The New Norm

An irreversible change.  Whenever the current economic crisis comes to an end, we shall live in and face a different world where many things will have changed. New regulations will have been introduced, corporate and public sector organisations will have reacted, and global economic power will continue to shift. Read more about The New Norm ...

The effect of the global financial crisis on low-income countries

Evidence is increasing that the global recession is having a particularly strong effect on the world’s poorer countries, which have fewer ways to protect themselves. The World Bank has predicted that 53 million more people will fall into poverty in 2009 (defined as subsistence living on less than 1.25 dollars a day), which comes on top of “soaring food and fuel prices in recent years". Read more about The effect of the global financial crisis on low-income countries...

New Thinking Needed for the Hard Road Ahead 

The 2009 Budget on 22 April confirmed the worrying state of public finances in the UK and has major implications for spending in the public sector over coming years.  The growth in the National Debt and contraction of the economy will eventually mean that either tax will be raised or public spending reduced, or possibly both.  Reduction in public spending will mean that Government Departments will need to do more than achieve efficiency savings.  Read more about New Thinking Needed for the Hard Road Ahead...

Public Sector Challenges in 2009

The world has changed in the short time between the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Reports in 2007 and 2008. Whilst those in the private sector continue to weather the brunt of the storm with failed businesses, job losses and an unpredictable future, the public sector also faces its toughest challenges to date . Read More about Public Sector Challenges in 2009...

Reducing IT costs without destroying value

Organisations are continually under pressure to control the amount they spend on IT, but never more so than in the current downturn as organisations look to curtail investment programmes and reduce costs.  However IT cost reductions should always be approached with value in mind; if cutting IT costs destroys business value,  then the reductions will be a false economy.  Read more about Reducing IT costs without destroying value...

Rising to the challenge of the Operational Efficiency Programme

The Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) puts additional pressure on Government.  Senior private sector advisors are tasked with helping Government find a further £30bn of savings across a number of cross cutting initiatives.   Again, there will be more focus on the frontline, and streamlining of the back office, but additionally, delving deeper into other areas such as asset management and property which could yield further cost savings. Can Government step up to this latest challenge? Read more...

The Evolution of Lean Thinking in the NHS

Identity Management – Can the privacy conflicts be resolved?

The identity management debate has suggested that individuals are unnecessarily losing their privacy through technologically enabled surveillance such as ID cards. However, Atos Origin believes there is a solution that can maintain individual privacy yet enable new methods of identification. Atos Origin’s vision for a secure ID scheme shows that these two objectives need not conflict. Read more...

Contestability – the key to realising CSR 07 savings?

Achieving CSR 07 targeted savings to administration costs of 5% year on year will require radical changes to the way departments procure external support. This typically represents half of the operating costs. Simply looking to “buy things better” will not be enough.  Rather departments will need to look at how they do things and make radical changes to their business models.  The concept of contestability is likely to be a core part of the solution to this challenge. Read more...