Improving business intelligence and analytics the top tech priority, say Government CIOs

Gartner surveyed 398 Government CIOs based around the world during the final quarter of 2012. It said that the top two technology priorities for Government CIOs are business intelligence and analytics and legacy modernisation.

"When faced with unsustainable business models, government executives are more willing to make targeted technology investments and undergo the extensive organisational change necessary to achieve the productivity and quality gains made possible by IT," Gartner research director Rick Howard said.

In June a survey by IT consultancy firm Alsbridge highlighted concerns among IT buyers in relation to feeling 'locked in' to existing IT contracts. However, IT and telecoms contract specialist Clive Seddon of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that having "trigger points" within contracts for renegotiating those contracts with suppliers can help IT decision makers overcome any perception they may have that they cannot renegotiate existing deals and take advantage of new technologies.

According to the Gartner survey, delivering operational results, improving IT applications and infrastructure and reducing enterprise costs are Government CIOs' top three business priorities.

Specialist in dispute resolution in the ICT sector David Barker of Pinsent Masons previously said that it is important to keep business and IT needs aligned. He said that renegotiating terms of contracts with existing suppliers can help IT buyers maintain that alignment and added that the renegotiations can also benefit suppliers.

"An example may be where more technologically advanced services are offered to customers, such as cloud-based storage and software applications, which can be economical for both parties," Barker said. "These technologies may not have been available at the time of the original deal."

IT contracts expert Iain Monaghan of Pinsent Masons added: "Most suppliers want to sell new technology because this is likely to be where most of their profit will come from in future. However, they will have heavily invested in older technology and it will usually be cheaper for them to supply services using those products."

"Buyers need to balance the cost they are prepared to pay for IT with the benefits that new technology can deliver," he said. "Suppliers are less resistant to renegotiating existing contracts if buyers can show that there is a reason for change and that the change offers a new business opportunity to the supplier. This is why constant engagement with suppliers is important. The contract is meant to embody a relationship with the supplier."

According to the Gartner survey, nearly 75% of Government CIOs said that IT budgets within their organisation would either be maintained or increased during 2013. However, the analyst company said that "the relatively brighter IT budget outlook in government may be short-lived".

"Gartner projects a modest compound annual growth rate of 1.3% for IT spending in the government and education sectors through to the end of 2017, with increased spending for IT services, software and data centres," it said. "These increases are offset by reductions in internal technology services, devices and telecom services."