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While government organizations have not typically been as quick as other sectors to exploit new technologies, a shift is underway. New research from 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 signals that the government and public sector is acting to give constituents the digital upgrades they expect. This article explores the research and compares the priorities and environments of the government sector with those of other industries.
Based on a survey of 2,100 executives from 16 countries and across nine industries, the latest听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 global tech report听reveals the widespread recognition across sectors, including the government and public sector, of the potential benefits of embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based technology.
When members of the public say, 鈥楾here鈥檚 a dangerous pothole on my street,鈥� they want it fixed immediately. And they want to interact with government online and directly like they are able to do with other service industries for their personal use.听 Gone are the days when people were willing to take a service number, sit down and wait for their number to be called to obtain services.听 They want a digital experience that makes it easy and convenient for their busy lifestyles.鈥�
Invest in skills and people, trust in new technology will likely follow
In embracing new technologies, government organizations are obligated to conduct thorough examinations of tech plans to help minimize the risk of new initiatives causing any harm to constituents. In some cases the good intentions behind this methodical approach can slow down progress. The research reveals that a risk-averse internal culture is one of the sector鈥檚 top digital transformation challenges: 69 percent of government respondents say that a lack of understanding or trust of new technologies makes them less confident about investing. National security concerns and the safety of sensitive data, meanwhile, present challenges that can deter governments from fully embracing cloud technology.
But Walker says the industry needs to balance this caution with agility to keep up with user expectations. 鈥淣o longer can organizations plan technology upgrades for five years and then execute for another five years,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause by the time they buy, procure and implement fully, the systems are outdated.鈥�
The key to safely accelerating tech adoption lies in filling skill gaps 鈥� ensuring government workforces are digitally literate, by keeping up to date with fast moving technology trends and hiring the best talent from the tech sector to bring digital transformation plans to life. 鈥淗iring needs to be faster and more flexible,鈥� says Walker. 鈥淚f a workforce struggles with digital literacy and lacks leadership, it鈥檚 hard for government organizations to [safely] lean into technology.鈥�
Prateek Mehra, Global Alliance Lead, Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare, 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 听International, said that by establishing partnerships with private technology companies, government organizations can more quickly innovate as well as access the expertise they need to digitally transform. And there鈥檚 no need to go big straight away. 鈥淪tart with pilot projects to explore the potential of emerging technologies before making massive investments,鈥� he says. 鈥淥nce governments can see what works, they can be ready to scale.鈥�
Cloud supports automation and data exchange
Once data is moved to the cloud, governments can start experiencing the myriad benefits this model provides: disaster recovery, flexibility, greater speed of doing business and significant cost savings over the longer term. 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 research found that 40 percent of government respondents consider public cloud systems as one of the most important technologies for their organization鈥檚 short-term ambitions, compared to 30 percent across all sectors surveyed. And where they're currently in use, public cloud systems have already enhanced citizen engagement 鈥� say 47 percent of government respondents.
Moving to the cloud saves time by automatically securing, refreshing and backing up data and keeping systems up to date. And according to the research, the government sector recognizes this: it plans to maximize the number of applications it migrates to the cloud.
And cloud systems can make a big difference to working environments, says Mehra. 鈥淭he pandemic showed that remote working is a big advantage,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nother is data collaboration between agencies 鈥� the cloud makes it easy for them to exchange information and share applications, which allows governments to streamline costs.鈥�
乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 Powered Enterprise for Government and Public Sectori听provides access to leading practices and processes on pre-configured market-leading cloud technologies to help senior public sector leaders navigate future challenges.听听
Security comes first
While a cautious culture might be slowing down investment, governments鈥� vigilance has given them a head start on cyber security. Of the government respondents surveyed, 46 percent say their organization is prioritizing cyber security and the ability to recover from an attack quickly and with minimal impact, compared with an average of 33 percent across all sectors surveyed.听Most government and public sector respondents believe that their tech function is already playing an instrumental role in building resilience (90 percent) and meeting increasingly demanding regulations (87 percent).
