Best of Tech 2019

Of

2019

Leveraging the Trinity of AUTOMATION – ANALYTICS – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE towards Autonomous Governance

A

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

Initiative

Of

2019 Leveraging the Trinity of Automation – Analytics – Artificial Intelligence towards Autonomous Governance

A

Initiative

Best of Tech, 2019 Coeus Age Š Copyright 2019 Coeus Age Consulting LLP All rights reserved. No part of this report shall be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without a written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

OUR SINCERE THANKS TO

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

DISCOVERING THE BEST OF DIGITAL LEADERSHIP I TECHNOLOGY I PERFORMANCE

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

TM

DIGITAL

STATES OF INDIA

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PREFACE Let’s Come Together to Build an Autonomous World

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9 PREDICTIONS FOR 2019 The Trinity Of Automation - Analytics -Artificial Intelligence Is Setting In The Government Sector

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GEMS OF DIGITAL THOUGHT LEADER Nurturing the Idea of an ‘Autonomous Government’ Autonomous IT Infrastructure for an Autonomous Government Embracing Non-Linearity: Moving Beyond ‘Business as Usual New Design Approach for New India – Reaching out to the Citizens Artificial Intelligence Will Prove to be the Game Changer Building Narrowly Focussed and Clearly Defined AI Use Cases Data and Analytics Should be Placed in the Hands of Everyone Analytics on top of PFMS Automation – Providing Real Time Visibility

‘Cloud First’ is Real – 360 Degrees Automation Is the Way to GO

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THE ROAD AHEAD The Trinity of Automation – Analytics – Artificial Intelligence: Towards Autonomous Governance

Tech Waves in Government and Enterprise – A Comparison Envisioning the Future Model of IT in Government The Data First Paradigm – Shifting from Edge to the Center Five Essentials for Moving Ahead Principal Analyst 7

BEST OF TECH, 2019

T

echnology has been often leveraged to make governments more efficient and effective.

There has been an increasing focus on the use of information and communication technology in delivery of services to citizens, close to home.

The ICT infrastructure setup under Digital India program has connected millions of Indians in smaller towns and villages of India and enabled them to leverage the power of technology to pursue their dreams. Though we have come a long way in making digital solutions accessible to billions of Indians, there is still a lot to be done.

Language and literacy continue to be the barriers for many.

The approach so far, has been gradual and linear from centre to states to districts to talukas to citizens. The onset of Digital India program has brought in a paradigm shift by adopting a more ‘direct to citizens’ approach. Today citizens can connect to governments directly, funds can be transferred to beneficiaries directly, and services can be delivered directly to citizens on their mobiles. The availability of cloud computing infrastructure, mobility, and connectivity has enabled Digital India solutions to be platform centric and inclusive in nature.

Artificial intelligence and analytics are going to be key contributors to design of digital solutions of the next decade. Technologies like machine learning, voice interfaces, language translation, and speech recognition can help build a new generation of solutions. These solutions will not only help overcome barriers of language and literacy but also deliver an altogether new experience.

Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

PREFACE

Let’s Come Together to Build an Autonomous World

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

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he world of technology is becoming interesting with

real. The future is going to be that of Hybrid IT and that of

each passing day. The emergence of data as a potent

seamlessly connected IT infrastructure belonging to multiple

source of competitive advantage and value is clearly

generations and from multiple suppliers, the real game will

becoming prominent. Do you know that 90% of the data

be defined by the degree of autonomy with which it can be

present today has been produced in the past 2 years alone?

managed effectively.

Variety of data, in volumes and coming at high velocity contains hidden patterns, meanings and insights that are

This journey towards building an autonomous world can

next to impossible for a normal human brain to handle.

be extremely frustrating if undertaken alone. The speed at

Hence, machine is coming to our rescue.

which new technologies are coming into the mainstream, disrupting the status quo and providing strategic advantage

With the earlier wave of digital represented by SMAC

to those prepared, is mind boggling. Coming together to

becoming mainstream today, a new wave that is capable of

learn is the way to make it interesting and meaningful.

handling volume, variety and velocity of data is fast evolving.

Made up of a set of complementary technologies like Artificial

The Best of Tech aims at making the collaboration possible by

Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language

researching the latest developments and setting a discourse

Processing (NLP), Internet of Things (IoT), and Blockchain,

on the possible ways to deal successfully with them. I am

the new wave is opening plethora of opportunities to

extremely delighted to present this documentation of our

meaningfully exploit the data, both for designing innovative

learnings and that of the perspectives of technology experts.

products and services, as well as for gaining efficiency and

I am sure this will go a long way in defining a collaborative

effectiveness in their delivery.

framework that enables learning together.

While enterprises and governments are pulling their socks

I take this opportunity to thank all the thought leaders who

up for harnessing the data deluge, the core infrastructure

have given their valuable inputs into out research. I also

technologies are also evolving to support the drive. Hyper

thank Micro Focus and Tableau for their support, without

converged infrastructure, micro services, containerisation

which it could not have been possible.

and DevOps, all represent new tech aimed at providing speed, agility, and efficiency. By exploiting the power of

Dr. Kapil Dev Singh,

AI/ ML to manage the core infrastructure and applications,

CEO, Coues Age

autonomous IT services management is also becoming

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

9 Predictions for 2019

The Trinity of

AUTOMATION - ANALYTICS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE is setting in the Government Sector A Coeus Age Research Analysis

