Kable taxonomy of
public sector ICT spend
Contents
1
2
Kable’s taxonomy ................................
................................................................................................
................................2
Detailed Taxonomy ................................
................................................................
..............................................................3
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
3
4
Hardware ................................
................................................................................................
...................................................... 3
Software ................................
................................................................................................
....................................................... 4
Services ................................
................................................................................................
....................................................... 5
Communications................................
................................................................................................
........................................... 7
Staff ................................
................................................................................................
.............................................................. 7
Detailed Taxonomy ................................
................................................................
..............................................................8
Vertical Definitions ................................
................................................................
..............................................................9
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
Central government ................................................................................................
...................................... 9
Criminal justice ................................
................................................................................................
............................................. 9
Defence ................................
................................................................................................
........................................................ 9
Education ................................
................................................................................................
..................................................... 9
Healthcare ................................
................................................................................................
.................................................... 9
Local government ................................
................................................................................................
......................................... 9
Transport ................................
................................................................................................
...................................................... 9
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
www.kable.co.uk / + 44 (0) 207
20 936 6997
2
1 Kable’s taxonomy
This document is intended to provide guidance for both Kable’s customers and for those public sector bodies that
contribute to our research.
Kable views the public sector ICT expenditure landscape as falling into five main categories: hardware, software, IT
services, communications and staff. Within each of these categories, we recognise several sub-categories.
sub
The
definitions at sub-category
category level do not extend to an exhaustive list of line items but are intended to provide
comprehensive guidance on what is included and what should be assigned elsewhere.
Kable tracks every published contract and award for UK public sector ICT, and we assign each contract either to a
single sub-category
category of spend or proportionally to two or more sub
sub-categories.
We also conduct individual primary research with each of the 1,760 public bodies that we track and profile, and with
representative bodiess from the broader public sector, in which we ask CIOs to detail their ICT spend according to
this taxonomy.
Hardware
Desktop PCs
Portable PCs
Servers
IT consumables
Network equipment (for local connectivity)
Storage
Peripherals and other hardware
Software
Application licences
Middleware licences
System licences
Services
Hardware maintenance
Software maintenance
Custom software
Hosting
IT outsourcing
Managed communications
IT consultancy
Training
System integration
Communications
Fixed line
Networking equipment (for external connectivity)
Wireless/mobile
In-house staff
Staff
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
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2 Detailed Taxonomy
2.1 Hardware
Desktop PCs
All desktop computers (including Apple Macs), including dumber devices and workstations used in
“thin client” implementations.
We exclude all software licensing costs from this category and also (wherever possible) the costs of
standard accessories such as monitors, keyboards and mice.
Portable PCs
This category includes tablets, laptop and netbook computers. Sm
Smartphone
artphone devices are covered in
the wireless/mobile category. We do not believe that convergence is yet at the point where devices
cannot be separated into telephones and computers. Again, software licensing costs are excluded.
Servers
This category includes servers, mainframes, and “mini” servers. Where possible, racking costs are
not included.
IT Consumables
Ink, toner cartridges.
NB paper is not included here or elsewhere in the Kable taxonomy.
Network equipment (for local connectivity)
LAN networking equipment including wireless and wireline routers, and local physical infrastructure
including cabling, docking stations, racks. Converged IP networking infrastructure used for both voice
and data is included in the category; dedicated VoIP infr
infrastructure
astructure and all handset / IP PBX
equipment is excluded.
Storage
This category is for network attached storage and external storage devices, including USB sticks.
Peripherals and other hardware
This category covers input and output devices includin
including printers, network-attached
attached photocopiers and
multi-functional
functional devices, monitors, keyboards, mice, specialised display (eg whiteboards), web
cameras, speakers. The category excludes audio/video conferencing and endpoint equipment, which
is covered in the communications
ommunications category.
