The state buys IT services for seven billion

In 2019, the state spent almost seven billion kroner on the purchase of IT services. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration bought IT development services for 700 million.

Writes Klassekampen on Thursday.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s purchase of development services accounts for almost a tenth of the costs of IT procurement, but also large government agencies such as the Tax Administration, Nav and the Police and Sheriff’s Agency have spent many hundreds of millions. A total of NOK 4.78 billion has been spent on the purchase of IT development services and NOK 2.18 billion on the purchase of operating services.

Nav spent a lot of money on purchasing IT services for both development and operation. The agency’s IT director says Nav is actively working to reduce the number of hired IT consultants. He believes the high numbers are due to both the size of the business and the scope of the IT services Nav offers.

– “What comes into the overview is software maintenance. It is typical that you make simpler changes to ensure that the software stays healthy over time,” says IT director Jonas Slørdahl Skjærpe.

Acting CEO Fredrik Syversen of ICT Norway believes that state-owned enterprises must to a greater extent ensure what they buy.

– “It is important that you have the expertise internally to buy. You can not put things out to tender without having the competence to follow up on the suppliers,” he says.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today