By Freya Purnell
Despite the cost savings a move to shared services can deliver to cash-strapped public sector agencies, many do not believe it would save enough money to make it worthwhile, according to a new survey by analyst firm Ovum.
The survey gauged the attitudes of CIOs in public sector agencies around the world on the sharing of services at a time when many are facing budget cuts. When asked what barriers they faced, almost half of those in Europe (49 per cent) cited concerns that it would not save enough cash to make it beneficial for them.
In North America, this reason was cited by 46 per cent of respondents, and by 29 per cent in the Asia Pacific.
Ovum analyst Jessica Hawkins said, “The move to shared services does involve upheaval and invariably means changing software applications, which in turn can require system and data migration and all the complexity that this entails. Many agencies have the perception that there is not enough money to be saved to make this worthwhile.”
Ovum’s survey also revealed that many public sector agencies worry about losing control of their key business operations with a move to shared services. This fear was held by 31 per cent of Asia Pacific respondents, 39 per cent of those from Europe and 68 per cent from North America.
“Changing the dynamics of service delivery is an emotive issue for public sector bodies and can cause them to fear that they are losing control of their key business operations. This is compounded by the prospect of job losses and the legal complexity of transferring staff to a shared services model,” Hawkins said.
