IDC said in a new survey that Western European central governments will spend 22 percent more on new e-government projects this year, with almost a quarter of individuals surveyed predicting a rise in the number of new initiatives. About 10 percent of central government respondents said that maintenance and e-government-related service spending would also grow. Demand for outsourced services is also expected to rise, with some 28 percent of central government and 18 percent of local government executives indicating that the share of IT that they source from external providers will grow in 2005. Interestingly, the report also said that local government executives are more upbeat about the possibility of increased expenditure. However, the report went on to say that many government IT executives are more cautious now "compared to the first years of the e-government hype."
"IT vendors that want to capture a share of this IS (Information Systems) budget need to promote offerings that target the needs of the fastest growing segments and build partner ecosystems that put them in the right channel," said Massimiliano Claps, program manager, public sector, IDC European vertical markets.
Vendors looking to win business should focus on delivering low cost of ownership and high technical skills, which are the main criteria of e-government executives, IDC said.
Finally, the report claimed that system integrators will play a big role in the future of Western European governments' IT spending. Over one-third of respondents to the survey indicated that system integrators and consultants will be the primary source of IT for governments. Moreover, these executives said that they will buy about 30 percent of their software from system integrators as well.
Earlier this year, IDC predicted that Europe will spend USD4.2 billion each year on e-government projects until 2008.
Autor: Matthew Clark
Quelle: ElectricNews, 07.07.2005