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
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2.2 Software
Application licences
Commercial “off-the-shelf”
shelf” application software. Tweaks and templates to applications are covered in
the services category as custom software and as system integration. Applications are defined as
software that is available to non-technical
technical end users, largely productivity tools. This category also
includes applications delivered as a service (Software as a Service).
Middleware licences
Commercial “off-the-shelf”
shelf” licences for middleware including database and web server products. This
category also includes comparable products delivered as a service (Platform as a Service).
S
System licences
Commercial “off-the-shelf”
shelf” licences for operating systems and for network
network/infrastructure
/infrastructure management
software.. This category also includes applications delivered as a service (Software as a Service).
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
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2.3 Services
Hardware maintenance
Also includes support but first-line
line helpdesk for end users is only included here if dedicated
exclusively to specific hardware.
Software maintenance
Includes upgrades, patches and support but first
first-line
line helpdesk for end users is only included
here if dedicated exclusively to specific software.
Custom software
Includes software development and tweaks/templates for off
off-the-shelf
shelf applications. Investment
Inve
in open source software is included here.
Hosting
Includes the provision of data centres, hosting environments
environments,, maintenance and management,
asset inventory, production control and disaster recovery outside of services provided as part of
an IT outsourcing contract. Includes
ncludes services delivered on a transactional or utility basis
(Infrastructure as a Service).
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
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IT Outsourcing
A significant category that covers all outsourced provision of IT including desktop, hosting,
applications maintenance and support, applications development and service integration and
management (SIAM). IT elements of BPO and of Business Process as a Service are also included
in this category. Discrete elements of IT outsourcing are recognised as follows:
Desktop – Services for all desktops, laptops and pe
peripheral/associated
ripheral/associated devices, including hardware,
system and productivity software licenses associated with end
end-user
user devices, and first-line
first
helpdesk
Hosting – Provision of data centres, hosting environment, maintenance and management, asset
inventory, production control and disaster recovery.
Applications Development – Developments of new applications and major enhancements, software
solution lifecycle management and on request support services.
Software Licensing and Maintenance – The provision of line-of-business application maintenance
and support within the applications environment including COTS licenses, management of
applications, databases, changes, releases, availability and capacity.
Service
vice Integration and Management (SIAM) – SIAM addresses the overall control and coordination
of services,, responsibilities within the relationship include requests for service, releases,
configurations, service delivery, availability, capacity, information and financial management.
Managed communications
This includes managed voice, data and mobile communications services attached to an SLA that
requires the management and hosting of the majority of the service stack by an external provider.
Simple calls and lines services are excluded.
IT consultancy
This category includes all professional services to ICT managers that are not covered by other
services category. It also includes contract or temporary staff whom either the customer or the
supplier prefer to identify as consultants.
Training
This applies to the training of ICT staff in ICT technologies and the training of non
non-technical
technical staff in
ICT applications, rather than the training of ICT staff in non
non-technical skills.
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
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Systems integration
Contracted IT projects or programmes relates specifically to the deployment, configuration and roll
out of one or more applications and associated infrastructure within an enterprise.
2.4 Communications
Fixed line
This includes all spend on fixed voice and data services including calls and lines, fax, broadband,
leased line, video and conferencing services. It also includes handsets and other fixed-line
fixed
endpoints.
Managed telecoms services are excluded from this and counted in the service category. We exclude
ex
the cost of associated network management software from this category where possible.
Networking equipment
This category covers networking equipment for external connectivity: PBX, IP PBX and infrastructure
(cabling, racks etc) that supports WAN an
and
d MAN networking. It covers WAN routers and all switches.
It also includes commercial off-the
the-shelf
shelf software associated with communications network
management, with VoIP and with converged communications platforms, although software that is
primarily email client or server is covered under the appropriate software category.
Wireless/mobile
This category covers all mobile connections, handset costs and call charges. It includes voice, data
and video over GSM, UMTS, satellite, microwave, TETRA, Wi
Wi-Max, and other wireless backhaul and
last-mile
mile technologies. It does not cover Wi
Wi-Fi,
Fi, which falls under the network equipment category in
hardware.
