NZ ICT offers Government cash savings

The Government could save more than $180 million on ICT expenditure if it listens to the NZ ICT. The group that represents vendors in the ICT industry presented ICT Minister Steven Joyce with a paper outlining its view of the future of ICT in New Zealand, at a special function on Friday marking the NZ ICT’s 12-month anniversary.The Near Future Digital Priorities paper states the Government’s $1.8 billion annual IT expenditure could be cut by 10%.NZ ICT CEO Brett O’Riley suggested two key areas the Government could save on included server infrastructure and telepresence.O’Riley says working with Government to provide valuable ICT consulting is the core role of the NZ ICT – and the release of Near Future Digital Priorities paper is the start.One of the key drivers of the paper is the need to augment a “digital master plan” for the country to work towards, he says. But it is helping the Government make “better use” of its ICT funding that will drive greater productivity – a role O’Riley believes is made for the NZ ICT. In regards to server infrastructure, O’Riley highlighted that a lot of government agencies, schools and hospitals throughout the country have their own individual servers. The Government could save if these were consolidated. Telepresence could also help the Government cut back on travel costs, he says. “Why do we have politicians flying around New Zealand and internationally, for meetings, when telepresence could offer a suitable substitute? Multinationals have been doing it for years,” he told IT Brief.“There are opportunities to look at the money that is spent today and see if we can look at ways to spend it wisely and for better returns.”