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

44%

71%

20%

BEST OF TECH, 2019

13

4% 2%

4%

2% 4%

CHANGE/ CAPACITY BUILDING

MODERNIZING INFRASTRUCTURE

ENSURING SECURITY/ BCDR

DESIGNING NEW MOBILE APPS

INVOLVING START UPS

0%

2%

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES (SMAC+) – EVOLUTIONARY JOURNEY

39%

39%

20%

2%

FLIRTING

BUILDING

CONVERGING

TRANSFORMING

2%

INDUSTRY INTERFACING

2%

ROBOTICS PROCESS AUTOMATION 2%

NEW ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

TOP PRIORITY

UNIFIED STORAGE/ SAN/ NAS 7%

4%

4%

END USER COMPUTING MANAGEMENT 10%

4%

7%

CONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS 10%

STANDARDISING TECHNOLOGY/ DATA

13%

NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING 10%

9%

7%

CHAT BOTS/ VIRTUAL ASSISTANT/ VIRTUAL REALITY 12%

ANALYZING AVAILABLE DATA

9%

7%

SOCIAL MEDIA 12%

CITIZENS EXPERIENCE

11% 7%

HYBRID IT MANAGEMENT 15%

CITIZENS OUTREACH

2% 2%

BLOCKCHAIN 17%

MODERNIZING APPLICATIONS

11% 16%

MACHINE LEARNING/ COGNITIVE COMPUTING 17%

APPLICATIONS/ DATA INTEGRATION

13% 7%

VIRTUALIZATION/ STORAGE VIRTUALIZATION

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

16% 4%

DATA BACK-UP SOLUTIONS/ BCDR 22%

MIDDLEWARE/ APPLICATIONS INTEGRATION/ DATA INTEGRATION 27%

INFRASTRUCTURE OVERHAUL/ MODERNIZATION 27%

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 27%

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

11%

INTERNET OF THINGS/ MACHINE TO MACHINE/ SENSOR BASED SOLUTIONS 27%

MOBILITY/ MOBILE SOLUTIONS/ MOBILE APPS 27%

APPLICATIONS OVERHAUL/ MODERNIZATION 41%

CLOUD

ANALYTICS/ BIG DATA/ DATA PRESENTATION/ DASHBOARDS 11%

TOP 2 PRIORITIES FOR 2019 2ND TOP PRIORITY

2%

0%

TECHNOLOGIES PLANNING TO ADOPT IN 2019

C I.

oeus Age research analysis is based upon a

Even after the feeder routes are made i.e. the smaller

holistic approach of triangulating three sources

pebbles are in place, very micro processes may remain

of information –

manual. E.g. a leave is approved by manually clicking.

Many of these are rule based decisions, that can be

Survey of 52 tech leaders across governance

automated. These are like the route one takes from

multiple domains

home to reach the feeder route, often involving decision

II.

making on the mode of travel and which route to take.

Expert perspective of 12 senior government

tech leaders and

These are the sand grains, very minute yet multiple such

III.

processes. In this category Robotics Process Automation

Coeus Age repository of past research

or RPA will gain traction over time. The private sector By analysing the data from the survey with the backdrop

has already started embracing RPA in a big way where

of qualitative explanations from the experts and case

micro processes are being automated.

studies of 92 Gems of Digital India that Coeus Age had identified over the past 2 years, our analysts have

And finally, the water that binds all together. It represents

9 key predictions for 2019. Each prediction covers an

automating the minutest to the largest processes within

important aspect of technology.

and across domains, overlaying a digital fabric that connects people, data, processes and things in a unified

We present our holistic analysis in the form of 9

architecture. The tight binding makes it a cohesive and

predictions for 2019.

one system.

1. Focus on basic automation shall intensify

The data from 52 tech leaders clearly indicate that focus

Automation is a never-ending process. It follows the

on automation will only intensify in 2019. A significant

proverbial ‘big rocks – small pebbles – sand grains –

percentage of them indicate ‘operational efficiency’ by

water’ in a crucible metaphor as it unfolds over time.

automation as a top priority for 2019. This automation

The first focus of automation is always on the ‘big rocks’

drive will continue in both the cases – one where some

or the large applications that automates the bigger

work has already been done and two where it is yet to

processes. E.g. ERP or a Supply Chain Management

begin. In the former case the breadth shall increase

application are the bigger rocks. They are like the

whereas for the later it will be new start.

highways that connects two well defined points.

2. Cross domain integration shall gain stronger Despite the large applications, a lot may remain

traction

manual. Taking the highway analogy further, one

Data also clearly suggests that within and cross domain

still needs a feeder route to reach the highway. Many

integration between the islands of automation will also

smaller processes may remain manual before the large

gain traction in 2019. One out of four respondents

application is reached. E.g. a list is manually checked for

have clearly stated ‘application/ data integration’ as top

errors before it is uploaded for payroll to be processed.

priorities for 2019. These are domains where substantial

Many would remember the manual interventions to

automation (of the large rocks variety) has taken place

connect two processes. These feeder routes or smaller

and they are now looking at building bridges between

process automation are like the smaller pebbles. They

applications, either within domain or even across

sometimes also connect two highways, i.e. processes

domain (the pebbles and even sand grain variety).

that integrates two larger processes.

