Update: ITAC participates in the inaugural SSC Information Technology Infrastructure Roundtable
November 27, 2012
Last week the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, and Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada, launched the Information Technology Infrastructure Roundtable (ITIR)which brings together Government and representatives of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector on a regular basis to help shape the Government of Canada's IT transformation agenda. Participants in this roundtable include leading members of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, the Canadian Business Information Technology Network, Invest Ottawa, the Canadian Information Technology Providers Association and Communitech, as well as academics and other experts. See documentation from the meeting below.
"Shared Services Canada (SSC) is the single biggest initiative that the federal government has undertaken to become a knowledgeable enterprise buyer of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This is enabling it to begin the transformation from being a consumer of ICT to being an investor in ICT. Last week's meeting reaffirmed that the SSC is the right organization to drive this transformation," says Karna Gupta, President and CEO, ITAC. "Minister Ambrose also confirmed her direction to SSC to consult widely with industry, use best practice and achieve best value for money spent by government. ITAC members are working closely with SSC staff on a daily basis to achieve this and we are committed to continue this work with SSC as they move forward with their plans to consolidate buying for Email Data Centres and networks. This is in the interest of the SSC, the ITAC community and Canadians who are the end customers of government services."
Shared Services Canada was created on August 4, 2011 with the mandate to deliver email, data centre and network/telecom services to 43 Government of Canada institutions representing 95% of the federal IT infrastructure spending. Its goals are to reduce costs, improve security, maximize efficiencies, and minimize risks.