Lessons learned from Government’s Excel chaos?

Following the chaos surrounding the Government’s use of Excel which resulted in the loss of 16,000 reported COVID cases going missing, Chris Greenwood, General UK&I Manager NetApp, made the following comment  :

“While this error was simple in itself, it points towards our public sector’s wider struggle of adopting and handling digital data services. Technology can help government tackle some of our most pressing issues, but only with the right understanding, tools, and vision of how best to handle and take advantage of it.

While there is certainly a will to do so – as evident by the millions of pounds in investment, consultation and procurement – the execution and management leave room for improvement. This error shows the potential severity of mismanaging data and is a stark example of why the public sector cannot build complex IT solutions or processes ad-hoc, especially in times of crises. Our public sector needs to build and constantly review its IT strategy with a holistic view and employ staff, partners and suppliers who enable and complement this.”