Shake-up ahead for emergency services IT procurement

Research from Pierre Audoin Consultants predicts a rise in outsourcing and shared services

UK emergency services are set to radically overhaul the way they source software and IT services (SITS), according to research from Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC).

The so-called "blue-light" services will commit to outsourcing and shared services worth more than £1bn in the next two years, the analyst has claimed.

At present the current approach to SITS is fragmented and delivered internally, reflecting the strong levels of independence among emergency service organisations.

But due to increasing budget restraints, models such as shared services and outsourcing which were not implemented due to political barriers are now firmly on the agenda, PAC revealed.

The analyst predicted that the majority of SITS spend will be delivered through outsourcing contracts or shared services vehicles by 2020.

Over the past 18 months, PAC has tracked more than £900m in new outsourcing and shared services contracts, with the trend set to continue.

Dominic Trott, public sector consultant at PAC, said: "Although many of these activities had been considered too mission-critical to be handed over to third parties, the need to cut costs without impacting frontline policing requires new approaches.”