Earlier this week TechMarketView was delighted to be able to organise a dinner for the dozen Little British Battlers (LBBs) which participated in our inaugural LBB initiative at the beginning of the year. Liam Maxwell, Executive Director, IT Reform at the Cabinet Office, and Deputy Government CIO, agreed to join us and the LBB CEOs to discuss the trials and tribulations that small IT companies endure trying to secure business with UK Government.
A key part of Liam’s role is to greatly expand the choice of suppliers for government departments procuring IT products and services, and in particular to introduce small UK-headquartered IT companies into the mix. As such, this was an unparalleled opportunity for our first tranche of Little British Battlers to make their voice heard at a very senior level in government IT procurement.
The evening was a great success. Attendees participated in a lively discussion about the UK Government’s SME policy and contributed their ideas on improving the efficiency of the procurement process, on the Government’s transformation journey and on boosting economic growth. Hot topics included the transparency of Government procurement plans, the responsibilities of the large systems integrators in contributing to the SME agenda, and 
how SMEs can get the attention of the top-level decision makers.
Liam and his colleagues at the Cabinet Office are keen to repeat the dinner with LBB participants from our next event (scheduled for 12th February 2013) – see Calling all Little British Battlers! We are in the process of sifting through the many applications received and will be revealing the selected companies in the New Year.