Information Technology Services (ITS)
The Information Technology Services Branch (ITSB) delivers the Government of Canada's (GC) common Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) infrastructure.
ITSB manages:
- 250 major software applications on behalf of various departments
- Data centre operations for 47 departments and agencies
- 3 cheque production facilities (Dartmouth, NS, Quebec, PQ, and Winnipeg, MA) that handle 120M mailings a year
- Messaging systems that handle 2 million messages per month
- Satellite-based, mobile and fixed communication services for 30 departments
Government On-Line (GOL) and Secure Channel
Government On-Line (GOL) is a whole-of-Government initiative led by ITSB, which currently has 45 services completely on-line and 85 more to come by 2005. For four years running, the GC has been recognized as the world leader in providing on-line services to its citizens (according to Accenture, a private sector management consulting firm). Studies have shown that, on average, an in-person transaction costs $44; a transaction by post costs $38; one by telephone costs $8; while an on-line transaction costs only $1. Therefore, overtime, GOL's significantly lower cost per transaction and the shift in emphasis from other forms of service delivery are expected to reduce the overall cost of service delivery. The Secure Channel is the common electronic infrastructure of the Government of Canada. By ensuring all aspects of the privacy and legitimacy of a transaction, the Secure Channel is a prime enabler of GOL.
Government Telephone and Computer Services
Long-distance telephone charges are a significant cost of doing business. Through the efforts of ITSB, the GC has the lowest corporate long-distance rates in Canada. ITSB is currently looking at telephone calls routed over the Internet in order to further reduce long distance charges and to offer a full digital suite of services.
The Future
Under the current Common Services for government approach (a mix of mandatory and non-mandatory offerings of common services and shared systems), departments have had considerable latitude in choosing their solutions. This has resulted in a complex environment that is difficult to manage efficiently and drives up costs.
ITSB, in collaboration with its client departments and the central agencies, is working toward a new Shared Services model.
