Change and Transformation in the Public Sector
The UK Home Office, responsible for immigration, security, and law enforcement, faced challenges with siloed and inefficient application development and support services. In response, the Home Office established a Shared Applications Service (SAS), their in-house application development and support capability, operating in three sites across the UK – Manchester, Croydon, and Sheffield. IBM, with its knowledge in creating delivery centers, helped the Home Office design and implement their in-house engineering capability as part of their overall IT Operating Model.
The partnership accelerated SAS’s establishment, facilitating rapid onboarding of applications and operational scaling while standardising processes. This collaboration enabled the Home Office to reduce costs, improve service quality, and establish efficient in-house engineering capabilities.
The project, structured for swift implementation and phased execution, focused on empowering the Civil Service to own and sustain the operation independently. Over 80 deliverables were produced collaboratively, including operational procedures and governance frameworks, ensuring a seamless transition.
The SAS implementation exceeded expectations, achieving significant milestones ahead of schedule. Currently, 303 applications have been onboarded, showcasing the service’s scalability. Notably, critical applications like Metis (Home Office HR and Payroll system) were seamlessly transitioned, minimising disruptions.
Key to success was the collaborative partnership between IBM and the Home Office, which fostered mutual trust and confidence. The project’s success was further underscored by testimonies from James Barton, Chief Technology Officer at the Home Office, praising the partnership’s role in building civil servant capabilities and transitioning services efficiently.
The project’s phased approach, coupled with continuous improvement efforts, ensured that the final product aligned with the Home Office’s needs. The project exemplifies a paradigm shift in the public sector’s IT management, highlighting the efficacy of centralised operating models and collaborative partnerships.
In summary, the Home Office’s Shared Applications Service initiative, supported by strategic collaboration, has revolutionised application management, demonstrating unprecedented efficiency gains and setting a benchmark for sustainable change in the public sector’s IT landscape
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