Digital reform
OPTIMISATION VS TRANSFORMATION Dean Lacheca*
© Stock.Adobe.com/au/kentoh
A LONG-TERM APPROACH TO DIGITAL OPTIMISATION OF PROCESSES AND SERVICES CAN PRODUCE THE CAPABILITIES NEEDED FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.
WWW.GOVTECHREVIEW.COM.AU
T
ransformation sounds exciting, like it’s going to change everything for the better. It must be the correct thing to do, right? Newly elected or appointed public officials often use ‘transformation’ as a slogan to distinguish technologyenabled initiatives from prior efforts with similar intentions. Many government transformation projects serve as the means to address failings rooted in long-term underinvestment in information and technology. It’s a familiar script… government transformation initiatives are initially launched with great fanfare, only to lose momentum, visibility and executive support over time. These transformation programs eventually devolve into a ‘one and done’ series of discrete point solutions or disappear altogether. When this happens, the total public value of investments with
transformational potential can go unrealised in the shuffle of leadership, shifting budget priorities or the announcement of yet another new ‘transformation’ push. Achieving real digital government transformation remains a tangible, if distant, goal for a significant majority of government CIOs, even as they make progress in the digital enablement and optimisation of their organisations. The gap between the digital now and future is substantial. A recent Gartner survey indicated that 67% of government respondents say they’re pursuing digital transformation, but only 5% have scaled, harvested or refined their transformation ambition. WHY IS TRANSFORMATION SO DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE? To successfully transform a single business process in government requires committed executive >>
GOVTECH REVIEW Q1 2019 | 23