2.5 Staff
Staff
This category includes the salary and direct costs associated with full time, part time, contract and
temporary staff. It does not include allocated overhead costs.
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
www.kable.co.uk / + 44 (0) 207
20 936 6997
3 Detailed Taxonomy
Prior to 2009, Kable reports used a slightly different taxonomy. We have made a number of adjustments to the
taxonomy used for our forecast of public sector ICT expenditur
expenditure
e in order to better reflect the nature of the market
and the needs of our customers. The specific changes were to:
•
explicitly include a category for ICT consumables, which previously we did not research separately. Before
these changes, consumables spend was implicitly embedded in other product categories;
•
simplify the server categories and remove the classification for workstations. These categories were not
consistently understood by respondents in our primary research, with the resulting risk that reporting
repor
between the different categories was inconsistent;
•
introduce a more detailed breakdown for different types of peripherals. This is an area that has grown in
importance and for which we are increasingly asked by clients to provide more detailed spending
spendin
breakdown;
•
simplify and update the different types of spend on middleware, where the previous classification no longer
corresponds to public sector budget categories, or to product bundling used by the supplier community;
•
explicitly include a category forr system integration services, which was previously reported under a variety
of different headings;
•
combine fixed-line
line voice and data communications into a single category in order to reflect the
convergence of these technologies in the market;
•
add an explicit
icit category for communications equipment, again reflecting technology convergence in the
market, and bringing together an increasingly important category
The intent of these changes is to rebalance the categories of spend in order to improve the clarity and precision of
our primary research, and the relevance of our reporting to the supplier community. There is a broad
correspondence between the old and the new models (as illustrated in the following table) because both are
seeking to identify and categorise
rise the same broad areas of spend. We do, however, caution clients against making
direct comparisons between different classifications at a detailed level. As the research cycle progresses, we
expect the current model to result in greater precision, parti
particularly
cularly in the areas where we have made the more
significant changes.
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
www.kable.co.uk / + 44 (0) 207
20 936 6997
4 Vertical Definitions
4.1 Central government
Our central government forecast includes ministerial and non
non-ministerial
ministerial departments, executive agencies and
non-departmental
departmental public bodies within Whitehall, and the devolved administrations in Cardiff, Holyrood and
Stormont. It excludes local and service delivery spend whic
which is covered in other verticals.
4.2 Criminal justice
Our police forecast covers UK police forces and any policing assets commissioned by NPIA/College
NPIA/
of
Policing/PICTO, while our justice forecast covers courts, probation and prisons.
4.3 Defence
The defence forecast covers the MoD and its agencies. Spend on ICT that supports battlefield equipment and
vehicles is excluded.
4.4 Education
The education forecast covers state schools, publicly
publicly-funded
funded further education colleges, and all UK universities
universiti
whose fees are regulated.
4.5 Healthcare
Our healthcare forecast covers primary healthcare (primary care trusts, clinical commissioning groups,
commissioning support units and NHS commissioning board – but not systems bought on their own account by
individual GP practices), secondary health
healthcare
care (hospital, ambulance and mental health trusts) and centrallycentrally
directed spend managed
ged by the Department of Health.
4.6 Local government
Our coverage of local government covers d
district councils and county councils, unitary authorities and metropolitan
boroughs. We also roll-up
up fire and rescue ser
service spend into this vertical.
4.7 Transport
The transport forecast covers the DfT’s agencies, and local bodies including TfL and metropolitan passenger
transport executives.
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
www.kable.co.uk / + 44 (0) 207
20 936 6997
Your comments, feedback and questions are
very
ery important to us and help shape future
business direction. To discuss any aspect of
this report with the relevant analyst, please
contact customerservices@kable.co.uk
Kable taxonomy of public sector ICT spend
www.kable.co.uk / + 44 (0) 207
20 936 6997