Future-Proofing Citizen Services: Technology Strategies for the Public Sector

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Innovation is a driving force behind new approaches, often occurring at the point of adoption rather than technology development. As public sector organisations increasingly focus on improving citizen services through technology, it is important to adopt a strategic approach that considers innovation as a complex journey of systemic and cultural transformation. This strategic approach should guide the integration of technology into citizen services.

Here is a comprehensive look at what public sector organisations should consider when integrating technology into citizen services.

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Download ‘Future-Proofing Citizen Services: Technology Strategies for the Public Sector‘ as a PDF

1. Immediate View: Foundational Technologies

The immediate view focuses on deploying technologies that are widely adopted and essential for current digital service provision. These foundational technologies serve as the backbone for enhancing citizen services.

Foundational Technologies

Web 2.0. Establishing a solid online presence is usually the first step, as it is the broadest channel for reaching customers. Web 2.0 refers to the current state of the internet, encompassing dynamic content and interactive websites.

Mobile Applications. Given that mobile usage has surpassed desktop, a mobile-responsive platform or a dedicated mobile app is crucial. Mobile apps provide a more specialised and immersive user experience by utilising device-specific features like GPS, document scanning, and push notifications.

2. Second-Generation Enablers: Emerging Technologies

As organisations establish foundational technologies, they should look towards second-generation enablers. Although less mature, these technologies offer emerging digital opportunities, and can significantly enhance service differentiation. 

Emerging Technologies

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems improve the efficiency and effectiveness of digital services by routing callers to self-service options and providing relevant information without human intervention. These systems operate outside typical government agency working hours, ensuring continuous accessibility. Additionally, IVRs generate valuable data for future Voice of the Customer programs, improving overall service quality and responsiveness.

Digital Wallets facilitate transactions by expediting fund transfers and enhancing transparency through meticulous transaction records. They streamline administrative tasks, simplify transactions, and encourage service usage and adoption. 

AI-driven Virtual Agents or chatbots revolutionise customer interactions by providing 24/7 support. They offer prompt, efficient, and personalised services, enhancing customer satisfaction and trust. In resource-limited public sectors, virtual agents are cost-effective, optimising resource allocation and meeting growing service demands. Specialised virtual agents for specific sectors can further differentiate service providers.

3. Futuristic View: Ambitious Innovations

The futuristic view focuses on forward-looking technologies that address long-term roadblocks and offer transformative potential. These technologies are currently speculative but hold the promise of significantly reshaping the market.

Innovations

Subscription Management models enable public sector information services to be accessed in highly personalised ways, thereby enhancing citizen engagement. This model supports regulatory oversight by providing common data insights and improves the management of services, ultimately benefiting the public by ensuring more responsive and tailored information delivery.

AI concierge leverages advanced technologies like Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and Speech Technologies to provide personalised and proactive customer service. They redefine customer management, ensuring a seamless and tailored experience.

Immersive reality technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) create captivating customer experiences by allowing interactions in virtual environments. These technologies establish a shared virtual environment, helping customers to engage with businesses and each other in new and immersive ways. As an emerging customer management tool, immersive reality can transform the dynamics of customer-business relationships, adding substantial value to the service experience.

The Future of Industries
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Expanding AI Applications: From Generative AI to Business Transformation

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Generative AI has stolen the limelight in 2023 from nearly every other technology – and for good reason. The advances made by Generative AI providers have been incredible, with many human “thinking” processes now in line to be automated.  

But before we had Generative AI, there was the run-of-the-mill “traditional AI”. However, despite the traditional tag, these capabilities have a long way to run within your organisation. In fact, they are often easier to implement, have less risk (and more predictability) and are easier to generate business cases for. Traditional AI systems are often already embedded in many applications, systems, and processes, and can easily be purchased as-a-service from many providers.  

