Building digital services around business needs

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology (BIST) is working with the Government Digital Service (GDS) in an exciting collaboration to improve how businesses interact with government online. Director Kieran Housden shares how the programme is developing. 

If we’ve heard one thing clearly from businesses so far, it’s that they want government to keep it simple. They want it to be as easy and intuitive as possible, when they need to fill in forms, check regulations or get support to grow. 

That’s the driving force behind work to reshape how businesses interact with government online. We’re looking to reduce fragmentation of information between departments and develop a more consistent way for businesses to access government services. This will help reduce duplication and save time.  

These are not quick fix things. But we are committed to delivering value as early as we can to businesses and sharing incremental improvements as we go. This summer we made real progress, setting up a new team in the Government Digital Service (GDS) to focus on delivery. You can read our recent blog post to find out more.   

Join up for business owners

The programme brings together policy expertise with digital delivery disciplines, putting user needs at the centre of how services for businesses are designed and improved. 

We’re working closely with HMRC, Companies House and getting support from colleagues across government who want to share best practice from their service delivery. We are also collaborating with DDaT communities, to test scope and understand what the benefits could be for their customers. 

Jess O’Leary is the Deputy Director building the new GDS team, which will focus on our delivery. Jess brings deep experience of developing digital products and services for business.  She says:

“We know businesses do not think in departmental boundaries. They’re thinking about completing the task in front of them and finding the specific information they need to answer their query or get something done.  

“This means users shouldn’t even have to think about the fact that there might be several departments and agencies behind the scenes; it should just work.  Putting that principle into practice requires collaboration. GDS brings expertise in user research and agile development, while BIST contributes detailed knowledge of business needs and policies which support growth. Alongside our wider government colleagues, we’ll work to design more coherent journeys, reuse products where appropriate and remove avoidable friction for businesses.”

For businesses, that will show up as making everyday tasks simpler. It could mean providing the same information fewer times and finding the right support more easily. They could receive more relevant information based on their needs and circumstances or return to a service without having to start again. 

Learning and improving as we deliver

Agile working, testing ideas with users early and adjusting as we learn, is key to the development of our solutions. It has been a great learning opportunity for colleagues across the programme. BIST policy and analysis, GDS and BIST Digital, Data and Technology teams are learning from one another’s expertise and experience throughout early research and delivery. 

In practice, this means we won't wait until a service is finished before we ask businesses whether it helps them. We're testing early versions with real users, listening to what is and isn't working, and making changes before rolling things out more widely. That should mean services that reflect how businesses operate, and improvements that keep pace as needs change. Success will be measured in practical improvements: fewer repeated steps; clearer and more personalised guidance; and a smoother experience across government services. 

 As we look towards next year, we’ll begin to improve existing business content online and test new tools, for example for finding funding. It’s the beginning of an exciting journey and we look forward to sharing more as we go.

https://digitaltrade.blog.gov.uk/2026/10/28/building-digital-services-around-business-needs/

seen at 11:39, 28 October in Digital trade.