Liam Maxwell is the Government CTO and has risen through the ranks and is considered to be a major reformer. Alongside his new boss Mike Bracken, the executive director of the Government Digital Service, Maxwell is working on implementing the government’s ‘digital by default’ strategy, which aims to make it easier for IT firms to bid for public sector contracts while also reducing the cost of procuring, managing and implementation. Although there is a lot to be delivered yet, the panel agreed that Maxwell has the zeal of a reformer and transformer that is needed in the corridors of Whitehall. Richard Sykes said: "The forecast is that in a year's time we'll be very impressed with what's happening. He's spending a lot of time putting the underground politics into place which I think is then going to deliver." Jerry Fishenden said: "You can only begin to imagine the fights he has every single day." IT leader:Liam Maxwell, CTO. In role since:December 2012. Reporting line:Mike Bracken, the executive director of the Government Digital Service. Major technology or transformation project recently completed and how did it transform operations, customer experience or the organisation:Maxwell is working on implementing the Government’s ‘digital by default’ strategy. Cloud computing is one of the strategies we’ve have employed to make government IT more cost-effective and to involve a wider range of suppliers, and we are moving to a cloud-first position. The Government CloudStore offers a dynamic procurement system that permits companies to sell their technologies. Did the above project reach its cost, timing and transformation objective:The National Audit Office acknowledges that our ICT reforms and spending controls saved the taxpayer £316 million last year alone, and savings will go north of £400 million this by applying the ICT strategy to what we are doing – this is folding money, real savings that are independently audited. Business transformation programme – beyond technology – that the CIO owns or is a major contributor to: The Government wishes to develop 23 exemplar services from the seven major Whitehall departments will transform into new or re-designed digital services, starting working in April 2013 for implementation by March 2015. Of the 600 government transactional services, 49 account for 99% of all of the transactions that are made with citizens. Each of the seven departments has identified exemplar services of over 100,000 transactions per year for digitisation. The exemplar services include: at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS): Online management of intellectual property rights; BIS redundancy payments; BIS Land Registry digital delivery. At the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA): the Common Agricultural Policy Delivery Programme, which aims to make it more efficient and easier to administer payments to farmers. At the Department for Transport’s DVLA Integrated Enquiry Platform, creating a new service for users to cover the motor insurance industry and driver enquiries; and the Department for Work and Pensions’ services for managing Universal Credit and Carers’ Allowance. The other departments involved are Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. Their new and re-designed digital services involve making it easier and cheaper, for example, to file a self-assessment tax form to HMRC; and to provide travellers via the Home Office’s e-gates service with “a secure and convenient self-service process when crossing borders.” The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is developing new digital services to make it easier to make fee payments online, to book prison visits, to make it less cumbersome and quicker to apply for a lasting power of attorney. The MoJ’s civil claims service is also being re-designed. Strategic aim of the CIO and IT operation for the next financial year: By centralising Crown Representatives, the government procurement body, you get a common Crown customer experience for suppliers and the Government doesn’t receive different rates for similar IT solutions – and this means that we can identify and secure the best price. Technologies being considered to enable transformation:The latest figures show that G-Cloud sales continue to grow steadily and there has been over £7.4 million in sales through the CloudStore, of which £5.1 million or 70% has been with SMEs.