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

3. Citizen experience will get its due consideration, yet

reveals a very interesting insight, data analytics is the next

the actions may remain limited

big thing, yet it’s not high on priority and most of the efforts

While there are increasing efforts to reach out to citizens

may be flirting in nature. In the more matured domains,

in the far-flung areas, the more matured domains have

it may also be building (39%) the pillar in isolation. The

also started thinking of citizens’ experience. So far, any

analysis suggests that analytics will be a high interest

form of interface would have done, but the realisation

topic in 2019, yet most of it will be flirting in small ways

that citizens are exposed to much better stuff in their day

or building it in isolation. This however also suggests that

to day use of digital, a more user friendly, aesthetically

more and more tech leaders will explore analytics, publish

better and integrated backward for effective and efficient

basic versions of data and learn the ropes before it can

delivery interface is being envisaged. Though limited

become mainstream.

to better web site design with standard look and feel, the focus on citizens’ experience will only become more

6. Artificial Intelligence will see green shoots, but may

intense with time. We believe the construct will emerge

not gain momentum

as an important issue and sporadic activities will also be

The logical step beyond automation and analytics is to

undertaken in 2019, the real work shall happen in the

build artificial intelligence, something that will be high on

coming years only.

hype in 2019. The hype will lead to activities to understand the technology domain, identify use cases that are high

4. The first wave of digital shall gain further ground,

on readiness and take baby steps by showing the power

especially mobility and cloud

of AI through building POCs. In short evangelising for AI

There are two distinct waves of digital visible today, a

will rule in 2019. It may take some time before it is broad

relatively more mainstream SMAC wave (social media,

based and deep in terms of its adoption. The first stop with

mobility, analytics and cloud) and a new and emerging

respect to AI will be chatbots that will provide a human like

AI/ ML/ IoT wave. Within the first wave mobility and cloud

experience to the citizens looking for information. Though

have gained good momentum as relative to analytics and

voice bots that support citizen queries/ grievances in their

social media. While analytics is high on adoption priority as

own language will be conceived and talked about, it will

discussed later, cloud is slated to gain good ground in 2019

take a while before they become real.

(44% respondents see it as one of the top 2 priorities).

7. The recursive cycle of automation – analytics – artificial A multi cloud scenario, a hybrid of private and public cloud,

intelligence will kick in, yet their play will largely remain

will take roots. This is evident from 15% of respondents

discrete

stating Hybrid IT management as a priority for 2019. A

The trio of automation, analytics and artificial intelligence

hybrid cloud is a reality and what is critical amid this reality

will evolve in cycles. In each cycle, the relationship between

is the ability to manage the multi cloud environment for

the three essential aspects will also evolve. In the initial

a seamless data play and user experience. Many of the

cycles, the trio will remain mostly isolated with a clear

new technologies like hyper converged infrastructure,

distinction between them. But as they evolve over the later

micro services, containerization and use of AI/ ML is IT

cycles, the distinction shall give way to a more cohesive

management are evolving to support an environment

and converged play.

that is built for speed, agility, reliability, experience and security. Though in 2019, it may not see huge traction,

In the first cycle, automation will playout at the level of

green shoots have started emerging and it will get firmer

the larger applications and smaller applications that build

over time.

a bridge between them (the rock and pebbles metaphor), analytics will be mostly about data presentation regarding

5. Analytics is emerging as the next stop, though focus

key parameters and AI will be restricted to providing POCs

may remain shallow

in select use cases.

Let’s triangulate three pieces of data – data analysis as a top priority (11%), analytics as a technology focus (71%)

Later, at a more advanced cycle, the distinction between

and 39% flirting with emerging technologies (SMAC+). It

automation, analytics and AI will become blurred and a

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

smart entity will be born that thrives on autonomy at a

9. Focus on crowd sourcing and GovTech start-ups will

systemic level, automation that is driven by intelligence

remain marginal

and requires minimal human intervention. Humans will

Though industry role in eGovernance is present, it is

play their role mostly in designing the system and periodic

largely restricted to large product and service providers.

recalibration to train the system on the latest data. It’s a

These are larger rocks, but as the focus moves beyond

grand vision, a reality that will unfold over time.

the larger rocks towards smaller grains of sand and water, a highly effective mechanism to interface and

8. Amid slow-paced search for a new enterprise

collaborate with large number of GovTech start-ups and

architecture, ground softening shall happen

smaller players must evolve. The data does not suggest a

The need is latent, the voices in favour are few and feeble,

high level of focus in 2019 on this aspect, something that

yet it is being stated by one out of 10 respondents as a

must be developed as we progress ahead. Government

priority for 2019. Enterprise Architecture is a subject that is

has the might, but it alone cannot build a large and

not taken up every year. It’s a transformative step, when a

cohesive ecosystem of interrelated domains that thrive

new blueprint to cope with the demands on one hand and

on continuous innovation, a paradigm that thrives on data

make way for better assimilation of emerging technologies

and data driven services. There are isolated activities like

on the other becomes a necessity. What one must also

Hackathon where start-ups work on government data for

note, alongside the big bang redesigning of the enterprise

designing innovative services or Digitize India Platform

architecture, are the relatively smaller yet quite relevant

and MyGov that leverages crowd souring of efforts and

and complimentary steps of standardizing technology

ideas, but it will require a much more integrated and well-

and data, modernizing applications and infrastructure

choreographed play for providing an effective outreach to

and capacity building. It’s the time to reimagine the core

the GovTech start-ups.

IT platform for a new blueprint to emerge over time.

