The population of Lancashire is almost 1.5 million and Lancashire County Council is responsible for making the decisions regarding education, healthcare, legal and public services. The council has 84 councillors and is led by the Conservative Party. The largest industries based in Lancashire are defence industry (BAE Systems), nuclear power (British Energy) and Rolls Royce has a manufacturing facility. The county is home to the University of Lancaster and University of Central Lancashire. The council is the largest employer in the county and had a budget of £725 million in 2011. However this has been reduced as the council aim to save nearly £180 million over the next three years. New IT deals have been signed as part of this initative as well as the council reducing the number of executive directors. Lancashire County Council recently signed a deal with BT to outsource its IT, HR and payroll services for the next 10 years. BT’s service, One Connect will have a majority responsibility for the services (60%) and the council will have the remaining 40%. This deal has been signed as part of the councils plan to reduce costs and improve services. Mark Orford is the current ICT director for Lancashire County Council and has previously worked for BT and Liverpool Direct limited in a similar capacity to his role at Lancashire. IT leader:Mark Orford, Director of ICT Services. In role since:Six years with BT and Director of ICT within this Local Government Contract since February 2011. Reporting line:CEO. How often does the CIO meet with the CEO:Weekly as required. Board level seat:Leadership Board as part of local contract SMT. IT budget:The IT operational spend compared to company turnover as a percentage is 30% IT estate and or number of log on accounts under the control of the IT leader:20,000 users. IT staff currently employed:320. Split between in-house/outsourced staff:All in house. IT management team and reporting structure:Team of four ICT senior managers – Head of Platforms & Systems, Head of Assurance, Head of Project Delivery and Design. Primary technology platforms at the organisation:Oracle ERP. Primary technology suppliers:Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco. Significant strategic technology deals struck in the last 12 months:MacAfee Security connected. Percentage of your applications/infrastructure run from the cloud:None at present. Major technology or transformation project recently completed and how did it transform operations, customer experience or the organisation:Oracle ERP has radically transformed business processes and delivered essential cost savings. Business transformation programme – beyond technology – that the CIO owns or is a major contributor to:Security Connected. Strategic aim of the CIO and IT operation for the next financial year:Major transformation and Service Excellence. Strategy in the use by employees of their own technology, use of mobiles and how social networking is impacting operations, customer experiences or the organisation:We are embracing BYOD but ensuring the correct security footprint is available. Strategy for dealing with shadow IT and BYOD including influence and engagement with executives, to place the right controls around employee choice:Yes this is high on the agenda. Technologies being considered to enable transformation:Mobile applications and self-service IT. Transformational inspiration sources:Conferences, case studies, suppliers, IT Press, Forums, Research organisations, BT itself.