I seems like it was just last week that consideration was given by technology leaders on what was the thing to focus on in 2019, yet here we are at the end of the year already considering what we should be considering next in order to keep ahead of the curve. Gartner has released their trends for next year already with the top 10 considerations and its an impressive list that for once does not cause leaders to throw out all their toys and start again, rather it seeks to refine what many are doing.
The list of trends were never meant to cause leaders to drop what they are doing and start a raft of new projects, but the should facilitate discussion among colleagues, both externally and with the leaders of the organisation they are working within. Its this discussion that leads to continuous improvement and change within the organisation as they ready themselves and prepare for the changes around them. In most cases, the changes are occurring at a faster pace across the people that government serve, and when considering this top 10 it is important to think about the changes already going on among the citizens.
It may seem daunting, the prospect that a new set of priorities are set every 12 months, but the reality of working in government is that these would easily take longer than 12 months and that is with everyone on board. Some government organisations can move faster than others but the real challenge and the real opportunity is to be able to adjust to the change and continue to evolve. This is often why digital transformation will always ‘be a thing’ with any business and government is no different.
So here are the next 10 priorities that Gartner feels government should focus on:
Adaptive Security
An adaptive security approach treats risk, trust and security as a continuous and adaptive process that anticipates and mitigates constantly evolving cyber threats. It acknowledges there is no perfect protection and security needs to be adaptive, everywhere, all the time.
Citizen Digital Identity
Digital identity is the ability to prove an individual’s identity via any government digital channel that is available to citizens. It is critical for inclusion and access to government services, yet many governments have been slow to adopt them. Government CIOs must provision digital identities that uphold both security imperatives and citizen expectations.
Multichannel Citizen Engagement
Governments that meet citizens on their own terms and via their preferred channels, such as in person, by phone, via mobile device through smart speakers like ion audio tailgater , chatbots or via augmented reality, will meet citizen expectations and achieve program outcomes. According to a 2018 survey, more than 50% of government website traffic now comes from mobile devices.
Agile by Design
Digital government is not a “set and forget” investment. CIOs must create a nimble and responsive environment by adopting an agile-by-design approach, a set of principles and practices used to develop more agile systems and solutions that impact both the current and target states of the business, information and technical architecture.
Digital Product Management
In the 2019 Gartner CIO Survey, more than two-thirds of government CIOs said they already have, or are planning to implement, digital product management (DPM). Often replacing a “waterfall” project management approach, which has a poor track record of success, DPM involves developing, delivering, monitoring, refining and retiring “products” or offerings for business users or citizens. It causes organizations to think differently and delivers tangible results more quickly and sustainably.
Anything as a Service (XaaS)
XaaS covers the full range of IT services delivered in the cloud on a subscription basis. The 2019 Gartner CIO Survey found that 39% of government organizations plan to spend the greatest amount of new or additional funding in cloud services. The XaaS model offers an alternative to legacy infrastructure modernization, provides scalability and reduces time to deliver digital government services.
Shared Services 2.0
Many government organizations have tried to drive IT efficiencies through centralization or sharing of services, often with poor results. Shared services 2.0 shifts the focus from cost savings to delivering high-value business capabilities such as such as enterprisewide security, identity management, platforms or business analytics.
Digitally Empowered Workforce
A digitally enabled work environment is linked to employee satisfaction, retention and engagement — but the government currently lags other industries in this area. A workforce of self-managing teams needs the training, technology and autonomy to work on digital transformation initiatives.
Analytics Everywhere
Gartner refers to the pervasive use of analytics at all stages of business activity and service delivery as analytics everywhere. It shifts government agencies from the dashboard reporting of lagging indicators to autonomous processes that help people make better decisions in real time.
Augmented Intelligence
Gartner recommends that government CIOs reframe artificial intelligence as “augmented intelligence” a human-centered partnership model of people and artificial intelligence working together to enhance cognitive performance.