Traditional vs Generative AI

Unlocking the Potential of AI Across Industries 

Many organisations around the world are exploring AI solutions today, and the opportunities for improvement are significant: 

  • Manufacturers are designing, developing and testing in digital environments, relying on AI to predict product responses to stress and environments. In the future, Generative AI will be called upon to suggest improvements. 
  • Retailers are using AI to monitor customer behaviours and predict next steps. Algorithms are being used to drive the best outcome for the customer and the retailer, based on previous behaviours and trained outcomes. 
  • Transport and logistics businesses are using AI to minimise fuel usage and driver expenses while maximising delivery loads. Smart route planning and scheduling is ensuring timely deliveries while reducing costs and saving on vehicle maintenance. 
  • Warehouses are enhancing the safety of their environments and efficiently moving goods with AI. Through a combination of video analytics, connected IoT devices, and logistical software, they are maximising the potential of their limited space. 
  • Public infrastructure providers (such as shopping centres, public transport providers etc) are using AI to monitor public safety. Video analytics and sensors is helping safety and security teams take public safety beyond traditional human monitoring. 

AI Impacts Multiple Roles 

Even within the organisation, different lines of business expect different outcomes for AI implementations. 

  • IT teams are monitoring infrastructure, applications, and transactions – to better understand root-cause analysis and predict upcoming failures – using AI. In fact, AIOps, one of the fastest-growing areas of AI, yields substantial productivity gains for tech teams and boosts reliability for both customers and employees. 
  • Finance teams are leveraging AI to understand customer payment patterns and automate the issuance of invoices and reminders, a capability increasingly being integrated into modern finance systems. 
  • Sales teams are using AI to discover the best prospects to target and what offers they are most likely to respond to.  
  • Contact centres are monitoring calls, automating suggestions, summarising records, and scheduling follow-up actions through conversational AI. This is allowing to get agents up to speed in a shorter period, ensuring greater customer satisfaction and increased brand loyalty. 

Transitioning from Low-Risk to AI-Infused Growth 

These are just a tiny selection of the opportunities for AI. And few of these need testing or business cases – many of these capabilities are available out-of-the-box or out of the cloud. They don’t need deep analysis by risk, legal, or cybersecurity teams. They just need a champion to make the call and switch them on.  

One potential downside of Generative AI is that it is drawing unwarranted attention to well-established, low-risk AI applications. Many of these do not require much time from data scientists – and if they do, the challenge is often finding the data and creating the algorithm. Humans can typically understand the logic and rules that the models create – unlike Generative AI, where the outcome cannot be reverse-engineered. 

The opportunity today is to take advantage of the attention that LLMs and other Generative AI engines are getting to incorporate AI into every conceivable aspect of a business. When organisations understand the opportunities for productivity improvements, speed enhancement, better customer outcomes and improved business performance, the spend on AI capabilities will skyrocket. Ecosystm estimates that for most organisations, AI spend will be less than 5% of their total tech spend in 2024 – but it is likely to grow to over 20% within the next 4-5 years. 

AI Research and Reports
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State of Digital Transformation in Asia

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Today, Asia is home to nearly 60% of the world’s population and accounts for 39% of the global GDP. As the region’s importance continues to grow (7 out of the top 10 economies is expected to be from the region, contributing to 47% of the global GDP by 2030), investment in Asia is a key priority for governments and large corporates around the world.

With the region taking centre-stage, there is a growing optimism as opportunities open up for local economies. It remains a unique market – differentiated by a strong spirit of innovation, vibrant startup ecosystem, and propensity to leverage technology to transform.

At the Leaders Dialogue: Asian Sentiment 2023 conversation, Ecosystm Founder and Chairman, Amit Gupta; Ahmed Mazhari, President of Microsoft Asia; Padmashree (Paddy) Santosh, VP & Global Head of Learning, Diversity and Organisation Effectiveness at Olam Agri; and Luca Destefanis, Head of Marketing APAC at Kyndryl discussed where Asia is leading and lagging behind when it comes to tech-led transformation and innovation.

Here are the key highlights:

  • Asia demonstrates a “Disrupt or be Disrupted Mindset”
  • The need for innovation is encouraging corporate venturing
  • There is a growing interest in emerging tech
  • Yet organisations might be scratching the surface
  • Outcome-led transformation will be the key

Read on for more insights into Asian sentiment.

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