Scotland’s public sector does not necessarily need more technology. The immediate opportunity is often to get more from what it already owns, as Trustmarque Ultima’s leadership explain.
Councils, NHS boards and central government bodies face a familiar challenge: modernise services and meet rising demand within constrained budgets. Every technology decision must therefore balance immediate pressures with the ability to deliver better services over time.
The Scottish Government’s Public Service Reform Strategy, published in June 2025, sets out more than 80 actions on prevention, joined-up services and efficiency. It aims to reduce corporate spending across public bodies by £1 billion over five years, focusing investment on frontline delivery. Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee described the ambition as “to do things better, not do less.”
Technology can help, but buying more is not always the answer. First, organisations need to understand whether existing investments are delivering.
Start with what you already have
Software licences, cloud services and contracts accumulate as working practices change, creating a gap between what organisations buy and what people use.
In an interview with THINK Digital Partners, Trustmarque Ultima CEO Simon Williams highlighted this problem in AI. One organisation had around 23,000 licences, but fewer than 1,000 were being used.
“They bought the licences, but they’re not using them,” he said.
The question extends beyond AI: are we getting full value from what we own? For organisations seeking to redirect spending towards frontline delivery, this is a financial and strategic issue, not simply an IT concern.
Licence optimisation can release hidden value
Licence optimisation starts with an accurate picture of what an organisation owns, uses and needs. That evidence should inform what is retained, changed or removed, particularly before major renewals. Organisations should not automatically renew yesterday’s estate for tomorrow’s needs.
But value means more than logging in. In the same interview, Tanaz Gould distinguished between AI “adoption” and “absorption”:
“Adoption is you try and use it; absorption is actually when you integrate it in your day-to-day work, and I think that’s when we start seeing true value.”
Buying technology is only the start. Return depends on effective use and investment aligned with organisational outcomes. A licence that is technically available but rarely used does little to improve a service or release staff time.
Give cloud spending the same attention
Cloud offers flexibility, but costs change with consumption. Visibility and financial management are essential to understanding whether that spending continues to represent value.
FinOps brings technology, finance and operational teams together around cloud economics. It helps organisations understand utilisation, identify unnecessary resources, improve accountability and connect spending to outcomes.
This is not indiscriminate cost cutting. It is deciding where investment supports priorities and where consumption can be reduced without undermining services. The question is not only how much is being spent, but what that spending supports.
Procurement is part of the value conversation
Public sector frameworks provide established routes to buy technology and services, but procurement should be part of optimisation, not simply the final step in a purchasing decision.
Before a contract or renewal, organisations should ask whether services remain appropriate, demand has changed and the commercial model reflects actual consumption. This connects purchasing decisions to current needs rather than historic assumptions.
Because a good deal on technology an organisation does not need is still not good value.
Move the conversation from deployment to outcomes
Williams told THINK Digital Partners that sizeable public sector AI procurements increasingly focus on adoption: “Last year was people buying licences. This year is more ‘get us using’ RFPs around adoption.”
That shift changes how success is measured. Rather than counting licences or deployments, organisations should ask what people use, what value it creates, which costs are avoidable and whether released capacity can support higher-priority services.
That is where technology optimisation becomes part of public service reform rather than simply an IT cost exercise.
Turning efficiency into frontline capacity
Scotland’s reform strategy focuses on more effective and efficient services, with actions on automation, data barriers and efficiency. Technology optimisation can support that ambition when savings and improved capability are linked to service priorities.
The starting point is straightforward: what we own, what we use and what value it creates.
From there, organisations can right-size licences, manage cloud consumption, review renewals and improve adoption. The aim is to release resources for frontline priorities, not simply reduce the technology budget.
Building a long-term presence in Scotland
With a Hamilton office opened in 2023 and nearly 40 colleagues across Scotland, Trustmarque Ultima plans to grow its presence and investment, strengthening public and private sector relationships.
Its focus is practical: getting more from existing technology, reducing cost and complexity, and helping people use tools effectively. This also lays foundations for cyber resilience, cloud services and responsible AI adoption aligned to service needs.
Long-term partnership means understanding local priorities and turning investment into measurable improvements. Beyond lower bills, the goal is technology that frees time and resources for frontline services.
Doing more with less should not mean stretching frontline services further.