Part 5: Applying lessons from Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service: Are the benefits being achieved?

5.1
In this Part, we discuss whether the GCIO uses lessons from implementing Infrastructure as a Service to improve its broader implementation and management of changes to public sector ICT infrastructure.

Summary of our findings

5.2
The GCIO has not taken a structured approach to identifying lessons from implementing Infrastructure as a Service. However, the GCIO said that it has used lessons from implementing Infrastructure as a Service to design other shared ICT services.

5.3
People we talked to said that they would appreciate the GCIO finding ways to proactively share organisations' experiences of implementing Infrastructure as a Service to help them get more value from it.

5.4
We consider that, as the functional leader for public sector ICT, the GCIO could monitor and report opportunities and risks for ICT infrastructure throughout the public sector and proactively support organisations to increase the capabilities needed to move from traditional ICT models to "as a service" models.

Identifying and applying lessons from the implementation of Infrastructure as a Service

5.5
We expected the GCIO to take a structured approach to reviewing Infrastructure as a Service's implementation and make adjustments, as needed, to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. We expected the GCIO to:

  • understand organisations' experiences of joining Infrastructure as a Service;
  • share insights with organisations that are not using Infrastructure as a Service and encourage them to use it; and
  • transfer applicable lessons from implementing Infrastructure as a Service to the design and implementation of other shared ICT services.

5.6
The GCIO could not supply us with evidence that it took a structured approach to identifying lessons from implementing Infrastructure as a Service.

5.7
The GCIO said that, in practice, it has used its experience in implementing Infrastructure as a Service to design and implement other shared ICT services. The features of Infrastructure as a Service that it says have been carried over to other shared ICT services include:

  • collaborative working;
  • setting up panels of approved ICT providers;
  • using standard legal contracts;
  • using collective bargaining power to get beneficial commercial terms and conditions; and
  • a cost-recovery approach to fund the establishment of a shared ICT service and the GCIO's continuing management of it.

5.8
The GCIO has not systematically asked organisations for information about their experiences in using Infrastructure as a Service to make improvements or share useful practices, including identifying and addressing any barriers to uptake.19

5.9
For example, the people we talked to said that they would have valued the GCIO providing scenarios or case studies that show what other organisations have done, show whether those organisations achieved the benefits that they expected and how, and share tips on avoiding problems and risks.

5.10
Over time, the GCIO could identify organisations that have started using Infrastructure as a Service to advance their strategic goals and share the benefits this approach is delivering. This would help other organisations understand how Infrastructure as a Service can help to provide easy access to public services online.

5.11
The GCIO considers that generic scenarios and case studies would not help because each organisation's circumstances are unique. Instead, the GCIO uses a relationship management model to work with organisations individually, at the organisation's request.

5.12
The GCIO's staff do not document their knowledge about the organisation's relationship with the GCIO and Infrastructure as a Service, which means the information could be lost when staff leave the organisation.20

5.13
This creates a risk of undermining the GCIO's relationship management approach. It also means that data is not available to produce scenarios or to spot trends in the issues that organisations raise with the GCIO.

5.14
In our view, the GCIO could supplement its customised and responsive approach by proactively providing general information that organisations can get from the GCIO's website.

5.15
In implementing Infrastructure as a Service, the GCIO mainly focused on its procurement aspects. These are important but are not the only element. For example, the GCIO is also responsible for giving Cabinet assurance that organisations and the wider public sector are identifying ICT risks and managing them well.

5.16
However, the GCIO could not supply us with a report showing how the high-level ICT infrastructure profile for the potential pool of about 380 organisations that could use Infrastructure as a Service has changed since Infrastructure as a Service was introduced.

5.17
We consider that, as the functional leader for public sector ICT, the GCIO could:

  • monitor and report opportunities and risks for ICT infrastructure throughout the public sector, including:
    • providing a high-level view of ICT infrastructure in the wider public sector;21
    • leading initiatives to address opportunities and risks that Infrastructure as a Service might have introduced in the wider public sector; and
  • proactively support organisations to increase the capabilities needed to move from traditional ICT models to "as a service" models.

19: Lessons could include reasons why an organisation stops using Infrastructure as a Service.

20: For example, the GCIO does not keeps records of issues that organisations raise at operational meetings that discuss Infrastructure as a Service, because the GCIO wants to encourage free and frank conversations.

21: For example, it would be useful to know what proportion of organisations are using an "as a service" model for ICT infrastructure, even if they are not using Infrastructure as a Service.