Prognos för offentlig sektor
Molnigt, med chans för IT som en tjänst
The public sector in Sweden outsources its core business to a very large extent, whileinsisting on running its IT operations internally in a traditional way. IT as a service ingeneral and cloud computing in particular has become incredibly popular in recentyears, offering cost efficiency and greater ability for the business to concentrate on itscore activities, which is why it should be a promising alternative to the traditional wayof running IT internally. To achieve an understanding of why IT as a service has yetto take off in the public sector, a study of its use of IT/IS, what the effect of IT as aservice is, and the opportunities and challenges that cloud computing represents, isnecessary.The study, which was conducted using a qualitative hermeneutic approach, was initiatedby a literature review, followed by six in-depth interviews with five respondents,all of which hold many years of experience in the area. The outcome of the interviewsindicated that IT as a service should represent a promising and feasible way of reachinghigher levels of cost control, and a greater focus on core activities. Furthermore,the results indicated that Swedish legislation along with a high level of businesscomplexitymight be reasons for the low amount of IT as a service in the public sector.Through careful analysis and examination of the business? current situation, as well ascomprehensive knowledge of Swedish legislation with regards to the implications ofLagen om offentlig upphandling, the public sector can avoid IT as a service becomingmore expensive and more complicated than necessary, and achieve cost efficiencyalong with a greater focus on its core activities through it.Future research could examine the possibility of a framework for the integration ofcloud services within the public sector?s IT/IS environment, and whether there is aspecific size of a cloud implementation at which it?s more cost efficient to go withtraditional IT operations.