Part Two – ‘Low Code to No Code’
Low Code sounds great: you (anyone) can use this magic tool, to create a full business application or part thereof, without having to use expensive techies, instead using a cheaper and less specialist resource. It is (mostly) completely visual, and can be achieved using a number of tools out there on the market. Sometimes it manifests as a toolkit on top of a platform like Salesforce or Dynamics.
Part One – The danger of Low code and a ‘Minimum Viable Anything’ approach
Over the last 5 years, there has been a shift in the consulting / advisory landscape in Public Sector and Local Government. It feels like many of the more traditional approaches are rebranding or disappearing altogether to be replaced by a fancy ‘Digital’ title, perhaps using a technical term or concept here and there, or quoting some newly created model for doing roughly the same thing.
Why is the UK’s public sector still lagging on digital transformation?
The UK has a hugely complex system of public services. When I started Arcus Global at the backend of 2009, the UK was considered a world leader in digital government. Over that time we’ve seen a dramatic digital shift, with much innovation and achievement taking place between 2010 and 2015.
Cloud tech is not a fad: IBM split signals a change in the tides
By now, we have all seen the news that the tech giant IBM is splitting itself into two public companies, in a bid to shift its focus towards the high margin businesses of cloud and artificial intelligence. In my view, the writing has been on the wall for a decade that a tectonic shift in the relationship between business and technology is coming. This split represents part of that shift.
flexIBILITY
First thing’s first – I don’t think anyone could have done anything to prevent the level of disruption we are currently facing. No amount of preparation will give adequate protection from a once in a hundred years event. No amount of planning, stocking or preparing was going to cut it. Saying “we are not prepared” applies to almost every country and every business. The honest answer is that it costs too much to be prepared for something so rare and so extreme as this.
How real is the threat posed by big platforms to SMEs in the public sector market?
The potential threat posed by large platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Salesforce to SME suppliers in the public sector has raised concerns about an ‘oligopoly’ of larger companies taking over the market with SMEs struggling for breathing space. How real is the threat, and should SMEs be concerned? Is the playing field really as unequal as some people think?
PART 5 – The Perfect Partner
Clearly, I am a bit biased here, but I do think that it is possible to get a good partner for digital transformation, as long as one understands what this means for their organisation.
PART 4 – The Digital Transformation Dream Team
When you have the vision and plan in place for digital transformation, it is time to consider who inside the local authority can do this. There are already a lot of blogs about leadership, and they all share one message: without strong leadership, transformation programmes are not possible.
PART 3 – A good transformation vision
What does real transformation look like? Digital, shiny and beautiful. Of course, the big T is not, and should not be, a one-off traumatic event, never to be repeated. Like a revolution, it may have a beginning, but it will not have an end.
PART 2 – Types of ‘fake transformation’
In my view, there are several distinct types of ‘fake transformation’ in the public sector. I want to list them here, because understanding them is very helpful in deciding how to proceed and how to avoid project issues or failures.
PART 1: The Horror of ‘fake transformation’
With digitisation of services becoming a priority for many local authorities, I often see them push ahead with a ‘transformation’ project in one shape or another. It could be digital (in fact, it almost always is), or perhaps focused more on people or services. Some observers prefer to call it ‘change’, or an ‘improvement programme’. Whichever way you word it, some version of this exists in almost every single department.
How real is the threat posed by big platforms to SMEs in the public sector market?
There have been recent articles in the press about the potential threat posed by large platforms like AWS, MSFT Azure or Salesforce to SME suppliers working in the government space.