Like any other industry, the public sector is also changing rapidly. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a dire need for a flexible, fast, and mission-centric landscape that is focused on efficiency and effectiveness. The public sector across the world has taken on challenges ranging from public health to cyber security to citizen engagement.
Undoubtedly, it has become vital for the public sector to become agile and responsive to deliver better experiences, provide innovative services, and support public policies to improve people’s lives.
As such, government-controlled enterprises must innovate and adopt new technologies consistent with the fast-changing needs of their citizens. In doing so, they should be able to ensure a secure, reliable, and responsible delivery of services.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how the public sector can drive agility and responsiveness on the back of technology, let’s look at some of the most prominent tech trends sufficing the industry today.
Key Technology Trends in the Public Sector That Breathe Agility
1. IT Modernization
It facilitates the adoption of technology along with the modernization of business practices. The public sector must adopt digital platforms to share information between employees, citizens, and government agencies.
2. Cloud Technologies
The public sector must leverage cloud technologies to automate and simplify complex infrastructure while ensuring better security and resilience.
3. Digital Ecosystem
Government departments need to evolve their working practices to connect offices with offsite workspaces on the back of an end-to-end digital ecosystem.
4. Citizen Experiences
The public sector must address the digital divide by enabling better citizen experiences. This can be achieved by leveraging cloud technology, deploying mobile apps, and using IoT devices to improve services and reduce costs. These digital solutions will also reduce government backlogs, boost productivity, and free up valuable talent and resources.
5. IoT
As the government sector is quickly moving towards a digital-first business model, adopting IoT technologies has become indispensable. The growth of edge computing, cloud computing, and IoT help improve supply chain practices, create smart cities, and drive more innovative services — thus, opening new opportunities for public service delivery.
6. AI and Analytics
The ever-increasing data at the disposal of public sector organizations is extraordinary. As more services are being delivered digitally, leveraging AI and analytics can help accrue several benefits for governmental departments.
7. Cyber Security
As hackers are taking advantage of security loopholes, especially since the advent of remote work, it has become necessary for public sector organizations to address the modern threats to their core systems, applications, and cloud infrastructure with new-age technology.
Complex Challenges for the Public Sector
Just like the private sector supports B2B and B2C relationships, the public sector also needs to support different relationships. However, most public sector agencies are heavily siloed and work in isolation. They often invest in digital technologies and methodologies (like DevOps) but cannot reap the desired benefits. The monolithic systems further compound the problem.
While the need to digitalize the public sector has helped transform the front-end to an extent, the same cannot be said for core back-end systems. With each new application, the public sector adds to the complexity of the IT landscape.
Resolving Public Sector Challenges with Agile Tools and Practices
The end-to-end digital journey can realize the maximum benefits for government departments with the adoption of agile tools and technologies. Agile principles, methodologies, and leadership can improve regulatory, policy, and procurement processes. Here’s how:
Agile Methodologies
Inherently, agile principles can help the public sector prioritize strategic projects, allocate resources to achieve the set goals, and manage the budgeting process. But when the evaluation happens annually, the lag between investment initiatives and outcomes creates an informational vacuum.
Contrarily, the agile practices of quarterly business reviews can transform government agencies’ planning and resource allocation. Along with monitoring KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) can help government departments translate their strategic priorities into specific goals for teams and agencies to work better.
To that end, enterprise information management solutions can come in handy as they can help government departments improve their decision-making processes. They can analyze, consolidate, and integrate relevant data to identify bottlenecks and create a roadmap for future growth. For instance, they can identify threats early, monitor and track progress against those priorities, and work toward mitigating risks.
Agile Collaboration
Cross-functional collaboration has excellent potential amid complex communications, processes, and governance structures. The collaboration breaks down silos and encourages government agencies to share resources.
When agile operating models reduce the functional silos, teams can focus on a wider array of skills and share common objectives. For example, a public transport company can boost ridership with a cross-functional team of experts in data management, transport system planning, customer service, and marketing.
Agile Workforce
The agility mindset is integral to the overall culture of an organization. Most government agencies rely on meetings and project escalations to organize tasks and complete projects. This working style does not foster a culture of continuous innovation and experimentation and certainly does not help instill a culture of accountability and responsiveness.
However, agile practices can lead to better activities like daily stand-up meetings and sprint planning. Technology-led collaboration platforms like Jira, Rally, and Slack can help keep track of the progress and drive better accountability. Data-driven dashboards, sprints, and sprint retrospectives can also help drive better productivity.
Ride the Wave of Digital Change Today
Undoubtedly, digital technologies will continue to transform the public sector this year and beyond. They help government agencies become fast and flexible by streamlining their operations and empowering them to efficiently meet the needs of citizens and employees.
To achieve this, public sector enterprises must create open and agile ecosystems that thrive on state-of-the-art digital technologies and cloud platforms.
Get in touch with us to know how we can help you implement such agile digital solutions in your organization.