Opinion about Technology

We have the power, by Michael Ware

The recent change in the law allowing councils to sell power to the grid has had me thinking about how passive we are in our relationship to electricity. It comes out of the wall, I have never actually seen it, I am a bit vague as to how ‘it’ actually works (isn’t it electrons going in a big circle back to the power station ? ) and I think AC/DC was a technical term about current before it came to mean something more esoteric. But that’s the sum of my knowledge and I suspect that this relaxed attitude is shared by many in the public sector.
Read more...

6 September 2010 | Michael Ware

1 Comment »

Vote with your finger, by John Thornton

Digital technology is playing a major part in the election campaign, but the method of voting has yet to catch up Read more...

22 April 2010 | John Thornton

2 Comments »

Efficiency: real and imagined, by David Yip

Whichever party wins the next election, UK political culture is likely to maintain the drive for departmental or public body restructures to gain real or perceived efficiency. However, as the recent NAO report, Reorganising central government, clearly illustrates, failure is inevitable without a strong business case and clear objectives from the outset. Equally, the technology, people and property elements need careful structuring to achieve genuine efficiency savings. Read more...

13 April 2010 | David Yip

Post a comment

Screen savers, by John Thornton

In an increasingly digital world, all nations are vulnerable to cyber attacks that can paralyse services. Is the UK prepared? Read more...

25 March 2010 | John Thornton

Post a comment

Get smart, by John Thornton

Government IT projects have hit problems in the past, but this must not detract from the savings technology can make Read more...

18 February 2010 | John Thornton

Post a comment

Something to watch over me, by John Thornton

Technological advances not only allow more elderly and disabled people to live independently at home, they can save money too Read more...

22 January 2010 | John Thornton

Post a comment

Open sesame, by John Thornton

Should cost-conscious managers take advantage of the treasure trove on offer with open source software? Read more...

20 November 2009 | John Thornton

Post a comment

Silver linings, by John Thornton

The ‘G-cloud’ could help achieve the £7.2bn back-office savings required by ministers – but what is it? Read more...

22 October 2009 | John Thornton

1 Comment »

Digital evolution, by Daniel Heery

In the recent Cisco research looking at broadband speeds across the globe, the UK was nineteenth – ‘our infrastructure is perfectly adequate at the moment’ was the headline. It reminded me of what the canal owners said about their infrastructure when asked about railways in the mid-nineteenth century. Read more...

5 October 2009 | Daniel Heery

Post a comment

Share and share alike, by John Thornton

Electronic services can benefit citizens and save money. But first the public has to trust the systems Read more...

18 September 2009 | John Thornton

Post a comment

IT’s the way that you do it, by Peter Dye

Public sector finance directors have identified the demand for efficiency savings as their number one pressure Read more...

10 September 2009 | Peter Dye

Post a comment

Seeing the light

Public organisations really can find cost-saving changes by looking afresh at what they do Read more...

16 July 2009 | John Thornton

2 Comments »

Number crunching

Decide now if you’re going to let data streamline or swamp your organisation Read more...

26 June 2009 | John Thornton

Post a comment

Technologically speaking

PF’s new monthly column aims to cut through the IT hype and suggest new ways of using technology in public services.This should help organisations both to become more efficient and to save money Read more…

Share this post