§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to update computer(a) hardware and (b) software standard packages used in his Department. [166368]
§ Mr. PearsonThe Northern Ireland Civil Service makes extensive use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in carrying out its day-to-day business.
The 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration have an ongoing programme for updating their computer hardware and software. In the case of PCs and associated office automation software the average period between updates is three to four years; for application servers it is currently five to seven years.
A separate programme is under way to provide a common operating system platform for the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration.
The Northern Ireland Office is modernising its office IT system (covering hardware and software) through a programme called Flax.