EquaTerra Leads First IT Shared Services Arrangement for UK Central Government Take a pdf of this article with you At a Glance Company Profile This government department has approximately 2000 staff and 30 business units, the majority of which are located in London, England. Department characteristics include frequent and significant changes in size and structure as units are transferred to and from other government departments. Since the year 2000, the staff complement has varied by as much as 14 per cent year on year and similar variation is expected to continue. In addition, there is high staff churn. Services Featured Business Case Governance Framework Public Procurement Strategic Needs Analysis Strategy Business Processes Involved Applications Maintenance and Project  Management End User ( Desktop File and Print Including Tech Refresh) Infrastructure (Server, Networks and Data Centre)  Central Government Department Implements IT Shared Services Contract Executive Summary This central UK government department was presented with an opportunity to improve IT service delivery when an existing services contract expired. EquaTerra advised the organisation on the procurement process and the need for continuity of service and readiness for transferring to a new service provider. Following detailed analysis of possible solutions, a shared services model was chosen as this was able to deliver required service levels in the most cost effective manner.   The chosen solution conformed to public sector best practice guidelines including the transformational government strategy¹ and used a Treasury Green Book² compliant business case to support decision making. The Business Challenge The primary catalyst for change was the imminent expiry of the current Information Communications Technology (ICT) contract: there was no opportunity to maintain the status quo, and there was a strong desire within the department to improve service delivery and in turn its reputation. The IT function was also keen to play a more central and influential role within the government department as there was a general view from users within the organisation that the potential benefits of IT were not being fully realised. The challenge of effectively delivering a new IT services contract also presented an opportunity to create a best practice example of a shared services model. The new contract also had to support the current and future needs of the organisation, from being sufficiently flexible to adapt to fluctuating levels of demand to carefully supporting the needs of end users. The organisation, supported by EquaTerra, identified the critical success factors of the chosen solution as being: To significantly improve the IT service delivered to customers by: Providing an effective, reliable and scalable infrastructure Delivering ICT governance improvements Developing business focused ICT services capability Enabling change, innovation and collaboration Supporting a secure, modern and flexible workspace To develop a strategic partnership offering proactive and innovative best practice ICT solutions To develop a reputation around government for excellence in provision of IT services To support a formal framework of "professional skills for government" To deliver a sustainable reduction in operating expenses by improving cost transparency, having clear service definitions and releasing efficiencies through standardisation, simplification and sharing across government How We Helped Following EquaTerra’s methodology the various options available to the organisation’s IT function could be assessed. Including: Using a straightforward public procurement exercise Buying services from another government department which had recently set up a joint venture with the department’s incumbent Establishing a shared service framework through a competitive dialogue procurement exercise Extending the existing contract was not an option as it had already been extended once and EU procurement regulations stipulated that further extensions were not allowed under normal circumstances. A shared services model, managed by an external service provider, was ultimately selected as it proved most able to meet requirements and offered the most cost effective solution. EquaTerra ensured that a best practice approach was adopted which conformed to the transformational government strategy and in particular the shared services agenda. The strategy developed was also underpinned by a Treasury Green Book compliant business case to validate the chosen strategy and allocation of resources. EquaTerra’s support of the selection process included: Conducting an investigation to establish whether a second government department’s existing ICT contract could incorporate this department’s requirements, through a shared services arrangement Investigating and analysing pricing, commercial, governance, service and scope issues in conjunction with the Director of Shared Services. This was carried out to assess the business case and the implications of any change for management and the retained service provider. Providing high-level public and private sector price comparison analysis Undertaking the required planning to allow a competitive dialogue procurement procedure. This included draft Prior Information Notices and subsequent Official Journal of The European Union (OJEU) entries Setting up the required documentation and planning for the necessary Office of Government Commerce (OGC) gateway reviews Delivering a procurement strategy EquaTerra worked collaboratively with the government department to ensure the continuity of its IT sourcing capability, readiness for change and its ability to deliver enhancements. Results The benefits delivered as a result of this process were wide ranging and could be broadly categorised as improving effectiveness, efficiency and the employee experience. The new contract was more responsive to business needs as well as offering better value for money. Effective governance and a process structure that allows flexible and scalable business change were also introduced. The business is now able to focus on primary objectives by relying on an IT service dedicated to excellence in service delivery. Avoiding potential duplication created by "cottage industry" set ups in the business also became possible. Users experience a single joined-up IT service, with clear channels for requesting assistance and additional services - plus clearly defined agreements on what level of service they can expect. As a result of the project, the business no longer has "orphaned" areas where responsibility for providing support is unclear and levels of assistance for remote and out of hours working will meet business needs. Improvements in governance enables the IT function to be accountable for delivering an IT service to the agreed specification, making services and costs transparent and predictable to the organisation. The changes also deliver better career opportunities for IT staff, more efficient workload management, increased job satisfaction, increased recognition and greater clarity of roles supporting Professional Skills for Government. In addition, continued single number contact and the introduction of "self service" makes services available 24/7. This allows staff to access the right information and or services at a time most suitable to them. ___________________ 1    Government’s ambition for technology enabled change calls for a step-change in the professionalism with which it is delivered. This requires: coherent, joined up leadership and governance; portfolio management of the technology programmes; development of IT professionalism and skills; strengthening of the controls and support to ensure reliable project delivery; improvements in supplier management; and a systematic focus on innovation. 2    The Green Book is a best practice guide for all central government departments and executive agencies, and covers projects of all types and size. It aims to make the appraisal process throughout government more consistent and transparent. It states that no policy, programme or project is to be adopted without first having the answer to the questions, are there better ways to achieve this objective and are there better uses for these resources? About EquaTerra EquaTerra sourcing advisors help clients achieve sustainable value in their IT and business processes. Our advisors average more than 20 years of industry experience and have supported more than 2,000 transformation and outsourcing projects across more than 60 countries. Supporting clients throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, we have deep functional knowledge in Finance and Accounting, HR, IT, Procurement and other critical business processes. EquaTerra helps clients achieve significant cost savings and process improvement with internal transformation, shared services and outsourcing solutions.