Adopting a shared services approach will enable Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council to save on internal operating costs and pass the savings to its 500,000 local residents.
This partnership is absolutely essential to both organizations in our attempts to inject funding into frontline services, said the leader of Somerset City Council Jill Shortland.
The joint venture, called Southwest One, is worth 400m pounds ($816m) over 10 years to IBM and will be run by staff from both councils and IBM. It will handle a range of services including customer services, finance, HR, procurement, and property services. Managing the shared IT infrastructure of the councils will also covered by the agreement with IBM.
There is scope for a further 30 public-sector organizations to receive similar services through the deal, including Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which would be the first police force to join this type of joint venture.
Both councils hope that this investment in Somerset’s infrastructure will spawn business opportunities for the small and medium-sized companies that account for 90% of local businesses.
