4. âContracts were consistently awarded to
a limited number of very large suppliers
on long-term exclusive contractsâŠ
⊠there was inadequate competition
and an abdication of control.â
GDS
ERG
5. âSmaller, more innovative and efficient
suppliers were finding themselves
locked out of the supply of services to
Government because of the powerful
"oligopoly" of large suppliersâŠ
âŠwe had an approach that was bad for
users, bad for the taxpayer and bad for
growth.â
GDS
ERG
6. The prevailing models for
technology in Government were:
1.Multi-year sourcing contracts
to oligopoly suppliers
1.Multi-year, rolling consultancy
engagements
GDS
ERG
â In the past, the government procured all of its IT needs together with simple commodity requirements like email, collaboration and word processing procured alongside complex ones such as systems related to welfare and taxation. And contracts were consistently awarded to a limited number of very large suppliers on long-term exclusive contracts. As a result there was inadequate competition and an abdication of control . The concept of having one supplier, aggregated supply, increased project risk and removed competitive tension.
â At the same time smaller, more innovative and efficient suppliers were finding themselves locked out of the supply of services to Government because of what was described by Parliament as a powerful "oligopoly" of large suppliers. Procurements took so long only the big companies could absorb the cost â which they naturally passed on to us. All in all, we had an approach that was bad for users, bad for the taxpayer and bad for growth .â
Weâve stopped self-harming, we have controls in place, we've published great digital strategies