Moving from government to e-government

The move to e-government opens up new sources of risk that need to be recognised and confronted.

Aspiring to good government is easy. Achieving it is a lot more challenging, especially as pressures grow for government agencies to be increasingly accessible, accountable, relevant and responsive in this digital age.

An array of electronic technologies is redefining the way citizens live, work and think - fuelling fresh perceptions and expectations about what government could and should deliver.

However, this revolution also opens up huge opportunities for every tier of government to become more efficient, inclusive and cost effective - and greener. The digital revolution presents enormous scope for governments to embrace e-technologies to empower the public, as well as strengthen and evolve the services they rely on to boost productivity and compliance.

Challenges of change

Every day, 350 million photos are uploaded to Facebook. This highlights the profound impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on what we do and how we do it. This is the age of instant interactivity and hyperconnectivity, a world of Wi-Fi, apps, iPads, smartphones, social media, real-time info and an increasingly pervasive anytime, anywhere, ‘I need it NOW’ digital culture.

Far-reaching change is inevitably mirrored in changing expectations of government. This equates to better information and better-quality services for citizens - despite budget realities compelling government to find creative ways of doing more for less.

Facing these demands, all levels of government are discovering that traditional tools, processes and practices are just not capable of responding at the required level. Successfully accommodating change means committing to new ones.

E-government: in action or inaction?

A decisive switch to e-government can deliver a coherent yet multifaceted solution to the challenges of change. Such a transition isn’t an event but a process with the potential to evolve towards ‘e-everything’ (e-services, e-procurement, e-archiving etc), reinvigorating virtually every sphere of government activity.

E-government in action means tapping into a huge arsenal of tools, technologies and capabilities - such as web 2.0, mobile devices and apps, cloud computing, data mining, as well as crowdsourcing - that are generally compatible with existing IT infrastructure. These are some of the options that can be harnessed by governments to deliver an e-framework that promotes innovation, automation and collaboration.

The price of inaction will be counted in financial terms, reputational damage and missed opportunities to make a government sharper, smarter, nimble on its feet and agile to meet the needs of all its stakeholders.

Going mobile

The headlong growth in the popularity of smartphones and tablets has made the mobile industry the world’s number-one growth sector. A total of 82 billion apps, for example, were downloaded in 2013.

While the implications for government agencies are obvious, so too are the opportunities to tap on mobile to enhance service levels, extend citizen participation in government and boost efficiency. For one, government employees can be enabled to use mobile devices to access up-to-date information whether they are in the field, on the road or working at a remote office.

Cloud computing, where IT needs are met on-demand via the internet on a utility-like ‘pay as you go’ basis, can add another dimension to e-government in general and mobile-based services in particular.

In addition to taking the strain from CAPEX budgets and shrinking the total cost of ownership, the cloud’s inherent scalability means new services can be added rapidly without the need to invest in new infrastructure - and with demand spikes effortlessly accommodated.

Once government agencies fully grasp the vast untapped opportunities offered by cloud computing and mobile devices, this can result in the potential for greater reach, lower costs and higher satisfaction levels.

Rewards and risks

E-government offers many rewards and eliminates many risks arising from uncontrolled, unconsolidated, unstructured information. Nevertheless, it can also open up new sources of risk that need to be recognised and confronted. Will new systems be robust enough to ensure business continuity? Will data sovereignty prove to be a legal minefield? Will costs spiral unexpectedly?

Arguably the biggest risks of all revolve around data security and privacy in an e-environment. As the volume of confidential and sensitive information held online expands by the day, it has also inadvertently led to the rise of alarming news stories around data loss/leakage. In May 2014, for example, a cyberattack resulted in a data breach that potentially exposed the account information of over 100 million eBay users.

The brutal truth is that well-organised cybergangs and maverick hackers are using increasingly sophisticated malware and ‘dirty tricks’ to feed a burgeoning global black market in stolen data.

The possible dangers are made more acute by the pervasive influence of mobile devices, which can be easily lost or mislaid and often inadequately protected by security software, as well as the blurring of boundaries between home and work life. If e-government is to make a genuine difference, these risks must be fully understood and comprehensively defused.

The key to addressing the risks, while seizing the potential, is to pinpoint proven expertise with a compelling track record in unlocking the cost-cutting, efficiency-driving capabilities of e-government - without increasing exposure to security, privacy, compliance-related and other possible dangers.

Image courtesy Robert Pfeifer under CC