What Covid taught us about public sector IT

We can see reasons for cheer amid the chaos of the last two years

One of the incidental effects of the pandemic has been to accelerate the pace of digital transformation.

There was already an acknowledgment of the need to digitise, automate, refresh and root out legacy wherever possible. We knew this was the path to differentiate rivals new and old, create efficiencies and new user experiences that inspire loyalty and delight. But Covid mandated rapid change to remote and mobile working, the cloud and much else.

The public sector was impacted at least much as business as already tight budgets needed to be stretched to their limits to accommodate a dispersed workforce. Today, it faces enormous challenges, but we can also see reasons for cheer amid the chaos of the last two years.

The old adage that we should never waste a crisis holds true, and there are opportunities to reject broken systems and emerge with new and better models that deliver value and agility.

As Deloitte authors put it, "When the global pandemic hit, everything changed. Digital was no longer a ‘nice to have' for government, but an imperative."

From telehealth to virtual justice and education by Zoom, leaders had to think on their feet and the result has been a more innovative culture that appears likely to persist even as the worst of Covid is hopefully in the past.

According to analysis by Unit4, public sector workers clearly see demand to drive through change, they recognise the value of transformation and, overwhelmingly, they concur with the notion that their work will continue to be an activity rather than a destination. But key issues remain.

First, many leaders don't want change. Change is always tough and dismantling familiar systems, operating models and roles is clearly challenging, hence the inertia.

Second, skills are lacking. Making changes requires new abilities in scarce supply on the jobs market, and what is a challenge even for well-heeled private sector organisations will always be difficult for the state.

Third, legacy systems and processes mean much of the public sector is not well-placed to react quickly to challenges, never mind anticipate them.

The situation could hardly be more urgent and, having already pared costs to the bone, many plan to cut frontline services.

There are other challenges too, evidenced by third-party surveys. According to a study by EY, pre-pandemic, just 18 per cent of health and human services organisations had successfully embedded digital tools in the way they work. And, according to KPMG, only 37 per cent of organisations regarded their data and analytics capabilities as enablers of effective customer services. Last, there is little confidence in systems. According to EY: "Globally, only around half of citizens (53 per cent) think governments and public services have effectively used digital technology to respond to the pandemic."

Now for the good news…

But some solutions are looming.

By making use of real-time data and automation, IT can surface the data needed to make fast, smart decisions, for example, deploying people and groups with the appropriate skill sets for tasks. And if data is centralised there is the opportunity to equitably allocate budgets where they are most needed, whether that is in social care, fighting crime, education, healthcare or elsewhere.

Second, the ability to recruit may have been enhanced by the fallout from the pandemic. Where previously public sector organisations would have required full-time staff to live locally and be within commuting distance of workplaces, the relaxation of rules regarding where we work means that the recruiting pool has widened. Organisations can now offer flexible working and, therefore, being local is not nearly as important as previously.

Third, we are seeing a reaction against procurement frameworks that were intended to offer value but instead had the effect of cornering organisations into buying from named vendors. Now, there is a groundswell in favour of procuring directly and based on direct experience of quality and value. In other words, there is the chance to buy without prejudice or coercion. Shared services may still offer value but the trend toward merging a number of organisations into a larger single entity rather than bundles of bodies working collaboratively means there is no longer pressure to act in ways that often slow down activities and deliver less value and effectiveness.

The direction of travel today across public sector IT is towards loosely coupled, federated, shared data, hub-and-spoke architectures, microservices and slick interoperability. We're moving away from the blunt instruments of expensive monolithic systems and proprietary, closed systems of old. And here we are supported by technology trends too, where open APIs and the cloud are making it easier for systems to talk to other systems, thereby releasing hugely valuable data.

The vast damage to the economy is only going to put more downward pressure on the public sector. The situation is stark, but we also see pockets of greatness and lots of opportunity to put technology to work to serve people.

Mark Gibbison is head of strategic motions for new business at Unit4