very much on the agenda for SSC2.

MP Margaret Hodge, Chair of the group, said "significant sums of money" could have been saved through the pooling of back office functions like finance and procurement.

This could in turn have helped to protect public services at a time when budgets are being slashed.

Data center application and services could be big winners in regards to UK government cuts with Whitehall moving closer towards shared services in its efforts to cut costs.

Public sector spending has been slashed in recent times across all government departments and tiers but ICT spending is expected to only see a minimal loss up until 2015 to 2016 while some data center services could actually grow, according to market intelligence firm Kable.

The contract has not yet been awarded, but the Government is looking to have their ISSC 2 operating partner in place by March 2014 or earlier.

Speaking to delegates at the FutureGov Summit in Kota Kinabalu, Westminster City Council CIO, David Wilde, said that London was considering more collaboration in the shape of shared services and the merging of council management teams.

The UK’s public sector has only seen about 9% of the IT spending cuts handed down as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review according to a new report, which counts the views of 102 senior financial officers in the public sector.

To help manage cuts, 39% of those interviewed said they would look towards shared IT services. The CSR is also bringing about forced cultural change in government IT departments, according to one public sector IT representative, as well new vendor relationships, especially where existing contracts are concerned.

The implementation of shared services is expected to deliver savings of between £400 and £600 million (US$650 to $975 million) a year in administration costs.

The report entitled “Shared Services: a Strategic Vision”, the Cabinet Office called for a standardisation of back-office services and functions to cut the estimated £2.5 billion (US $4 billion) spend on HR, finance and procurement in Whitehall last year.

According to the document, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice have already made respective savings of GBP£35 million (US$55.9 million) per year, GBP£13 million (US$20.8 million) and GBP£20m (US$32 million) through their back-office shared services centre.

Compass Point Business Services, a shared services company set up by East Lindsey District Council and South Holland District Council, was established to deliver integrated finance, HR, ICT and customer services solutions.

The new contract will see the implementation a Microsoft Dynamics based system to assist in delivery of these services.

Cambridgeshire CC said the shared service arrangement is part of a plan to make major cost savings, including a 27% reduction in IT expenditure.

A joint committee will be set up to oversee the creation of joint back office services, which also includes legal, finance and property. It will have delegated authority to implement the new officer structures which will be put in place under shared services arrangements.