How is the public sector buying innovative tech?

We're seeing more public sectors looking to emerging technology for their services. Here, we take a look at how they procure this tech, and what the future holds.

There are some public sectors making big waves already when it comes to innovative solutions, and we’re seeing a bigger focus on procuring new emerging tech to help transform government.

This is most likely because the public sector is already seeing big benefits from using innovative technology within their services, which is great. In this blog we take a look how the government is looking to procure these new and emerging technologies, and what this means for suppliers.

The Technology Innovation Strategy

In June of this year, the government announced its guidance on innovation and technology. More specifically, how this technology can be implemented into public services. In the strategy, they outlined three key fundamentals: People. Process and Data & Technology. It will work as guidance for transformation within government and public sectors, so has a big effect on what solutions they look to.

The biggest news to come from the launch of the strategy though was the announcement of the new Technology Innovation Marketplace, called Spark. The Dynamic Purchasing System works differently to a framework, in that suppliers can join at any point during its lifecycle – and has been championed by the government themselves as an easier way for SMEs to sell to the public sector!

The Spark DPS can include a wide range of technology, including Internet of Things tech, AI, wearables and much more. So, it’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re an SME.

Utilising the cloud

At Advice Cloud we’re big supporters of G-Cloud. And although it might not be anything particularly new, the framework still offers a way to sell new and emerging cloud technologies.

Since its inception, over £4.7bn in sales has gone through the G-Cloud framework – with over half a billion of that coming in 2019 alone. Now, with whisperings of a ‘Digital Marketplace 2’ and some tweaking done to G-Cloud, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds.

One thing we do know is that the adoption of cloud solutions within government is ongoing and part of it’s current strategy for digital transformation. Especially with them following their cloud first policy.

Smart Cities and Internet of Things

We’ve already mentioned the Spark DPS, which allows IoT and Smart tech to be sold through it, but there are many more recent and expected marketplaces that are encouraging the public sector to buy into this innovative tech – both of which are a hot topic within government at the moment. We’re seeing an increase in government departments looking at Internet of Things and Smart technology already, so we’re expecting to see more of these routes to procurement come into play.

One of these is the new Scottish IoT Dynamic Purchasing System. This one’s really new and offers a lot of scope for what can be included. Software, hardware and services such as device management are all suitable for the DPS. Its arrival focusing on the newest and best solutions for the Scottish government. Alongside this, CCS plan to lunch their Smart Cities framework next year, solely for the supply of Transport Technology Infrastructure.

With these new frameworks and marketplaces popping up, they’re creating great opportunities for suppliers (especially SMEs!) to get their innovative tech in front of the public sector. And with the government increasingly looking at emerging tech and innovation to deliver their services, these new agreements provide a way to keep your footing in a fast-paced market.