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

TM

Gems of Digital

Thought Leader

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

Nurturing the Idea of an ‘Autonomous Government’ Shri Golok Kumar Simli, Principal Consultant and CTO, Passport Seva Project, Ministry of External Affairs

P

assport Seva Project and Madad are two high

deploying world class transformational initiatives in the

impact initiatives of the Ministry of External affairs,

passport and consular services domains, there are three

Government of India. The core applications,

essential requirements for building an autonomous

process reengineering, and successful deployment has

system.

been achieved for both. We are now taking a series of incremental refinements like cross domain integration,

1. Everything Automated, especially on Mobile for anytime,

reduction in scope of paper use, geo spread and

anywhere transaction and information consumption

simplification of usage.

2. Ubiquitous Analytics for real time insights into process and system behaviour, the analytics engine

Even after doing so much, we are continuously

is embedded into the process engine instead of being

challenging ourselves by posing the question ‘what next?’.

separate

There is no end point in a technology driven initiative,

3. Artificially Intelligent for system to learn and automate

eGovernance is no exception. We believe the next leap

routine decision making, throw exceptions without fail

could be building a system that is capable of not only

and highlight hidden parameters that are relevant for

maintaining but also learning and evolving itself, without

decision making

much human interference, in an autonomous manner. It may be conceptualized as having the capability to learn

By focussing on the trio of Automation, Analytics and AI,

patterns and auto-correct, trigger exceptions and enable

an intelligent and autonomous governance system that

humans for taking key decisions. It is not only smart, and

spans across people and processes can be created. Such

intelligent but also reliable and secure.

systems will be needed in future and it is quite possible to build one.

What will it take to build such an autonomous system?

Well, based upon our experience of designing and

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

Autonomous IT Infrastructure for an Autonomous Government Shri Saurabh Saxena, Country Director, Micro Focus India

B

usiness

are

1. Simplify the existing IT infrastructure and applications

struggling to cope with the relentless speed of

2. Modernize the legacy applications and account for

change.

Enterprises Though

and

Governments

information

technology

has

cloud-native ones

helped them in the past in becoming more efficient and

3. Improve

effective, the pace of emergence of digital technologies

software

development

and

delivery

mechanisms and processes

is continually putting pressure on their IT infrastructure

4. Enhance

and services management. Competing agendas, like

the

cybersecurity

posture

across

all

processes, and

speed and security, need to be addressed together. It’s

5. Generate adequate insights about business operations

like juggling many balls together and do so adeptly. The

for efficiency as well as discovery of newer business

traditional designs and methods of managing the IT

models

infrastructure and services are becoming irrelevant in meeting the growing and competing demands on IT.

With an extensive suite of applications developed internally, and through acquisitions (most notable of

Hybrid IT has become the new reality. It is disrupting

which was the merger of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise

many processes in IT organizations and contributing to

[HPE] Software business in 2017), Micro Focus envisions

its complexity – it brings with it a complex combination

to serve organizations in four distinct areas: Enterprise

of traditional and cloud computing, along with IoT and

DevOps, Hybrid IT management (including IT operations,

edge computing. To enable the disparate entities work

and cloud management), Security, Risk and Governance,

in tandem and seamlessly with each other, organizations

and Predictive Analytics.

have to take a holistic, analytics-driven approach. They have to master hybrid IT with new agility—bridging traditional

and

transformational

IT

services

•

Enterprise

DevOps—Build

and

deliver

better

from

software faster: To win the race to innovate requires

mainframe to mobile, from corporate to cloud while

a high-speed approach and our solutions in this field

securing what matters most – i.e, identities, applications,

unleashes the power of DevOps across the hybrid IT

and data.

landscape, quickly bringing innovative ideas to life at the pace of business to securely deliver high quality

That’s the biggest challenge the tech leaders are

software and services faster and smoother.

facing today, for which a digital transformation drive is undertaken by many. What they need is an automated

•

Hybrid IT Management — Run and transform:

and simplified IT Infrastructure and services management

Information technology is evolving at a very fast pace

platform that can help them meet the big ask. There are

– that include IT Infrastructure, services and even

five key technology imperatives that such platform must

purchasing models. Maximizing business value and

help the tech leaders achieve -

accelerating outcomes provokes enterprises to find

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

new ways to extend existing investments and take

•

•

Security,

Risk,

and

Governance—Secure

what

advantage of new platforms – from containers to public

matters the most: With the rise in technology usage

clouds to IoT. We, at Micro Focus help organizations

and data security – as a major concern, cyberthreats

run ITOps at the speed of DevOps, delivering services

have escalated at an exponential level. Aging apps

on demand and generating operational and business

and processes (along with new ones) are full of

insights, all while helping corporates address

unforeseen risks and privacy and compliance

security, compliance and governance requirements.

requirements are mounting too. Micro Focus

OpsBridge, our IOps platform, is the world’s first

provides the industry’s broadest set of integrated

containerized, service-oriented, and autonomous

security, risk, and governance solutions, with an

monitoring solution that is enterprise-grade, highly

analytics-driven approach to securing what matters

scalable, and comprehensive.

most – identities, applications and data.

Predictive Analytics—Analyze in time to act: Data

By delivering a complete set of customized solutions

lakes can be valuable only if businesses can surface

that can be integrated together and with existing legacy

the insights hidden within its depths. Micro Focus

systems, we have differentiated ourselves by constantly

helps leverage ML to transform unlimited and

matching the current and future reality of Enterprise IT.

huge amount of data into accurate, actionable and

The breadth of the portfolio, depth of enabling analytics

automated insights at the speed of any business.

and proven ability to protect the organization’s most

It helps corporates to be in a position to make

important assets gives customers the confidence they

predictions and influence business outcomes quickly

need to transform their business rapidly on their own

and efficiently with comprehensive and relevant real-

terms and conditions. At the end, it’s all about greater

time intelligence.

speed and flexibility with lower overall risk, in short meeting competing demands adeptly.

