Adept Telecom CEO Ian Fishwick has been appointed SME Director for PSNGB, the industry association for Public Service Network suppliers.
In tandem with driving forward Adept's growth strategy he aims to champion the cause of all SMEs and work closely with government and the Cabinet Office to uncover easier ways for the Public Sector to do business with SMEs.
Fishwick said: "Being appointed as SME Director of PSNGB is a great honour because the directors are elected by the various Telecom companies, large and small, that comprise the PSNGB trade association.
"This is a clear sign of the respect with which Adept Telecom is held by its peers and the growing recognition that Adept is an important government supplier."
The government wants to do away with individual stand-alone networks for each major department such as Defence, Justice, Health etc, in favour of a single network - the Public Service Network (PSN).
"The concept put simply is that suppliers all provide connectivity to the same technical standards so that all local and central government networks are interoperable," added Fishwick.
"The PSN will then become the key enabler for a whole range of new ways of delivering online services and the adoption of cloud-based offerings.
The key challenge is to ensure that all of the contracts don't go to the normal winners, the large telcos."
Fishwick's remit includes identifying barriers to entry for SMEs and then persuade government to remove them. "We are pushing at a door that is already partially open," he added.
"Sir Francis Maude, the Paymaster General, has already set ambitious targets for the proportion of ICT spend that should be placed with SMEs."
Contact: ian.fishwick@psngb.org