The news last Thursday that Northgate Managed Services has put itself up for sale comes as little surprise to those of us with extensive experience in the managed services sector. The company has been struggling to provide any significant return for its…

There are many factors that you must consider when entering into a service commissioning partnership. You are no doubt familiar with the “usual suspects” – price and capability. It isn’t unreasonable for them to be key considerations – after all,…

Mainstream media hasn’t been shy in publicising the shortcomings of outsourcing and commissioning providers in recent times. Whether it has been the G4S debacle, or the more recent news that outsourcing specialist Mouchel has been taken over by its bankers,…

Despite good intentions on both sides of the fence, a service provider partnership can falter and you may find yourself considering options for service recovery. There are many reasons as to why this can happen (such as contract clauses), but…

At Best Practice Group, we regularly get involved in established commissioning partnerships that are in dire need of revitalisation. More often than not, a client will seek out our services with the aim of dismantling their commissioning contract with minimum…

According to a Gartner survey, 53% of organisations that have outsourced reported challenges relating to a lack of project/programme management skills. Or to put it another way, they had no experienced outsourcing governance. When considering outsourcing, the creation of a Governance Team is…

There is an unfortunate mistake that many organisations make when first considering strategic commissioning. That mistake may seem so small as to be irrelevant, but it can make all the difference between a successful long term partnership and a contract…

Local authorities have been badly hit by the austerity measures being put in place by Central Government. That fact has been apparent for several years. Not only are authorities dealing with an increase in demands from their constituents, they are…

You’ve decided that you want to outsource, but you haven’t decided which of the outsourcing methods is the best. You have internal processes that are functioning well, and outsourcing seems the next logical step in terms of reducing overheads and…

At Best Practice Group, one of our greatest frustrations is seeing major service provider relationships erode in a very public manner, when better management could not only have prevented such an outcome, but served to benefit both parties and led…

Last week we explored the differences between important and urgent issues in service provider relationships, and how to effectively shape your daily work hours to minimise preventable urgent issues. In the long run, following our advice should not only make…

Your milestone deadline is looming ever closer. You’re only about 70% towards completion, and it feels like you are wading through treacle. Everyone is anxious. Your Board and peers are anticipating good news – because that is what you promised…

Many local authorities are in dire financial straits. There is an ever-increasing pressure to take a hatchet to costs. They have to invent, experiment and pilot new ways of delivering services in a culture that is extremely averse to risk.…

Although I only joined Best Practice Group recently, I have already been well-exposed to the grim reality of faltering and failing service provider relationships. As a Sales Director and Managing Director of IT vendors during my career, I used to…

The back office ICT system was bought a few years ago. It was hailed as a fantastic piece of procurement by the team that was chosen to select a vendor and a package, the benefits that your company were to realise…

A recent court case highlights that warranties for work performed in ICT or outsourcing contracts must be reasonable in terms of the time they apply. In the J Murphy & Sons Limited v Johnson Precast Limited case, Clause 14(i) was…

A judgment from a recent court case suggests you can now contractually rely on the advice from your service provider – even if the contract terms try to exclude it. Standard contracts provided by the vendor will often try to exclude…

A new court ruling will make them think again… DE BEERS v ATOS ORIGIN [2010] Have you ever had this happen to you? A vendor commences a major project – perhaps for a large software initiative, service commissioning or outsourcing. Part…

One of my roles is as Deputy Chairman of SOCITM Insight, the local authority IT management think tank. SOCITM has just published its annual Better Connected survey. In it, SOCITM complain Councils still don’t embrace the digital route when it comes to…

Yet again, just last week the Government confirmed the scrapping of another major IT project; £12bn of taxpayers’ money down the drain. But is it a relief for the NHS which needs to save some £20bn? Organisations need manageable change,…

A £41m Oracle enterprise resource planning project, run by Deloitte and undertaken by Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board (PLCB’s) has been marred by inflated costs, staffing woes and operational problems, according to a damning report by the state’s auditor general. While PLCB’s…

The report Government and IT- “A Recipe For Rip-Offs”: Time For A New Approach published by the Public Administration Committee states that a complete overhaul of the entire system of procurement is needed to eliminate the ‘cartel’ of big IT firms and…

We read that Partnership for Schools (PfS) the government quango that was in charge of the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative will be abolished by April 2012. Considering the BSF programme was scrapped in Summer 2010…

Severn Trent Water (STW) is blaming a possible hosepipe ban on their new £70million computer system. It is claimed that challenges caused by their new SAP system are delaying the fixing of leaks, meaning targets are not being met and staff morale…

“Honest dear, I really am doing the painting, or shopping, or looking after the kids, helping with the housework, cleaning the car…” …as you quickly hide your Blackberry, iPhone or other device which you have been sirruptiously checking your emails…

We have been involved in several BSF projects over recent times. Unfortunately, most of them from the point of helping to recover these projects, rather than being involved during the procurement cycle to help avoid problems in the first place. Whilst the…

A report has been published by the Institute of Government stating that Government ICT is an “outdated model”. The problem with comments like this, is that the Government has a view that the majority of Private Sector ICT projects (in…

SOCTIM Conference – Promoting Innovation, Ingenuity and Value in Local Government IT Competition for this year’s awards was strong, with entries unerringly in line with technology’s leading edge. But it is not only that which made these awards so unique. It…