Public sector - Blue Light

The UK police service has been set a target of saving £1 billion by 2015 and the fire and rescue services also face significant cuts. 

The emphasis is on improving efficiency to achieve cost savings with minimal impact on the front line.

For every emergency service, the challenge is to do more with less. Effective front line service delivery will require greater intelligence and efficiency, whilst the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) is reinforcing the need for collaboration and sharing to achieve significant savings.

Reduce IT spend – A free half day consultancy offers the chance to evaluate the existing IT infrastructure, from contact centre services to the cost of maintenance contracts. The results will include both immediate opportunities for cost savings as well as future chances to streamline the infrastructure. These include:

• Replace the voice network with a single VoIP solution to reduce costs.
• Leverage the drop in mobile costs to replace the fixed voice infrastructure.
  Find out more »

Rationalise system lifetime costs – Taking a close look at the way the communications infrastructure is purchased and maintained can transform total cost of ownership.

• A new approach to communications financing can drive down costs and enable a smooth transition from outdated, and expensive to maintain, voice and data infrastructure to a new, cost effective IP infrastructure.
• Overhauling existing maintenance contracts will typically drive down costs by 20%.
• Consolidate data, voice and mobile requirements with a single supplier reduces the reliance on multiple partners, which increases the cost to manage. A consolidated model also improves information sharing and operational collaboration. Find out more »

Increase operational efficiency – There are huge productivity gains to be achieved from innovation such as Unified Communications. Built in technology refresh is key to facilitating continual evolution from the use of presence to improve productivity to enabling home working. Find out more »

National Police Improvement Agency www.npia.police.uk
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) www.acpo.police.uk
UK Fire Service Resources www.fireservice.co.uk