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Governments adopt technologies, but still fall short in citizen expectations
KPMG suggests collaborating with the private sector to accelerate transformation.
Governments and public sector organisations are progressing in their digital transformation but face challenges in meeting citizens' growing expectations, according to KPMG's Global Tech Report.
The report found that governments are advancing faster than the private sector in areas like XaaS, cybersecurity, Web 3.0, and data analytics. A notable 85% of public sector respondents prioritise adopting emerging technologies over maintaining legacy systems, compared to 54% of private sector respondents who struggle to keep pace with rapid changes.
Despite this progress, challenges remain with a separate KPMG showing that only 17% of UK public sector leaders considered their most recent digital transformation initiatives successful, attributing this to a lack of clear technology strategies and skill gaps. Additionally, organisational agility and competing priorities were cited as hindrance.
To address these challenges, KPMG suggests that governments embed accountability and depoliticise digital transformation programmes. Leading governments are aligning top talent with the necessary skills to drive execution, whilst also decoupling transformation lifecycles from political cycles to ensure continuity.
Some governments have broken down initiatives into smaller, modular projects that can be completed within specific time frames, whilst others have brought in external experts and technocrats to lead key initiatives, shielding them from political influence.
KPMG also suggests collaborating with the private sector to accelerate transformation. Many government respondents in the report indicated that seeking external expertise is a key tactic to fast-track their capabilities.
Additionally, governments are encouraged to design transformation efforts that combine deep industry experience with strategic implementation capabilities, ensuring that these programmes are comprehensive and sustainable. Such an approach should leverage external talent whilst sharing best practices across government entities, recognising that digital transformation requires more than just technological upgrades as it also involves substantial organisational and cultural changes.
