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The recent decision by the British government to award contracts worth up to £350 million to global consultancies such as Deloitte and PA Consulting, just months after announcing drastic measures to reduce spending on external advisors, has sparked intense debate about the coherence of public policies regarding digital transformation. While the Executive promised to save £1.2 billion by 2026 through stricter controls —such as the need for ministerial authorization for any spending above £600,000—, the reality shows that dependence on external services remains massive. This type of contradiction not only affects institutional credibility, but also highlights a lack of strategic planning that many private companies manage to navigate by relying on specialized technology providers.
The underlying problem is not new: the Public Administration lacks sufficient internal talent in critical areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Various reports from the Committee of Public Accounts and the National Audit Office point out that contractors in the public sector cost three times more than equivalent civil servants, and represent 40% of personnel spending while being only 18% of the workforce. For any organization, whether governmental or corporate, this capability gap is only closed through smart investments in proprietary technology. This is where companies like Q2BSTUDIO offer viable alternatives: instead of relying on expensive general-purpose consultancies, institutions can develop custom applications that integrate AI for businesses, AI agents, and AWS and Azure cloud services, thereby reducing the need for intermediaries and generating sustainable long-term value.
The key lies in changing the procurement model: moving from buying consulting hours to building internal teams empowered by custom software focused on automation and analytics. For example, a ministry that needs to improve its fraud detection capability can implement business intelligence service solutions with Power BI, combined with machine learning models that adapt to its data. Likewise, cybersecurity cannot be fully delegated to external parties; it requires proprietary monitoring and response platforms, such as those Q2BSTUDIO develops for clients in regulated sectors. The British paradox demonstrates that, without a strategic approach to internal digitalization, announced cuts become dead letters.
While the British government seeks to balance its books and meet the goal of having one in ten civil servants working in technology roles by 2030, the lesson for any organization is clear: authentic digital transformation is not bought, it is built. Investing in AI for businesses and in the creation of proprietary platforms —such as those offered by Q2BSTUDIO with its multidisciplinary teams— allows not only saving costs in the medium term, but also maintaining control over critical digital assets. Technology, when well applied, is the best recipe for not falling into the trap of paying £350 million for what could have been resolved with a well-executed internal development strategy.
