Government IT will be more open to outsourcing and cloud computing technologies in 2011 as departments work to drive efficiencies, according to analyst house Ovum.
In response to the Comprehensive Spending Review budget cuts, and in an effort to streamline processes, Ovum said that government agencies will be more willing to consider consumption-based and shared delivery models over the next 12 months.
The analyst said in its '2011 Trends to Watch: Government Technology' report: "The door to BPO, shared services and on-demand access, for example, will be far more open than ever before, creating an opportunity to be open, creative and innovative."
"'Non-core' functions are generally the preferred areas which government will look to outsource, and business functions with potential for automation will deliver the greatest savings," it added.
According to the report, the UK government is ahead of other governments in terms of its thinking in the shift to a cloud-based way of providing services.
"The talk of a government-specific cloud seems to be taking hold," Ovum said.
However, Jessica Hawkins, Ovum analyst and author of the report, said that government should go beyond seeing the new IT service delivery models simply as cost-cutting measures.
"[Government should] adopt a long-term vision of how fundamental changes to the way they deliver services will bring efficiency," she said.
Meanwhile, Ovum believes the government's transparency and accountability agendas will continue to make an impact, with greater use of business intelligence and analytics expected.
Approaches to procurement are also expected to change.
"With every penny counting and governments keen to ensure there is more visibility and accountability of how taxpayers' money is spent, in 2011 agencies will look at new ways of procuring services. In addition there will be changes in how contracts look - in some cases we will see consolidation," said Hawkins.