2020 brought us a global pandemic and a global spike in decision making towards cloud adoption in governments. For some governments it was a long term plan for cost optimisation, for other it was an unexpected decision and an effort to transform the work model as a direct response to the crisis. No matter where governments stand in their journey to cloud, they are all in a stressed post-pandemic situation. CIOs must act fast and for this they need to consume more knowledge than usual.
The public sector is a field where changes happen slower. The urgency of the current environment induces a shock in the system that won’t allow the old slow pace of adopting changes. Government CIOs must not only be fast in their decision making, but they also need to direct the fast implementation of their cloud adoption strategy every step of the way. Here are 5 tip that will help a government CIO do drive cloud adoption successfully within his organization:
1. Start with a strategy
A blank sheet of paper has been an inspiration for some of the greatest ideas of civilization. It’s the same today. Especially when we talk about cloud adoption. CIOs have a simple, but very responsible task to come up with an understandable cloud strategy. The strategy must be accompanied by its own roadmap documentation where the goals, benefits, and cloud adoption criteria are described. A good written cloud strategy and a proper documented roadmap are the key migrating successfully towards cloud.
2. Form a dedicated cloud implementation plan
Setting up a cloud strategy is one important first step. But after it comes the cloud implementation plan. At this step the government CIO must involve key managers from the organization in the cloud implementation process. They must understand the benefits of the cloud and to have visibility on the way cloud can improve their own functional operations.
3. Plan the cloud implementation by priority
Cloud adoption usually happens process by process. For example let’s say that the financial regulator’s bodies in your government are preparing for their first cloud adoption. The CIO meets with the functional leaders within the department in order to understand the most optimal priority for the cloud adoption in this department. Thanks to the management’s input the CIO can make the most optimal cloud implementation plan for this authority.
The cloud adoption’s first step in this example may be the implementation of self-submission portal. The second step may gradate toward adopting inspection software that will allow the regulator to schedule and execute financial inspections. The third step may involve self-inspection portals. The point of setting up the right priority is that the planned step-by-step cloud adoption is a good strategy in terms of business outcomes. The staff will be better prepared and more confident at every next step. By starting with simple processes towards more complex ones, the employees will develop their confidence for the more complex applications.
4. Provide a proper training
In a conservative field like government agencies, the cloud technology is often an overlooked field. However, government CIOs may encourage the functional leaders to focus on recruiting people who understand the cloud and are believing in it. This is one simple but very important step toward a future with cloud-skilled public servants.
5. Scale the cloud adoption across the organization
CIOs must be an ambassadors of changes across their organization. They must act as a navigator of the government towards cloud maturity. They must take care of the constant update of the cloud adoption roadmap and to reflect on external factors (new technologies, global pandemic, etc.).
Boris Glushkov is a digital transformation expert with focus on cloud-based e-government solutions. He is bringing digital transformation to the public sector as part of the team of Canalix. It is a cloud product that delivers operational improvements in case management and inspection management processes within governments and enterprises. The product is developed by software development company GoPro Ltd. and is based in London.
