What will 2015 bring for public sector technology?
We’ve looked into our magic ball and here’s our top 5 predictions for 2015.
2015 is all about ‘joined-up’ working in a period of austerity; getting people, processes and technology in line to deliver a customer-centric service while driving costs down. How can we do more with less? This opens up new territories for public sector organisations. We’re in a time where radical transformations need to be made and suppliers need to adapt to help their customers meet these UK-wide challenges. Innovation, integration, data sharing and working around customers needs take front and centre stage.
Cost saving through innovation
Further cuts to local government funding have been confirmed in the region of around 9%. With the tough economic climate likely to remain for the foreseeable future, there is a need to ensure implementation of technology projects are making savings. Councils will start looking towards more innovative solutions and radical transformations to drive service delivery costs down.
Joined up services
With the complexities of supplier and technology landscape increasing, along with fast introductions of newer digital technologies available in the marketplace, public sector organisations and the government will have to start revisiting their procurement models. There could be more ‘joining up’ and sharing of technology platforms or services amongst local councils and partner agencies.
Being customer-centric
With both the Welsh and English Government pushing ?? local government and councils to embrace multi-agency working, secure data sharing beyond traditional service boundaries will be a focus area in 2015 and beyond. With austerity being the driver to make real changes, there will be moves to design services and utilise technology that can help deliver services around the needs of citizens’.
Unite for better service delivery
Austerity is also forcing what once were separate sectors to unite; Health and Care. This new unification means cleaner and smoother transfers of information between these two areas. A few organisations in England are already making headway with this. The Kings Fund are a local independent charity working to help improve health care in England by shaping policy and practice through research. Here’s a great video they put together of their vision for what’s to come in 2015 and beyond. Integration to enable data sharing will be the next big area on the horizon for 2015.
Breaking down Barriers
With the need for better information sharing, technology companies and other sectors need to break down barriers which are currently preventing data sharing. The rise of APIs’ (Application Programme Interface) being opened up so that different applications can integrate and share data can result in better collaboration and reduced administration. It is expected that more public sector organisations will be turning to technology providers that will work with other technology partners in creating an integrated platform for a more joined up approach in delivering services to the public.