Public spirit

The channel is at last being offered the opportunity to compete on a level playing field in the public sector

I am sure there are very few people who have never felt out of their league, whether in a business deal, while chatting someone up in a bar, or playing against the best in a team sports match or on the golf course.

But in business, being out of your league can be seriously daunting; there are more things at stake than just a red face and a few jibes from your mates.

The public sector has consistently been seen by many in the channel as out of their league, which is hardly surprising.

Working in a sector that has more red tape than Selfridges at Christmas and is dominated by large, domineering competitors was never going to be easy.

But now, at last, the channel is being offered the opportunity to compete on a level playing field in the public sector.

Last week the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) discussed with the UK IT industry ways in which public-sector contracts could be made easier for SMEs to win.

The organisation has already been running two pilot schemes, in the West Midlands and Harringey, to find out the best way of encouraging SME suppliers to bid for contracts and making it easier for them to do so.

Both pilots have been hailed a success for smaller IT suppliers, with early results showing that between 70 and 80 per cent of contracts involved in these schemes were awarded to SME suppliers.

But the government is not only making an effort to hand resellers contracts on a golden platter and encouraging them to dig in; it is going even further.

The OGC has stated that before a major supplier, such as Fujistu or EDS, is awarded a huge contract, it wants to see details of the firm's sub-contracting arrangements with smaller suppliers.

This is the IT industry equivalent of your local football team getting the opportunity to sign David Beckham, play in the Premiership and reap the rewards, in terms of both status and commercial benefits, without feeling out of its league. A golden opportunity if ever there was one.