The targets set for centralised government ICT services have not yet been fully achieved.
Placing all shared government ICT services under a single body was a goal set out in the Government Programme in 2011. The aim was to reduce the cost of providing the services. The services were centralised under the Government ICT Centre Valtori, which was established for this purpose. Making all government ICT purchases the responsibility of Valtori and the government’s central purchasing body Hansel was also expected to generate savings. The savings target was EUR 47 million by the year 2018.
The basic information technology used in government agencies (hardware, software, data communications and hosting services) has a major impact on the functioning of central government as a whole and it generates substantial costs. For this reason, the National Audit Office has examined the organisation of centralised government ICT services and whether the targets set for the centralisation of the services and procurement were achieved by the year 2018.
In 2017, Valtori started a series of development measures, which came too late to have any effects on the audit conclusions or the customer experience. The centralisation has not yet produced all the envisaged benefits. Most of the savings achieved so far have been based on Hansel’s framework arrangements. In accordance with the well-established practice, NAOF will assess the post-audit changes after two years.
The audit presents recommendations on whether all basic information technology purchases could be made the responsibility of a single body so that adequate resources can be ensured and customer needs considered, and whether cost and quality indicators could be used more extensively in the steering of Valtori.
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