Hmmm a lot of government IT is in the hands folks such as EDS (now part of HP), IBM, Qinetiq, Serco and the like. These folks like to make money.
To be honest, I think the problem is not that the government is sold trailing edge IT it is that the existing technologies are not built upon or future proofed. Too many companies adapt the solution to fit whichever software/systems architecture is considered cutting edge rather than designing a solution to fit the process being replaced.
A company bidding on an IT project which is going to last 15 years has to make a lot of educated guess as to what will be available. How many systems survive 15 years?
The government should try to keep the important contracts in-house, managed, implemented and maintained by their own staff. The HA, for example, got rid of a lot of experienced engineers who then joined companies such as Qinetiq, Serco, PEEK, Mouchel, IPL etc. and then were hired by the HA as consultants, often not even moving desks. How deranged is that?
To be honest, I think the problem is not that the government is sold trailing edge IT it is that the existing technologies are not built upon or future proofed. Too many companies adapt the solution to fit whichever software/systems architecture is considered cutting edge rather than designing a solution to fit the process being replaced.
A company bidding on an IT project which is going to last 15 years has to make a lot of educated guess as to what will be available. How many systems survive 15 years?
The government should try to keep the important contracts in-house, managed, implemented and maintained by their own staff. The HA, for example, got rid of a lot of experienced engineers who then joined companies such as Qinetiq, Serco, PEEK, Mouchel, IPL etc. and then were hired by the HA as consultants, often not even moving desks. How deranged is that?