So the government has taken its first steps on cutting back public expenditure to address Britain's budget deficit with £6.2 million in savings announced last week.

Perhaps inevitably, the headlines focused on large IT firms such as Capita being deprived of some of their major projects (such as the Child Trust Funds programme) as a long shadow starts to fall on private sector IT providers - but there could be some positives to draw from this situation.

Experts such as Ovum are already suggesting that the new Government's £100 million ceiling on IT projects may mark the end of massive single provider-led programmes and suggest this could actually promote greater competition and smarter service design among providers. http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/36627

They suggest that large IT providers will have to work more closely or partner with specialist partners who are more experienced in public sector procurement and operational processes. In our experience, you have to establish working arrangements and partnerships with specialists in a given niche for public sector work, so everyone can pool their expertise effectively to deliver desired results.

This sort of collaborative approach could result in a better deal for everyone in NHS and government IT programmes - reducing waste and ultimately, ensuring better services for the public.