UK Government set for big intranet spend

Following prime minister Tony Blair's pledge to make government more efficient and customer focused, the research, from the Intranets in Government: the Kable Guide report will come as welcome news to a wide range of suppliers currently in sales contact with government IT buyers.

"Our research shows that, for once, changes in technology and government policy knit together - intranets can act as the conduit of change to make government more efficient and more customer focused," said Paul Smith, Kable's research manager.

An estimated 53 per cent of local authorities already have the necessary technology, added the report. As a result, a major appeal of intranet installation was the fact that the groundwork was already in place and improvements could be made without incurring massive costs.