Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
How Governments Will Leverage Data in the Coming Year
By Cathy Grossi, vice president of product
management, Accela
According
to KPMG's 2022
U.S. Technology Survey Report, 60 percent of government and private sector organizations are
"proactively" working on their data strategy - yet 34 percent face notable data
management challenges when modernizing. While governments increasingly are
turning to digital solutions in 2022, it's clear that there is still a long way
to go in terms of data and analytics in 2023.
With
almost two decades of data experience and as vice president of product
management at government technology leader Accela, I've seen firsthand how data
and analytics are critical to a government's successful digitization journey.
The following are my government technology predictions for 2023:
Improving customer experience and engagement, and increasing
efficiency and process automation will be top priorities for government
agencies in 2023. Residents now expect a high touch and seamless experience from
government agencies, similar to what they get with enterprise transactions -
like purchasing from Amazon. Government agencies will prioritize expanding the
use of data and analytics to meet these increasing expectations and provide a
more customized experience.
Governments will need to go beyond just data and focus on how it
can be used to support storytelling so they can present data in more profound
and impactful ways. Drawing insights from vast amounts of data can pose itself as a
challenge, but this is critical to make a positive impact on communities. Data
alone doesn't motivate people to take action, but a story can inspire action.
Storytelling encourages user-centric thinking and helps governments work toward
more innovative and connected solutions.
Security will continue to be one of the biggest challenges that
continues to plague government agencies. Agencies will need to rely on trusted
third-parties to manage security and compliance efforts. Hackers and
fraudsters are getting more sophisticated in their tactics, the amount of data
is growing exponentially, and the type of data is becoming more sensitive.
Governments can use cybersecurity analytics to detect and stop threats, and
shorten the time to remediation when attacks occur.
By
collecting and analyzing cybermetrics, agencies can make better, more-informed
decisions about defensive and predictive tactics. Governments can also
strengthen their partnerships with the private sector to accelerate these
initiatives.
A shift towards user-centered experience and design will gain
momentum in 2023. This enables government to present a seamless experience for both
the public and for employees, even when the processes reach across departments
or jurisdictions. For example, governments are focusing on a multichannel
public experience, using data and analytics to pull together disparate
information about users and their preferences to drive a seamless experience or
proactively communicate regardless of where, when or how the public is interacting
with them. Further, government will be focused on the employee experience to
ensure they have user-focused tools that make it easy to do their jobs. This is
essential to attracting and retaining a workforce in the current
environment.
Scaling
data and analytics will be crucial for the future success of government
technology. In order to best serve residents and create thriving communities,
we must leverage the latest technology and insights.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathy Grossi is vice president of product management at Accela, responsible for platform technologies, APIs, integration, GIS and data and analytic products. She has more than 18 years of software industry experience. Prior to joining Accela, Cathy served as vice president of product management at Mercatus, a leading provider of financial management software for private equity fund managers. Prior to Mercatus she held product management roles at Ellie Mae where she led teams to build the company's market-leading, SaaS-based mortgage origination platform. She has also held other product leadership positions at enterprise software companies and was a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting. Cathy holds a BA and Masters in East Asian Studies and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.