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At the end of last week, another high profile figure tasked with driving forwards the UK Government IT strategy announced his departure from the Cabinet Office. Chris Chant, G-Cloud Programme Director, will retire at the end of April. As part of his role, he drove the implementation of the Cloudstore (see UK Government Cloudstore – Cynical? Us?).
In typical forthright fashion, in his blog last week he stated his belief that UK Government CIOs have been “hiding behind the comfort blanket” and “that comfort blanket is on fire”. He was referring to the tendency of CIOs to sign expensive contracts with big IT suppliers. If by comfort blanket, he means what is considered by the CIO responsible to be the low risk option, then it is totally understandable that CIOs have acted in this way. They are dealing with mission critical systems related to crucial public services. “Innovating” isn’t always an option, particularly if that means opting for an SME (notably the “S” of SME) without the strong financial footing of a large SI or outsourcer. There might be some changes afoot but such a mindset will be difficult to change.
The Cabinet Office continues to push its messages out around Cloud Computing, Open Standards and Open Source, working with SMEs and the like. However, Chris Chant was one of the most vocal in his support for the Government IT Strategy. There’s little doubt that newly appointed Deputy UK Government CIO, Liam Maxwell, will continue to fight the cause (see Liam Maxwell appointed Deputy UK Government CIO). And will watch with interest to see how Denise McDonagh, Home Office IT Director, deals with the role as she takes over from Chant. However, unlike Chant, McDonagh will be taking on the G-Cloud role alongside her other responsibilities at the Home Office.
