“Tony Blair’s former IT chief has said Labour ministers ordered expensive computer projects because they wanted their policies to ‘sound sexy,’” Brian Wheeler reports for BBC News.

“Ian Watmore – who is now in charge of a Whitehall efficiency drive – gave a scathing assessment of the previous government’s IT record,” Wheeler reports. “He told the public administration committee Labour’s procurement had been over-ambitious and badly-managed. The coalition has called a halt to big IT projects to save cash.”

Wheeler reports, “Mr Watmore, who is permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, said some of the high profile IT ‘fiascos’ under the previous government had not been down to defective technology but to poor project management and badly-defined policies… Mr Watmore, who claims to have already saved £2bn in Whitehall efficiencies, said he wants to end the UK government’s reliance on Microsoft products, which are used by about 90% of civil servants… His ‘personal’ view, he added, was that Apple products, which he said he used at home, should also be used more in government.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: :-)

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers "John D.," "Blairmc," "TomCS," "Max M.," "MCCFR," "Macintosher," and "Brother Mugga" for the heads up.]