Buying Solutions: New Public Sector Agreement with Microsoft to save money for the public sector. |
| Buying Solutions, negotiating on behalf of the UK public sector, reached a new Public Sector Agreement (PSA09) with Microsoft in May 2009. The agreement created a more flexible approach to the licensing of Microsoft products, providing the means for public sector bodies to obtain greater value for money. |
Although the agreement has delivered better prices, it is the flexibility inherent in the agreement that will provide the greatest scope for savings. This will be achieved through applying two key principles: |
* Firstly, public sector bodies can now break away from the standard Microsoft packages, selecting and paying only for those software elements really required
* Secondly, the agreement introduces transferability of licences right across the public sector to avoid waste, ensuring that full return on investment is achieved when, for any reason, licences become surplus to requirements Read more at www.egovmonitor.com |
Taking the initiative in the fight against mobile phone crime |
Action to prevent criminals abusing new mobile phone technology, which allows them to be used like debit, credit and pre-pay cards, has been agreed by the government, mobile phone and card payments industries, Home Office Minister Alan Campbell announced today. |
The new technology, which will allow customers to buy things by swiping them over sensors in a similar way to Oyster cards, is being trialled by phone companies and banks in the UK. In an effort to design out opportunities for crime and reduce harm to consumers the government has been working with industry to ensure the technology builds in tough security measures at the earliest stages. Read more at press.homeoffice.gov.uk |
Should development of location data for users, happen at the local authority level? Users end up having to interact with multiple applications. Presumably the commercial sector will want to act as an aggregator and integrator - will the local authorities allow it? Location Data And Local Authorities: The Next Stage |
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are now ready to become a core part of service planning and delivery in local authorities, claims a business transformation expert. |
For example, GIS can enable councils to focus health and social care resources on the areas that most need them, and target promotional campaigns towards locations that display low recycling levels, said Evans. Read more at www.headstar.com |
Meters that give more data on your power usage are to get government backing. But there are still issues of regulation – and security |
| government plans to get smart meters into all UK homes by 2020 |
Smart meters are two-way communication devices that give real-time usage data. The EU called for them in its 2006 energy services directive, but with a get-out clause. It said bills should detail actual time of use, but only “so far as it is technically possible, financially reasonable and proportionate in relation to the potential energy savings”. Read more at www.guardian.co.uk |
Governments around the world are working to reduce bidding costs for the ICT industry.
OGC publishes enhanced model contract for public sector ICT procurement
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The Office of Government Commerce (OGC), in conjunction with its delivery partner Partnerships UK, has published an enhanced version (V2.3) of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Model Services Agreement and Guidance for major or complex ICT enabled business change projects. The free-to-use solution includes significant updates in the key areas of financial distress and security management.
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The guidance is part of a series of OGC measures supporting the public sector in its ICT buying decisions, which recognise the challenging nature of the ICT market, with its constantly changing products, intense competition between vendors and steadily falling prices. OGC works with public sector organisations on a collaborative and active approach towards the ICT market, ensuring the public sector benefits from the latest technologies and highly competitive pricing. Read more at www.ogc.gov.uk |
A survey in the UK demonstrates the increasing perceived value of communications (web & mobiles) | Citizens prefer web & mobiles over celebrations in recession, says Ofcom |
Around half of UK consumers would sooner cut back on eating out, home improvements and holidays than give up communications services, according to new research from Ofcom. |
When asked which items consumers were likely to cut back on in the recession, 47 per cent would choose to cut back on going out for dinner, 41 per cent on DIY and 41 per cent on holidays. This compares with only a fifth (19 per cent) who would cut back on mobile phone spend, 16 per cent on TV subscriptions and 10 per cent on their broadband services. |
As broadband speeds increase and services become more widespread, TV viewers are also catching-up on programmes online. Nearly a quarter of households (23 per cent) were watching catch-up TV online in 2008 compared to 17 per cent in 2007. Adults between 15-24 are most likely to watch catch-up TV online (33 per cent). Read more at www.publictechnology.net |
Web inventor to help Downing Street open up government data |
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, will help the British government to make its data more easily available online, Gordon Brown said today. |
Sir Tim has been an eager proponent of better access to all forms of government and other data. In a talk to the TED conference in March, shown below, he said: “What you find if you deal with people in government departments is that they hug their database, hold it really close, so that they can build a beautiful website to present it. |
“I would like to suggest: sure, make a beautiful website, but first, give us – all of us – the unadulterated data. We have to ask for raw data now.” Read more at www.guardian.co.uk |
Swine flu website overwhelmed by demand as new cases double in a week |
About 100,000 people caught swine flu in England last week, the chief medical officer revealed today, as the government’s online diagnosis service crashed within minutes of launch when thousands of people tried to log on at the same time. Read more at www.guardian.co.uk |
Online banking is booming |
Among 3,988 adults surveyed in the U.S. by Gartner Group, 47 percent said they now bank online. In the U.K, 30 percent echoed the same response. |
Results varied according to income. Gartner found that over half of all consumers earning more than $30,000 in the U.S. and 15,000 pounds in the U.K. bank on the Internet. Among lower-income households, 25 percent in America and 17 percent in the U.K. use online banking. |
Among people who don’t bank online, no one single reason was cited above all others, noted Gartner. Around 61 percent of U.S. households and 58 percent of those in the U.K. said they simply prefer to use other methods. However, 41 percent of U.S. consumers and 38 percent in the U.K. blamed security as the most important reason for not banking over the Internet. Read more at news.cnet.com |
UK looks to young geeks to secure cyberspace |
Britain is hiring former computer hackers to join a new security unit aimed at protecting cyberspace from foreign spies, thieves and terrorists, the country’s terrorism minister said. |
Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the creation of the unit Thursday as he published an updated national security strategy, detailing Britain’s response to global terrorism and emerging threats. Read more at tech.yahoo.com |
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New Public Sector Agreement with Microsoft to save money for the UK public sector.
