July 31, 2007

Public sector wastes Â£70m a year on IT disposal

by Jan Harris

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According to a National Audit Office (NAO) report - ‘Improving the disposal of public sector ICT Equipment’ - the public sector could save Â£70m a year by replacing its hardware more frequently.

At the moment, the average public sector organisation replaces its hardware every five years, while current best commercial practice indicates that IT equipment should be replaced every three years.

Replacing hardware more frequently allows savings to be made from reduced maintenance costs. It also increases the resale value of the equipment.

The report also highlights the need for better leadership from Government in order to understand wider environmental costs related to the disposal of IT equipment and how best to secure value in the longer term.

The NAO recommends that government bodies such as the Office of Government Commerce, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Environment Agency, should undertake a joint analysis of how to get the best value out of public sector IT equipment.

According to the NAO the analysis should look at ways of reducing the amount of ICT equipment purchased, the wider environmental costs and benefits of disposing of IT equipment earlier, the possible use of second hand and re-useable ICT equipment in other sectors such as schools, and ways in which the public sector could use its purchasing power as a catalyst for environmentally beneficial changes in the design and manufacture of IT equipment.

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