- 53% of councils outsource no IT operations
- 78% of NW councils facing a reduction or stagnation in IT budgets

22 October 2012 - Councils across the North West are being urged to take a renewed look at how they manage their IT infrastructure after a Freedom of Information request, submitted by Runcorn-based IT software and services company Polymorph, revealed that over half of councils in the North West do not outsource any of their IT operations.

The request was submitted by Polymorph to understand how councils are spending IT budgets, and to learn more about how councils could improve the service to local residents with an improved IT infrastructure.

The fact that a large percentage of North West councils do not outsource is surprising considering the percentage of those councils that have seen a reduction in IT budgets. 78% are either seeing a reduction in spend over the past 3 years, or have seen their IT budgets stagnate and remain the same over a similar period.

Key findings:

- 41 councils were contacted and 32 responded to an FoI request into their IT budget and spending priorities

- 54% do not outsource any IT function whatsoever

- The overwhelming majority of IT departments in the North West face either budget stagnation or a cut

- The number of people working in an IT function within North West local government ranges between 1.5% and 5% out of the total staffing level

- IT accounts for on average 3.2% of local governments’ total spend

Polymorph MD Steve Harris feels that this is a time for councils in the North West to re-evaluate their IT infrastructure: “Some organisations can often see outsourcing as a means of seeding control to a third party, which is not the case. We have clients in all manner of sensitive industries, and understand the challenges that internal IT departments face when dealing with outsourcing companies.

“With IT budgets declining, councils need to consider that companies such as Polymorph, which provide a host of IT services, can provide a huge amount of expertise and knowledge, at an extremely affordable cost. If anything we have seen that organisations who work with us often see a reduction in spend as well as an improvement in business efficiency, once they let our skilled staff on board.”

Established in February 2000, Polymorph works with organisations in all sectors from large multinationals through to small and medium sized businesses and has a track record of providing consultancy, solutions and support services to meet a wide range of business needs.

Steve continued; “There is an increasing realisation taking place in the public sector that IT budgets are declining, and so now is the time for local councils to implement measures that will enable them to carry on with the great work they do for their communities.

“For many this will mean a big change in the way their teams work, but for the vast majority it will be a change for the better, allowing for a more streamlined operation and often a lower expenditure.”