If you’re a public sector organization considering modernizing your technology, it’s important to understand some of the latest developments in this space. Today, we’re sharing the latest government technology trends so you can start thinking about the type of enterprise systems you want to implement.
7 Government Technology Trends for 2023
1. Composable Design Approach
Composability is a unique approach to systems design. It focuses on increasing agility and accelerating the pace of application development.
Composable design involves reusing, reimagining, and reassembling existing assets in different ways to meet specific user requirements. These assets can include:
- Capabilities
- Teams
- Business processes
- Products
- Services
By using composable business architecture, governments can adapt to changing service needs. It also allows them to respond effectively to regulatory change.
With less time required to develop and deploy applications, governments can concentrate more on citizen-centered services, rather than on a siloed, program-centered approach.
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2. Decentralized Architectures
Blockchain-driven ecosystems weren’t always a major trend in government technology. Now, they’re key to developing and monetizing digital assets, as well as establishing digital trust.
Organizations are realizing that decentralized, blockchain-enabled architectures have vast potential in this space. They’re used in everything from simple enterprise applications to entirely blockchain-native business models.
Not only do they facilitate operations, but they also help distribute trust and credibility. With the blockchain, trust is spread across a community of users, rather than isolated into a single entity.
Government entities can act as both users and regulators of these new solutions. On the user side, they can leverage the tools to automate and enhance business processes and transactions both inside and outside the public sector. Regulation-wise, they can drive innovation by establishing and clarifying policies around decentralization.
3. Adaptive Security
Increasingly, government CIOs are being tasked with managing data security needs beyond the IT sphere. This includes overseeing operational and mission-critical tech environments.
Staying on top of cybersecurity threats requires these CIOs to address not only the technical side of security, but also the human side. The focus is now on growing talent internally and embedding security practices throughout each organization. This can be achieved through robust training and educational programs designed to drive continued awareness.
4. Legacy System Modernization
Many government leaders are finding that their legacy systems, including mainframes, are still capable of supporting their operational workloads. Previously, they might have torn them out and started anew. Now, they’re looking for ways to modernize them.
One of the most effective ways is to connect and extend these systems (and the data they contain) into emerging technologies. There are several different solutions they’re using to bridge the gap, including:
- AI-powered middleware
- Updated user interfaces
- Advanced microservices applications
By taking a progressive, incremental approach to modernization, government organizations can drastically reduce migration risks.
(Learn more by reading our post, Why are Legacy Systems Still Used?)
5. Mobile-Based Identity Wallets
Digital ID wallets are smartphone-based solutions that allow users to securely store their essential documents and personal data in one place. This includes:
- Driver’s licenses
- Identity cards
- Bank cards
- Medical records
Many national and local government entities currently offer ID wallets. However, not all of them are interoperable across different jurisdictions. As organizations seek to expand access to services, they’re reassessing this concept.
This means evaluating solutions, such as:
- Bring your own identity (BYOI)
- Identity proofing
- Identity ecosystems
- Identity wallets
These systems are altering the way citizens interact with government entities. In turn, this is making security and authorization protocols easier and more effective to enforce.
6. Curating Technology Talent
As government organizations engage in digital transformation projects and ERP implementations, they’re all looking for the same resources: talented IT professionals.
The only issue? Technical skills become obsolete after just a few years. This means that hiring for current needs alone isn’t an efficient strategy. Instead, leaders are looking for ways to create, curate, and cultivate IT talent over the long term.
While technical skills are still important, the most critical attribute they’re looking for is flexibility. Companies are establishing pathways to attract and retain a skilled and diverse workforce both today and into the future. That means finding ways to recognize and reward employees who demonstrate agility and a willingness to embrace change.
As these organizations become more tech-focused, they are looking to solutions, like artificial intelligence (AI), to help them free up IT teams for more mission-based tasks. This improves morale and facilitates retention.
7. Hyperautomation
When it comes to digital technologies, automation has been a buzzword in the private and public sectors. However, organizations are now looking to expand beyond the concept of digitizing manual tasks. Now, they’re thinking of ways to make all their business processes more efficient.
This is a form of automation known as hyperautomation. In short, it augments core automation technologies with more robust features, such as:
- AI
- Machine learning (ML)
- Robotic process automation (RPA)
Combined, these solutions are allowing government entities to automate their end-to-end business processes. Not only does this improve operational efficiency, but it allows these organizations to deliver connected public services in a more seamless, convenient way.
(Learn more by reading our post, Business Process Reengineering vs Business Process Management.)
A Snail’s Pace Doesn’t Cut it Anymore
The public sector is traditionally more careful and methodical when it comes to adopting the latest technology trends. However, there’s a new drive to digitize, automate, and expand their current capabilities.
We’ve touched on only a few of the government technology trends shaping the industry. To learn more about the latest developments and how your organization can benefit, contact our ERP consulting company below.
