Digital confidence is low

The use of IT to improve the delivery of services is the top priority for central government organisations after the election, however there is low confidence among civil servants that this can be achieved. This is according to new research from Eduserv, the not-for-profit provider of IT for the public sector.

Thursday, 21st May 2015 Posted 9 years ago in by Phil Alsop

The findings are published in the Eduserv report “Government, technology and the language of business change” which provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities for achieving digital transformation for the new government.

The research, which was conducted among 100 civil servants, found low levels of confidence that IT teams could deliver the right support needed to meet their business priorities. They were also sceptical that adequate investment would be made to enable any change.

Only one in three said that they were confident IT teams could help improve collaboration or improve services. A significant majority – 71% - said they didn’t believe their organisation would invest in better procurement to support their business needs.

The report also finds evidence of a strategic chasm between central government organisations and their IT teams:

· Only 22% of those surveyed said their organisation had an IT strategy aligned to future business needs;
· One in ten said IT worked effectively with departmental leads to identify and meet their needs;
· 31% said senior managers support the use of IT in current and future service delivery.

Ivan Harris, Chief Strategy Officer for Managed Could Services at Eduserv, said:

“This research marks a major shift in central government thinking on how it uses technology to transform the way it works and delivers services.

“In the past the main focus has been to use technology for cost reduction or giving people the ability to work on the move.
“Today, the overwhelming priority for central government is to harness technology in order to improve service delivery – an area which many acknowledge has been ignored so far.

“But with only a quarter of organisations able to say their people understand the role of IT in service delivery, the defining challenge for successful digital transformation in government is less about technology and more about culture and people.

“To create the environment for success, managers and leaders need to stop ‘flying solo’ and show greater strategic leadership by getting IT on board with the digital transformation agenda if we are to get close to the government’s vision for a digital government.”