Point Of View Excerpts – Government and IT: A look into the future

Question: What are the factors determining the current direction of IT investments in public sector organizations? 

Siddall:  In the short term, IT investment is being driven by the stimulus and the associated need for agencies to be able to show the tangible ways in which IT investments result in better service….Another trend in the public-sector IT space is the push to invest in the development of infrastructure that supports electronic health records (EHR). 

Kronenberg:  At both the federal and state levels, there is a desire to implement shared services or utility-based computing platforms across departments and agencies….[Also], better data security, data management, and accessibility are necessary to allow a wider population of users to securely access data. 

Question: What best practices are being applied by organizations to address these challenges? 

Siddall:  Mechanisms for monitoring and improving performance in highly-regulated private industries, such as financial services, can greatly benefit public agencies…Many organizations are looking to invest in training to ensure that they have the right people and talent for long-term success….this means looking beyond immediate IT goals….to the “bigger picture”.

Kronenberg:  Public-sector organizations will need to embrace new technologies, while ensuring a strong foundation for program delivery and sound upfront processes for making business decisions…When considering new IT investments, careful analysis is necessary for understanding what the true starting point of any solution should be.

POV – Government and IT: A look into the future