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

Embracing Non-Linearity: Moving Beyond ‘Business as Usual’ Shri Vishnu Chandra, DDG, NIC

1. Breaking the Walls of Data Siloes– AI, ML, Big Data Analytics are forcing government entities to standardize the data for it be uniformly understood across application domains. Take for example, in an outreach drive in the MSME sector, we found variety of industry classifications by different government departments. Nothing much

T

can be done without building a common or standard classification

he world is moving beyond simple and linear automation

across

the

concerned

departments/

ministries/ stakeholders. The problem is present in

required for carrying out basic transactions. A more

almost all the initiatives that involve multiple entities

complex, non-linear and converged world driven by

to provide a unified and converged service to the end

data is taking shape. And it is happening quite rapidly. The

users.

need of the hour is to build a holistic approach towards

2. Conceptualizing Capacity as an Integral Part – It is

creating a system where even smaller events can lead to

almost an established fact that IT teams alone cannot

bigger implications. New wave of digital can do that and if

drive eGovernance. It may have a bigger role in defining

not exploited in the right way, that will be a gross waste of its

guidelines, driving adherence and ensuring security of

potential.

data. But beyond that a more open approach to handle and analyse data and drive micro services for the citizens

Government is not immune to this new reality that is disrupting

may be required. Let me elaborate upon one area, that

the ‘business as usual’ approach and forcing policy makers

of capacity building. Technology can help in capturing

to come to terms with it. New technologies like Artificial

the tacit knowledge of process owners, both government

Intelligence and Machine Learning are exposing the areas of

and non-government, which may be used meaningfully.

unpreparedness in exploiting data meaningfully and steering

Conceptualizing capacity as separate structures of

us towards a more contemporary and nonlinear version of

consultants may be relevant as a add on approach in the

eGovernance. The realization may be latent as of now, but

‘business as usual’ linear thinking, but it must become

it will dawn upon us very fast. That’s the way the world is

an integral part of the core governance structures in

evolving today. We need to be ready when that happens and

the nonlinear reality that is emerging. How can that be

the time for preparing ourselves is NOW.

done? Can platform-thinking help in encoding policy and processes as integral parts ensuring adherence

The new paradigm makes it quite imperative to build a data

and security yet involving all. Without taking a holistic

layer that can be enhanced by using cloud computing, is

approach, government may always lag the technology

amenable for broader and deeper analytics, and can drive

curve, losing the potential for better governance.

micro services in the form of apps. In the current scheme

3. Defining Policies that Support the New Reality – New

of things, it may be extremely difficult for a single entity to

policies that allow for both sharing of data and ensuring

handle all the four essential aspects i.e. data layer, cloud

its security and privacy is the need of the hour. What

enhancement, analytics and apps. Capacity building as we

must also be addressed is the flow of data across

know today may be apt for a linear world, but innovative ways

governance siloes, a common data language and ability

may be required for coping with the demands of a non-linear

to combine or recombine data to form new data points.

reality.

The GIS platforms today are in a way driving lot of convergence

Building upon the learnings from the GIS domain, I think there

yet may need impetus in the form of the three essential

are three key areas to focus upon for building capacity for

aspects as discussed, for the user departments/ ministries/

handling and exploiting data.

stakeholders to meaningfully exploit data.

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New Design Approach for New India:

Reaching out to the Citizens Shri Pratik Srivastava, DDG, NIC

I

ndia is changing and digital is playing a crucial role

The design in future must be push driven where the

in that. The new generation is exposed to the latest

government proactively reaches out to the citizens for

generation of technologies and are getting used to

sharing relevant information and allowing them to act on

a certain level of experience. Their demands cannot be

that. That will be a big shift in design thinking. But it will

effectively met with traditional methods. Governance also

need strong efforts to build a standardized and secured

must evolve in tandem with the broader technological and

data layer cutting across governance domains.

societal shifts. And surely it is evolving in that direction.

New digital technologies like AI, ML and IOT are being Speaking from the experience of driving initiatives around

adopted in small ways in almost every domain, but their

government scholarships, a lot has been done yet a lot

exploitation towards leveraging the data layer can open

more can be done. The design so far has been driven by a

newer possibilities that support the new design thinking.

pull strategy where the citizens come to a physical centre, a web site or a mobile app for information or availing a service. Many may miss out the opportunity if they are not aware of it.

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Artificial Intelligence Will Prove to be the Game Changer Shri Girish Kumar Gaur, DDG, NIC

is citizen interface with the government. The overarching goal is to build an effective interface for the citizens to interact with the government in their vernacular language.

Using the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Deep

T

Learning technologies, the idea is to build a system that can understand natural language, translate the grievance/

he volume and velocity of data produced in the

request into a pre-defined category and answer the query

world today is phenomenal. A vast amount of that

if the situation is predictable or push it to the concerned

data is lying underutilized, which can be used for

authorities to act upon. The difference that AI can make is

understanding the systemic behaviour and harnessing it for

in terms of handling the back-end complexity of government

making things better. Take for example the process control

processes that are working towards servicing the citizens,

systems (such as in power sector) are continually producing

mostly in isolation today. Their mutual interaction is the

data to monitor health of the systems and detect abnormal

cause of difficulties, which the citizen often must resolve

behaviour. Similar scenario exists in many other domains like

herself. AI can help address that complexity for a much

agriculture, health, rural and urban development, judiciary,

better experience for the citizens. It requires both the quality

education etc. where huge volumes of process data are

of interfaces as well as the backend integration for creating

available. To further add complexity to the growing data

the desired experience.

stream, there is also the increasing variety - structured as well as unstructured data like video, audio, image and text.

