**How can digitization make the difference?**
In fact, Deloitte recently identified it as one of the nine most important trends in public sector IT, defining it as an innovation driver (a change whose role will only grow in importance.)
But faced with the unique pressures of the present day, modern digital technology has become an absolute necessity for survival thanks to its capacity to help organizations achieve four important goals:
See how Wokingham Borough Council have used Unit4 to build one of the most digitally enabled back offices in the UK
Cloud computing has evolved considerably from its starting point as a more convenient model for data storage. It’s fast becoming the natural model for the delivery of digital government and public services.
The adoption of modern solutions like cloud platforms allows for the final abolition of data silos – making a department’s entire knowledge and information base available from a single source. Correctly implemented, this will be a key component of empowering staff to work effectively from any location.
Cloud also creates unique opportunities for developers, service providers, and service users to iterate better solutions. The flexibility inherent in cloud platforms means learnings from new data and user experience can be quickly actioned. And emerging technologies like AI can be deployed quickly and seamlessly – without your department having to develop them itself. The latest generation of SaaS applications are configured to respond intelligently to their users’ needs, effectively creating customized solutions out of the box.
As the data your department holds grows, you’re faced with an opportunity and a problem. The opportunity to know the people you serve better than ever before (and serve them better as a result.) And the problem of storing and processing volumes of information so huge that keeping them on-premise is already impractical.
New digital platforms represent a huge opportunity to reduce the cost not just of holding data, but of delivering every part of the services you provide.
One of the rarely mentioned advantages of cloud-based deployment is that it lacks many of the “hidden costs” of traditional on-premise IT deployment. Upgrades are handled remotely (removing the trade-offs inherent in downtime vs. the benefits of improved capabilities).
See how City of Coquitlam improved operations on the cloud:
Read the case study
Storage and processing power can be scaled up and down as needed without having to buy extra equipment. Implementation and maintenance place much less stress on your own IT departments, freeing them (and everyone else) to do more productive work. And legacy systems that are no longer fit for purpose can be retired once and for all.
But beyond this, the flexibility inherent in cloud systems means they can be used much more effectively as a foundation for new tools which are set to create both savings and new value of their own.
In the wake of COVID, with more people needing more from the public sector than ever before, the ability to leverage automation, AI, and the plethora of data made available through the Internet of Things will be essential. And this will require public sector bodies to digitize in a way that they never have before.
Even as more and more firms receive the “yellow light” to return to work, it’s highly likely that most companies will never return to their old ways of working. And this places a huge burden on technology to facilitate communication and collaboration that we would’ve once done together in the same place.
Adopting modern digital systems – such as a cloud-based ERP platform – places public sector organizations in a position where they can work effectively without relying on a physical office.
This opportunity extends beyond the introduction of new tools and the upgrading of infrastructure. Modern systems are equipped to provide leaders and managers with the power to better understand how work is being carried out, by whom, and with what resources. Opening the door to a much higher degree of flexibility both in technology and in the whole organization.
This flexibility extends from the ability to quickly identify changing needs and scale resources (both technological and human) rapidly up or down to meet demand, to the ability to leverage emerging technologies faster. With the added benefit of improving the People Experience of the entire business (leading to happier people who stay in-post longer, and do their jobs more effectively.)
Flexibility of technology and infrastructure will also be key to planning for the short, medium, and long-term future in the post-COVID landscape.
If the events of 2020 have taught us anything, it’s that history doesn’t always repeat itself. And that if we’re only planning for the kind of crises that have already happened, we’re likely to be blindsided by a truly unexpected event.
“Planning for the unexpected” may seem like an oxymoron. But it is possible if you’re ready and willing to make changes when you need to. This requires knowing the resources you have, the resources you might need, where, how, and by whom they’re being currently applied, and how they might be redistributed if the need arises.
This not only requires a degree of agility only possible with the adoption of modern technologies. It requires an ability to model and plan scenarios that simply wasn’t feasible until a few years ago.
Planning for continuity in the public sector – Read the Q&A from Ventana Research
COVID is not just accelerating the adoption of these capabilities – it’s turned them from a distant possibility into an absolute necessity for the normal delivery of services to continue. Both now and in the years to come.
