More strength to Jerry's arm
I think this is a potent and probably damning piece of evidence. I founded the company (Kable) from which Jerry Fishenden derives the spend data. I'm kicking myself that we never thought to compare it against ONS productivity data (I wasnt even aware it existed).
This is, as John M rightly says, more about Whitehall execution than about party-political Punch and Judy shows which constantly distract us from the real action and real expenditure.
I think El Reg is absolutely right to pick this up from Jerry's blog and make it a news story. What's lacking in this story is substantive comment from HMG.
The curmudgeonly John D does Jerry a disservice. When that 2005 Scotsman article appeared every other company was sucking up to government and the Home Office via the trade association Intellect to try to get contracts for the benighted ID Scheme. But Microsoft (for all its many and glaring faults) had canned its centralised ID architecture in 2001. So it had nothing to offer. So Jerry spoke out, and was pretty much ostracised by senior officials who wanted to stay in groupthink mode. Other honest scientists in other companies thought the same. Some muttered but were silenced (IBM etc) others remained silent. (Stand by for endless corporate "we didnt think it was a good idea either" starting soon after the next election)
So whoever wrote Jerry's Wikipedia entry (it may or may not have been him) knows what they're saying, and has it spot on.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
