Automation is no longer a nice to have. It’s become a necessity. Organisations face a range of diverse challenges which are combining to put immense pressure on their operational capabilities. Operational efficiency is increasingly becoming the number one priority for many organisations. The pandemic has placed the spotlight on businesses processes and the need for them to become more efficient during a time when revenues have stalled.
Challenges in the public sector: more, better, faster, cheaper. Pressure is mounting on central and local public sector organisations to perform better. The sector’s successes in improving citizen services and productivity with technology have stoked the appetite for fur-ther innovation, increased value for money and greater benefits to citizens. The first generation of online services has created a solid foundation for future development while showing how efficient and effective public services can be in an increasingly connected world.
Exploiting digital technology is the only way to deliver on society’s expectations for public services. Technology supports increased activity with less money and fewer people. It enables every kind of public sector organisation to get closer to the citizen and to collaborate better with other departments, agencies and suppliers. Digital Transformation lets organisations adapt faster to changing circumstances, implement solutions faster and co-create services with the target populations.
These pressures are especially acute because of the impact of Covid-19 and the replacement of the usual long-term comprehensive spending review with a one-year review in late 2020. The Government Transformation Strategy of 2017 envisages digitally-enabled transformation to improve the experience for citizens, businesses and users within the public sector as well as departmental and internal government transformation for greater flexibility and efficiency. While Covid-19 has disrupted delivery of the 2017 vision, the core principles and direction of travel remain relevant and indeed strengthened by the experiences of the pandemic.
We expect a forthcoming revision to the government digital strategy to underscore these values while directing additional attention to issues around skills and data governance. No matter how you look at it, building sustainable capabilities in creating, delivering and operating digital technology is absolutely fundamental to the future of the entire sector.
Find out more about how to achieve greater productivity and effectiveness with the BJSS eBook at www.bjss.com/ipa-ebook. This ebook is for people working in public sector organisations across central, local and devolved government, and organisations within regulated industries. The information is about how organisations can use Intelligent Automation to meet the challenges they are facing today and ensure a more effective and productive tomorrow. BJSS describes the challenges and introduces the concept, defined initially by Gartner, of the Hyper-Automation journey as a means of meeting those challenges. We explain Intelligent Automation and its role in Hyper-Automation. We offer our recommendations on succeeding with Intelligent Automation today and creating a solid basis for future success.