The journey has just begun, and it may take time before a significant impact is visible. The immediate objective for the

The new generation of digital technologies like the Artificial

CoE is to build awareness among the user departments to

Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing,

identify, formulate and conduct Proof of Concepts (POCs) in

Image Processing and Deep Learning (lets collectively refer

their respective domains. The approach to AI cannot be the

to them as AI) provide a strong ability to process the volume,

same as traditional software development. While the latter

variety and velocity of data for creating new knowledge about the respective systems.

is top down, AI inherently must be a bottom up approach.

The government is aware of the potential of AI in solving

quality of data is the first step to start the journey. The CoE

The use case in terms of specific context, key objective and is mandated with supporting the use cases with appropriate

myriad of problems towards building a much capable

technologies, frameworks and methodologies. Without a

system to serve the citizens. That’s the reason why it is

collaborative approach between the technical experts and

investing in building skills, knowhow and capability to

domains experts, AI project cannot work.

encourage the application of AI in various government domains. The mandate for the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in

We are currently focusing on domains such as urban &

Artificial Intelligence at the National Informatics Centre (NIC)

rural development, power, education and judiciary. The

is to propagate the usage of emerging AI technologies in the government sector.

consistent efforts in identifying more and more use cases

Though there are multiple use cases that are possible around

become a big force, but it is certainly going to be a game

and supporting them with AI technologies may take time to changer and a disruptive force in the long run.

AI, one area that has immense potential for AI intervention

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Building Narrowly Focussed and Clearly Defined AI Use Cases Shri Sunil Kumar, DDG, NIC

T

to a physical centre or connect over the phone or web, all

he journey of eGovernance is clearly transcending

requiring human intervention. Now, though the number

from automation to analytics. The next logical

of interactions is huge, there are fewer and manageable

milestone will be to build systemic intelligence by

number of ‘type of issues’ that are covered during the

exploiting emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence,

interactions. The process of identifying the generic question

Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Natural Language

‘types’ and their standard answers, processing query in

Processing, Virtual Reality etc. How more and more complex

natural language and providing answers also in the natural

tasks are automated with built-in intelligence will determine

language can be automated using appropriate technologies.

how much effectiveness and efficiency is achieved in serving the citizens.

A machine learning engine can work at the back end to

But AI and other related fields can have a very broad

can work at the front end, both to receive the query and

decipher and match the query, a natural language interface address the same with an appropriate response.

spectrum of applications, ranging from narrowly defined tasks to a broader and deeper usage. To begin with, it’s the

The use case will have very strong implications as the

narrow end that will get more attention and efforts. That’s

citizens can now interact and get response in their own

only logical, it’s very important to build large number of use

natural language. Their multi-purpose mobile phone in its

cases around narrow applications of AI, as it will take time for

simplest form can be used for voice query. The initiative

right conditions to evolve for a broader and deeper adoption

will enhance both the effectiveness and efficiency of service

of the newer technologies. The perspective one gets from

provisioning, the extent depending upon the degree to

these use cases can help scale them up, include adjoining

which the application is integrated with the back-end service

processes within domain, broad-base the usage to multiple domains, and mainstream AI in governance.

provisioning engine.

That’s the philosophy with which we have decided upon

We are exploring this application in Reproductive and Child Health Scheme (RCH), Central Government Health Scheme

using ‘chatbots for frequently asked questions (FAQs)’ by

(CGHS), and Online and Registration System (ORS) of

harnessing natural language processing as a use case for

eHospital. The same can be explored in many other domains

AI. Many citizens are interacting with government, either

of governance.

to enquire about their service requests or register their grievances or seek relevant information. They currently go

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

Data and Analytics Should be Placed in the Hands of Everyone Shri Anand Ekambaram, Country Manager, India, Tableau

I

are vast. We are at the dawn of the age of analytics ubiquity

t’s no secret that emerging technologies are changing the

where data and analytics should be placed in the hands9+-

way people live, work and play. Disruption is creating a

of everyone to truly benefit from the data we have.

wave of transformation and data underpins that.

For this to be effective, strong collaboration within the ecosystem in India, from the government, private sector and

This delivers the potential of improving public services as

educators is imperative to enable the workforce of today

people question and draw insights from data. From optimized

and tomorrow to be data-savvy.

transport systems to improved patient outcomes and better public education planning and results, the opportunities

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Analytics on top of PFMS Automation Providing Real Time Visibility Shri Nagesh Sastri, DDG, NIC Shri Dipankar Sengupta, Senior Technical Director and HoD, NIC

T

he Public Finance Management System (PFMS)

provides information on various system related KPIs,

has evolved over the time from being discrete

growth of schemes, bank integration growth on PFMS. To

systems into a holistic and integrated platform for

reduce float in the Government exchequer it also provides

managing the public finances of the central government.

information on the amount of unutilized funds available

The individual domains of budgeting, allocation and

with banks and different Agencies. Bank Integration being

disbursement are being weaved together for greater

the fulcrum of PFMS, the dashboard provides detailed

speed, accountability and speed. The different layers

analysis of banks and trends for different KPIs. It also

of automation at intra applications, inter applications

ranks Banks for each monthly period based on their

and inter domains have resulted into a holistic financial

performance with respect to Key Performance Indicators

management platform.

of PFMS.