鈥淕overnments are there to protect citizens, including their data and national security, so the stakes are high,鈥� says Walker. 鈥淭heir reputation is at risk: once a government loses data, it loses the trust of its citizens. They cannot afford to do that.鈥�
According to Mehra, governments need to stay focused on updating their cyber security policies and adopt clear incident-response plans and zero trust models. 鈥淚n a zero trust model, no actor or system can be trusted in any form,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭hey require continuous monitoring, third-party risk management and cloud security. And with so many touchpoints where actors can access data, multifactor authentication becomes critical.鈥�
Key takeaways
Government organizations want to embrace digital transformation for the good of their constituents. By hiring from and partnering with the tech sector, they can help ensure workforces are digitally literate and tech-savvy 鈥� balancing forward-thinking approaches while maintaining national security and zero trust as a priority. Meanwhile, a focus on data management can help unlock the true potential of technologies such as AI and cloud-based systems, allowing them to become governments of the future.
Government organizations should prioritize technology implementation by adopting shorter planning cycles, avoiding lengthy upgrade schedules. To address the pace of advancements and rising expectations, consider these tangible actions: streamline procurement processes, embrace iterative development with shorter implementation phases, and actively seek user feedback for continuous improvement.
Start with small, thoughtful, incremental changes. Run a pilot project and build the essential foundations. Once the pilot is successfully competed and its value captured, it is time to scale the solution to the wider organization.ii
Governments should invest in training programs to enhance workforce skills and promote adaptability. Additionally, enhanced recruiting programs can help attract sought-after resources and enable the public sector to compete for technology talent. This proactive approach can accelerate organizational agility and enhance responsiveness to constituent needs.
Establish partnerships with private technology companies for digital transformation. Begin with pilot projects to assess technology potential before making significant investments. Once successful strategies are identified, governments can confidently scale their initiatives.
Adopt zero trust models for cybersecurity, emphasizing continuous monitoring, third-party risk management, and cloud security. In this model, no actor or system is inherently trusted, making multifactor authentication critical due to numerous touchpoints where data access can occur.
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Transformation never stops. Neither do we.
乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 professionals from national firms around the world have deep experience in technology-enabled transformation. At 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网, we believe that successful transformation requires integrating the right technology, optimized processes, and people at its core. Our award-winningiii,iv,v听transformation, innovation, and deep industry experience and knowledge positions 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 professionals to address market challenges and provide in-depth industry perspectives. Our global government practice helps government and public sector organizations worldwide to realize the full potential of their people and technology and achieve tangible outcomes for both their organizations and constituents. 乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 firms鈥� approach to digitalization is summed up in what is referred to as the听Connected. Powered. Trusted.听framework.vi听Our teams harness technology to enhance the capabilities of government organizations. This includes leveraging market-leading cloud technologies, being a leader in AI and employing a听strong network of alliances听with some of the world鈥檚 leading technology, data and services companies.
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Prateek Mehra
Global Alliance Lead, Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare (IGH)
乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 in the U.S.
i听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 International, 鈥溊钟悖↙eyu）体育官网 Powered Enterprise for Government and Public Sector.鈥� (Accessed Feb 6, 2024)
ii听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 International, 鈥淔uture of work: Shaping the workforce of the future with AI.鈥� (December 2023)
iii听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 International, 鈥�2022 Appian Partner Award: Transformation award (outstanding results in global strategic program delivery.鈥澨鼳nalyst Relations. (Accessed February 15, 2024).
iv听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 International, 鈥�2022 ServiceNow: Global Transformation Partner of the Year.鈥澨鼳nalyst Relations. (Accessed February 15, 2024).
v听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 International, 鈥淒igital Transformation & Digital Services 2022-2023.鈥澨鼳nalyst Relations. (Accessed February 15, 2024).
vi听乐鱼（Leyu）体育官网 International, 鈥淪hape your future.鈥� (Accessed Feb 15, 2024).
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