Public sector technology sourcing

Developments in technology, business practice and implementation require the technology sourcing practitioner to understand characteristics of the technology deployed, how data is used and transferred and the nature of the IT solution in the context of the sector in which it will operate. To explore the scope of further aspects of technology sourcing transactions, see:

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Technology sourcing—IT outsourcing—overview
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Technology sourcing—Cloud and technology sourcing—overview
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Technology sourcing—Data protection & technology sourcing—overview
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Technology sourcing—Technology and service integration—overview
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Technology sourcing—Financial Services and technology sourcing—overview

The public sector and technology sourcing arrangements

Historically, the meaning and nature of arrangements referred to as ‘outsourcing’ have been characterised by the transfer of an existing undertaking operated in-house to a specialist third party supplier. Typical outsourced IT services were characterised as those considered the remit of the ‘IT department’ reflecting, for example, the provision of support services in relation to desktop IT, servers, tech support, application development, network and communications, data centre management, cybersecurity and disaster recovery.

However, reflecting the significance of IT to business generally, Gartner defines IT outsourcing as ‘the use of external service providers to effectively

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