While automation and integration are continuing, we are

A PFMS android mobile app for monitoring bank

seriously building in analytics capabilities to make real

performance has also been developed and deployed on

time visibility into the processes possible. This would

Google Play Store that is meant to be used by Scheme

help the decision makers at the ministry, department or

Managers of different Ministries of the Government of

scheme level to be in the knowing of the budget versus

India as well as Bank Nodal Officers of Banks Integrated

allocation performance and take timely actions.

with PFMS.

PFMS Dashboard, an Analytics Platform for Public Finance

We are sure that after 360 degrees automation and

Management System provides various trends for secretary

analytics on top of that, we will have the right context

dashboard for SBE based Budget and Expenditure trends

for exploring machine learning, deep learning or artificial

as well as state Nodal Officer’s Dashboard for PFMS to

intelligence for further accentuating the automation and

provide insights on Treasury Integration and scheme

analytics drive.

implementation in various states. The dashboard also

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

‘Cloud First’ is Real – 360 Degrees Automation Is the Way to GO Shri Vijay Kumar Vishwakarma, Scientist- F, NIC Shri Ashok Kaul, Scientist- F, NIC

N

IC National Cloud, set up as part of Ministry

projects such as e-Vidhaan, e-Hospital, PM-Kisan, Manav

of Electronics and Information Technology’s

Sampada,

e-Transport,

Aadhaar

Enabled

Biometric

ambitious initiative Meghraj, offers services to

Attendance System (AEBAS), Swachh Bharat Mission,

various government ministries, departments, and district

National Portal of India, Jeevan Pramaan, CCBS, NREGA,

administrations to host websites, portals, and web

MyGOV, Digital Locker, JoSSA (Counselling), ORS, National

applications. There has been exponential demand from

Scholarship, e-NAM, mFMS, Cyber Swachhta Kendra,

the government sector for NIC Cloud Services since its

AirSewa, Digital India Portal, Shram Suvidha Portal, Prime

launch.

Minister Office website, eNAM, Govt. Websites, e-Sahaj, UMANG, etc.

Various ministries and departments are now focusing on service delivery instead of devoting their time and energy

Cloud based services are providing a scalable platform

in procurement and management of IT infrastructure.

for hosting government applications to reach citizens

Cloud has provided a huge support in the government’s

across the country. It has resulted in significant reduction

progress towards digital transformation, and now

in time to go live. Other benefits include OPEX in place

government applications on cloud are focusing on mobile

of CAPEX, rapid deployment, optimum utilization of IT

first to reach the citizen.

infrastructure, environment friendliness, and higher compliance.

With the establishment of cloud services and adoption of ‘cloud first’ policy by the government, there has been

The future evolution of the NIC Cloud will see 360 degrees

a major shift in the data centre hosting patterns. New

automation of various processes for management and

applications are now being hosted on the cloud and

provisioning of the cloud services. The applications

existing applications are being gradually moved to the

in future will require greater agility, responsiveness,

cloud.

reliability, scalability and security. Moreover, a complex array of multi-vendor, multi-generation technologies and

National Cloud Services are being offered from National

multi-location cloud environment will make the task of

Data Centres of NIC. Hosting services from NIC National

management more challenging in the future.

Cloud are being provided for various critical e-Governance

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The Road Ahead

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The Trinity of Automation – Analytics – Artificial Intelligence: Towards Autonomous Governance

T

he three pillars of Automation, Analytics and Artificial

by time and space. But as they evolve and attain maturity,

Intelligence are poised to evolve towards building

they shall converge together. E.g. machine learning triggering

an autonomous system. An autonomous system is

an auto decision that provisions a service to a citizen, an

defined as one having the freedom to govern itself or control

example of AI driven automated rendering of service.

its own affairs. It can manifest at multiple levels – at a specific process level (e.g. issuance of driver’s license), domain level

The road ahead will involve enabling and supporting the

(e.g. the transport department) or a higher system level (e.g.

three As and eventually their interplay for an autonomous

city development).

system. Currently we are in the initial stages of the game, but as automation spreads from ‘big rocks to pebbles to grains

In the initial cycles of the interplay, the three aspects of

to water’, the role of analytics and AI shall become more

automation, analytics and AI shall evolve in silos, separated

pronounced.

AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Broad and Deep Systemic Application

Micro-Process Automation Application Integration

Narrow and Shallow Point Application

Islands of Automation

AUTOMATION

What if?

Simulation

Predictive Modelling

Simple Querying

Dashboards

MIS Reports

ANALYTICS 30

BEST OF TECH, 2019

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Tech Waves in Government and Enterprise A Comparison

A

comparison

of

tech

priorities

in

the

The recursive cycle between automation, analytics

Government and the Enterprise segments

and AI has advanced in the enterprises.

clearly reveals that while the Enterprises are

clearly into automating the minutest of the mundane

The idea is not to show the superiority of one over the

tasks, including regular decision making (through

others, but to draw key learnings from the enterprise

Robotics Process Automation), exploring artificial

space that is experiencing a new cycle of automation

intelligence and its various avatars like chat bots/

– analytics – artificial intelligence interaction. Cloud

VA/ VR, and preparing for sensor led operations,

seems to be equally high for both, yet the enterprise

the Government sector is still dealing with basic

space has a more complex environment to deal with.

automation in the form of middleware for integration,

This is reflected in its choice of Hybrid IT Management

applications overhaul and are just stepping into the AI

(23%) as an answer to deal with the same.

