Queensland government renews ICT reform drive

The Queensland government has committed to digitise government services under an ICT Renewal Action Plan released today.

The document renews the government’s ICT Action Plan, which was released in August 2013 to deliver the Queensland ICT Strategy 2013-2017, a blueprint to improve services across the state through better use and analysis of government data, and by using modern, cost-efficient technology.

The government has already completed 59 of the 80 actions listed in the ICT Action Plan. IT Minister, Ian Walker, said the foundation for broader ICT and business reforms is in place, but there’s more work to be done.

“We want to do better and the ICT Renewal Action Plan will give a fresh priority to renewal and help us put into use the lessons we’ve learned,” he said in a statement.

“We have consulted with our stakeholders in industry and across government to update the plan so it reflects current challenges and government priorities to pursue the ICT-as-a-service agenda and a cloud-first approach to ICT.”

The state government listed three strategic objectives in the ICT Renewal Action Plan:

• effective digital services for clients
• effective digital services for government
• a transformed and capable workforce

“Thirteen renewal initiatives will be progressed in the next six months and future initiatives will be considered over the next 12 months,” said Walker.

“The initiatives in the action plan aim to enhance services to Queenslanders by optimising the use of ICT, with both existing and emerging technologies. We are looking to improve productivity and gain government efficiencies from streamlined processes and build capability in our workforce for the future.”

In April, the Queensland government signed an agreement with Microsoft to roll out Office 365 to 149,000 staff across its agencies. The government estimated the deal would reduce its IT costs by $13.7 million over the next three years.

“The Microsoft agreement is saving taxpayers $13.7 million and by being good housekeepers and savvy with our IT we have made an additional $39.8 million in savings since 2012,” said Walker.

The ICT Renewal Action Plan can be read in full on the Queensland government website.

Adam Bender covers telco and enterprise tech issues for Computerworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam

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