Ovum findsstate and local governments in ANZ need holistic technology approach

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Media OutReach -25 October, 2018 -  Infor,a leading provider of industry-specific cloud applications, today announced findings of awhitepaper by Ovum titled Reinventing State and Local Government DigitalServices. Commissioned by Infor, the whitepaper reveals that as the ICTindustry moves to more agile methodologies enabled by cloud, smaller governmentadministrations have a digital advantage and are uniquely placed to leveragedigital services in their communities. 

Drawing on a variety of case studies from local and stategovernments across Australia and New Zealand, the whitepaper outlines howdigital government is a necessary and fundamental step in the evolution ofgovernment services. This change should not be considered only in terms of theIT function; to work well, it must be considered within a much broadergovernment context.

However while some more advanced councils had advancedstrategies to link engineering (OT and IoT), businesssystems (IT), and economic development (technology start-ups), theopportunity for the government sector overall is a coordinated and concertedeffort to bring the three key areas together.  

Change within government organisations iscomplex and multifaceted, and the whitepaper identifies two key methods beingused by government organisations to drive digital innovation andtransformation:

• Technology-enabled: A focus oninnovative technology to inspire enterprise transformation, recognising thattechnology is one piece of the puzzle-- it requires commitment to internalchange management processes to support digital innovation.
• Citizen-centricity: A focus onemerging citizen requirements as a driver of change. This method requires acommitment to deliver practical outcomes from the insights gained fromcustomers.

In using these methods, the whitepaper outlinesfour key ingredients for digital transformation success in the governmentsector:

1.   Leadership -- demonstration of clear support, encouragement andcooperation at each management level, as well as clarity of desired outcomes

2.   Empowerment -- empowerment of individual authority to drive change,within clear boundaries

3.   Risk management -- community confidence in government shouldn't becompromised, and therefore well-embedded risk management processes are crucial

4.   Resources -- without realistic resources set aside to drive change,innovation isn't achievable

Helen Masters, senior vice president andgeneral manager, APAC at Infor said: "There's never been a better time for the public sector toturn to new-generation digital services, driven by cloud and big data, totransform customer service while streamlining in-house operations. Infor iscommitted to delivering finely-tuned industry-specific capabilities in thecloud.  Government digital transformationdoes not need to be complex - small steps towards better collaboration andinnovation can quickly transform agency operations and the citizen experience."

Kevin Noonan, Chief Analyst, and PracticeLeader for Public Sector (Global) at Ovum said: "To create an innovationculture in government organisations, we found that innovation must beeveryone's responsibility, and that a key challenge is to 'learn fast' -- notjust 'fail fast'. Digital citizens expect to interact with government indifferent ways, and there's a significant opportunity for government toinnovate, serve and engage with the community in a better way."

For more information please visit: https://bit.ly/2xLHK4v

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