GOVERNMENT (N=52)

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

5%

17% 16%

19%

Blockchain

12%

Social Media

20%

27%

Middleware/ Applications Integration/ Data Integration

Applications Overhaul/ Modernization

23%

41%

ENTERPRISE (N=120)

15%

Hybrid IT Management

27% 26%

Infrastructure Overhaul/ Modernization

34%

27%

Mobility/ Mobile Solutions/ Mobile Apps

38% 27%

41%

Internet of Things/ Machine to Machine/ Sensor Based Solutions

17%

Machine Learning/ Cognitive Computing

43% 2%

43%

Robotics Process Automation

12%

Chat Bots/ Virtual Assistant/ Virtual Reality

44% 44%

54%

Cloud

27%

Artificial Intelligence

58%

71%

Analytics/ Big data/ Data Presentation/ Dashboards

domain. A lag of tech waves exists between the two.

Envisioning the Future Model of IT in Government

A

future model of IT design, deployment and use

centric, open architected, collaborative, seamless, secured

shall evolve for enabling governments to serve their

and cloud and data centric model must evolve in order to

citizens, both efficiently and effectively. As we usher

serve the citizens.

into an era of increased accountability, optimum utilization of resources and enhanced transparency, the earlier

The journey has just begun, the contemporary model

models of IT will not be enough. The traditional model of

elements are clearly visible today especially in terms of

IT has outlived its relevance and its rigidity does not leave

speed, quality and reach being the thrust. There are also

much room for manoeuvrability. The contemporary model

traces of future model evolving, e.g. discrete domain

built to provide discrete services is certainly better but can

platforms emerging. Yet in terms of core infrastructure,

be limiting as the focus increases on data driven services.

there are still traditional model elements present. A new

Both innovation and dynamism will be restricted in the

and modern cloud centric, seamless, secured and managed

longer term with the current approach. A more platform

infrastructure must evolve faster.

Elements Design focus

Design framework

Traditional Model

Contemporary Model

Future Model

IT as base components - computing, storage, network

IT as discrete services - infra, development applications

IT as platforms with a functional data layer and autonomy built in

Closed architecture – needs periodic upgrade

Semi closed yet complex architecture, needs periodic overhauling

Open architecture, needs continuous evolution

Supply source

Mostly inhouse

Mostly inhouse but roles bifurcated

Government – private enmeshed

Outcome metric

Cost/ Efficiency

Speed/ quality/ reach

Citizens experience/ trust

Leadership focus

Controlling

Enabling

Collaborative

Operating Structures

Few and rigid

Many and rigid

Many and fluid

Policy thrust

Technology

Process

Data

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The Data First Paradigm Shifting from Edge to the Center

A

s the trio of automation, analytics and artificial intelligence plays out over time, a data first paradigm shall evolve. With a wide variety of data – transactional, operational and social is openly available and tamed, data will trigger processes and transactions. This paradigm requires a functional data layer, that

uses standard definitions, maintains security and privacy and is yet available in suitable form for broader set of stakeholders to put it to good use.

PROCESS

DATA

TRANSACTION

PROCESS

DATA

TRANSACTION

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BEST OF TECH, 2019

Five Essentials for Moving Ahead

A

collective take on the path forward seem to be

3. Artificial Intelligence is a very broad term. It’s best to

emerging. Based on Coeus Age research and

start with well defined, focussed and point use cases.

thought leadership of the experts, five ‘must be

Evangelize, as users need to take the lead in discovering

taken’ steps have been identified–

the use cases. Start looking for pieces that can be automated by Artificial Intelligence (using various

1. Don’t lose sight on automation, it’s never complete till it

technologies that make this broad field).

reaches the minutest process in the value chain (don’t know if ever there will be an end!). Automation of ‘big

4. Imagine how the trio of automation – analytics – artificial

rocks’ to intra and inter domain integrating ‘pebbles’ to

intelligence can redefine the base of IT infrastructure,

decision making ‘sand grains’ to a digital fabric ‘water’

applications and development. The underlying IT

automation is a long and arduous road. Stay focussed

services will also need to become autonomous to

and automate every bit.

support agility, speed, reliability, scalability and security demanded by the users.

2. Analytics must be taken to everything that is automated and to every individual who is a stakeholder in the value

5. As automation, analytics and artificial intelligence

chain. It may start with piece-meal point initiatives,

converge together (over the time), the supporting

but in the long run a holistic approach to data and

structures will also need to evolve in tandem. They

analytics much evolve. To help the drive, the policy on

cannot remain in silos in a converged play.

data privacy, sharing and usage may become a reality soon.

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Principal Analyst

Dr. Kapil Dev Singh, CEO, Coeus Age Dr. Kapil Dev Singh is the Founder & CEO at Coeus Age Consulting.

Dr. Singh has rich research experience and has headed IDC in India for close to 8 years as the Country Manager. He has been tracking the ICT industry for two decades now. He is currently spearheading path breaking research on digital in enterprise and government domains.

Dr. Singh is passionate about driving a new discourse among the contemporary business and government leaders on managing in the digital age. He is also advising them on the change aspects related to embracing the paradigm of digital.

Dr. Singh is an Engineer, and an MBA. He is also a doctorate from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India.

He regularly writes blogs and articles, which are read by business leaders across the globe. He has also authored eight books – Looking Inward, CIO Leading Change, 21 Jewels of Digital, The Platform Edge, 41 Gems of Digital India, LEADDDING, Thriving in a Data Economy, and 51 Gems of Digital India .

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