Government
technology: How
technology impacts
government digital
transformation

Government digital transformation technology investments are unleashing opportunities to dramatically improve both the government and the citizen experience.

In its 2021 survey of government officials across eight countries, for example, consulting firm Deloitte found that 77% of agencies are seeing positive impacts from digital tools introduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic, yet 80% of respondents believe that their organizations’ digital efforts haven’t gone far enough. The top three reasons for making further government technology investments included allowing the public sector to innovate faster, meet citizen expectations and simply keep up with the times.

This government digital transformation journey is far from over, however. A recent Gartner® survey of government organizations reveals only 19% of government agencies are seeing "widespread use of digital solutions across all parts of the organization." On a more positive note, 45% said there are already "some examples of digital solutions being used for end-to-end processes."¹

Exactly how technology affects the government will vary from one agency to another, of course. Whether state, local, or federal government, some of the most common government digital transformation technology tools fit into the following four pillars of digital transformation:

1. Connectivity: The network must support how and where your end-users are working.
2. Visibility: Now that the network is often Internet-centric, it’s necessary to be able to see what’s taking place on the network from the user to the application and everything in between.
3. Automation: Agencies should consider ways to automate the onboarding and offboarding of services and users.
4. Security: An active defense must be tightly integrated but be able to flex and flow to meet the new attack vectors that are brought in by a hybrid connectivity model.

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), the fifth generation (5G) of wireless technology represents a complete transformation of telecommunication networks, transforming the digital landscape and will serve as a catalyst for innovation, new markets, and economic growth. CISA says it works with industry leaders and public sector agencies to bring awareness to national critical infrastructure risk, as well as to educate and drive behavioral change towards the Nation’s relationship with ICT and other critical systems, including 5G technologies.

A 2021 report from the World Economic Forum explored 5G possibilities which include five key takeaways:

1. A robust 5G infrastructure will be foundational to both inclusive economic growth and competitiveness
2. 5G has the potential to democratize computing, helping to close digital divides
3. Public-private partnerships are essential to success and broad-based gains
4. To benefit from 5G, countries urgently require a clear strategy for cross-industry investment and policy
5. 5G is a general-purpose technology enabler, unlocking the potential of cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing

Having the right network is paramount to providing the access and connectivity required to ensure a good user experience, workforce enablement and scalable, flexible, adaptable delivery of citizen services. Collaboration and communication solutions that sit above the network help ensure that government officials, industry partners, suppliers and citizens can easily and effectively work together. 

A holistic approach that offers SDN technology plus hybrid connectivity platforms will allow you to dial bandwidth up or down as necessary so that you can make network changes and prioritize traffic in near-real-time. It will also enable you to gain the visibility you need at both the network and application layer level to optimize performance and ensure network security.

Many agencies are using "Internet of Things" technology to control equipment, monitor building systems, or perform other tasks —like unlocking doors using a smartphone application.  IoT devices, cloud applications, remote collaboration requirements, mobile employees and network security concerns all mean IT has more and more traffic spread across more and more places. According to the GAO, of agencies surveyed, “most frequently reported increasing data collection and increasing operational efficiency as benefits of using IoT technologies. Increasing data collection can aid decision-making and support technology development; increased efficiencies may allow agencies to accomplish more with existing resources.”

This rise in traffic means that you have new ways to leverage data to optimize your operations, but it can also mean more network blind spots to navigate as traffic gets siloed across the network.

As with other sectors, the variety and number of government network endpoints are proliferating rapidly, which can mean latency issues as data travels back and forth to the cloud. Edge computing offers an alternative, where data is processed closer to the point at which it is created and consumed.

An analysis of edge computing in the public sector by IDC said, "edge computing can be leveraged by governments in new ways, extending additional citizen services based on location, with localized applications and personalized targeting."² This could help automate services and help identify, for example, the location of cardiac defibrillators, fire hydrants, or parking spots.

And what is the edge without the cloud? Tapping into on-demand IT resources that provide elastic resources is a potential way for government agencies to optimize their costs while delivering consistently reliable services to citizens. This can take the form of public cloud services from third-party vendors, private clouds based on virtualizing government data centers, or hybrid clouds that mix the two.

Government agencies are quickly becoming one of the biggest targets for cyber criminals and although attacks are growing in frequency and sophistication across all industries, the public sector makes up a worrying percentage of targets. Governments need to ensure they protect not only the systems and data connected to the delivery of services, but the personal data of citizens they are mandated to collect and manage. This can include everything from citizenship records to healthcare.

One of the worst impacts of a cyber attack for public sector organizations can be the resulting downtime, which can cause huge financial implications. This is why cyber security is a critical area for government technology spending. In its 2021 implementation report, for instance, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) found the diligent efforts of cybersecurity and policy professionals in Congress, the executive branch, and beyond have led to significant progress. Nearly three-quarters of its recommendations for defending the U.S. against cyber threats have been implemented since March 2020. Some of the tools involved here could include intrusion detection, secure mobile communications and more.

When it comes to cyber security in the public sector, you must be fully prepared for any attack. Establishing a long-term, programmatic approach requires agencies to establish upfront requirements for a service-oriented architecture, security, end-user capabilities and availability. Agencies should consider taking an inventory of their data and then thinking about the best ways to move that data securely, how to make the data consumable by end-users and how best to format and present that data to decision-makers. Create a security strategy that can grow with your agency and conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration tests to keep tabs on your security posture.

The 15th edition of Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which provides an annual analysis of security incidents and data breaches, is available for download here. Public sector organizations are key contributors to the report each year.

2022 will no doubt provide many more examples of how government digital transformation technology affects the public sector’s top important priorities. Success will depend upon not only choosing the right tools but augmenting government technology investments with a partner that can provide the access, connectivity and security to deliver the experience citizens deserve.

Learn more about how government digital transformation technology benefits the government and how Verizon can help public sector organizations increase productivity while maintaining security and compliance with government technology.

The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.