Governments are considering cloud technologies in a bid to drive more efficient operations

Tags: cloud computing, asia/pacific, accountability, government, public policy, healthcare reforms, virtualization

The recent global recession has increased public scrutiny and accountability demands on the IT budgets of government organizations. Paradoxically, these organizations are increasingly under pressure to raise service competency and productivity. This cost and performance management irony has propelled public agencies to look to other technological alternatives, such as cloud computing solutions.

In the latest IDC Government Insights study, “Looking Ahead: Articulating Cloud Competencies for the Aisa/Pacific Public Sector (Doc #AP9694203S)", IDC Government Insights discussed the trends driving the adoption of cloud technologies, whether public, private or a hybrid of both models, and the concerns over the use of cloud computing technologies in the public sector such as security, reliability and regulatory compliance.

In general, most public sector agencies are widely dispersed operational silos and have an urgent need to coordinate and integrate the various egovernment functions. Notably, the challenge today is that these agencies face varying policy and operational restrictions which translate to different needs and scales on their IT capacity. As the business case for the traditional data center is no longer sustainable in the long run, the adoption of cloud computing technologies in the public sector has become a viable option.

We note that the Asia/Pacific public sector is still apprehensive about the adoption of cloud computing especially in agencies that handle sensitive information. Most of the initiatives today are still at an experimental stage as the public sector tries to determine the return on investment (ROI) and weigh the risks involved in the adoption of cloud computing technologies.

Governments should take an active change management stance to address the people and process aspects of cloud implementations, such as revolutionizing traditional workflows and facilitating interoperable standards to bring about greater inter-agency coordination. All the stakeholders involved need to internalize the value and application of the cloud model so as to truly realize a continued and successful egovernment transformation.

We are also expecting data protection and security solutions such as "rights-management-as-a-service", and integrated business intelligence and analytics applications to feature strongly as key technological innovations that lead the adoption of cloud computing for the public sector.

Inevitably, apart from cost management agendas, public sector agencies will need to define their own set of business requirements for cloud computing solutions. This means they have to explore and gather distinctive proficiency and awareness towards building a specialized enterprise-grade cloud services model that fits the unique environment it serves. Thus, the eventual adoption of cloud technologies, whether public, private or a hybrid of both models, lies fundamentally on the operational requirements it seeks to address.

Demonstrating public sector agility - Singapore's IDA surges ahead with egovernment revitalization plans

Tags: government, public policy, social media, web 2.0, it priorities

IDC Government Insights'  latest report "Opportunities Abound: Analysis of Singapore's US$720 Million Public Sector FY10 ICT Procurement Plans (Doc #AP9694104S, June 2010) " reveals that the Singapore government's future ICT procurement plans will revolve around new technology areas such as business intelligence (BI), ubiquitous presence and social media.  

This finding was echoed in a recent interview which Straits Times did with James Kang  (Chief Information Officer at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore). In the interview, James shared that the Singapore government is starting to transform its online citizenry services to leverage on the rapidly evolving ICT environment that the nation is building upon.

There is also a strong indication that the government is planning to boost collaborations; and, it is not just within the government organization, but also with various stakeholders such as the ICT industry and the citizenry it serves. Increased collaborative engagements through social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are likely to be pursued.

As the government pushes ahead with the upcoming iGovt2015 public sector masterplan, IDC Government Insights expects to see strategic directives in revitalizing public services, systems consolidation and sustainability business solutions.

To date, Singapore has received several international accolades for its e-government excellence. This success however, is not an overnight miracle. Singapore's computerization journey first began almost 30 years ago with the Civil Service Computerization Program that was primarily targeted at automating work functions and reducing paperwork for greater internal operational efficiencies.  

Ultimately, egovernment efforts are not all about the implementation of technology alone, but also, the changing approach to the way the government delivers its traditional services. James also said in the interview that the key to successful egovernment implementation lies in changing mindsets and taking calculated risks within the government. I can't agree more with this statement. In addition to "changing mindsets and taking calculated risks," strong leadership directives and commitment from all stakeholders involved remains crucial ingredients of successful egovernment transformation.

Are You Ready to Catch the Wave of Healthcare Reform in Asia/Pacific?

Tags: public policy, health, healthcare reforms, ehr, asia/pacific, china, australia

Healthcare reform across Asia/Pacific will gain a much-needed infusion of cash, catching the spirit of the U.S. ARRA stimulus funding.

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) government finally committed electronic medical record (EMR) funding of $100 million over the next two years to cover 188 hospitals across the state. Earlier in April, the NSW government promised $485 million over four years to deliver better healthcare, including the creation of a Bureau of Health Information to collect, analyze and report on the safety and quality of patient care in public hospitals. At the federal level, we expect much more. The anticipated June 2009 report from last year's established National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) should outline Australia's reform plan, including its concerted plans for EHR. However, security issues around patient data will be a key concern.

China, months after announcing a commitment of $124 billion over three years to provide affordable health, finally issued an implementation guideline on fixing the ailing health care system, including setting up diversified medical insurance systems in the next three years to better cover at-risk urban and rural residents with the goal of covering 90% of the population and also creating new hospitals and clinics.

What is your organization doing to support the government's healthcare reform initiatives in Asia Pacific and what are some of your concerns? I will be in Australia on May 15-19th for a provider CIO forum, New Zealand May 20-23rd for a Health Provider Executive Roundtable with the New Zealand Ministry of Health to discuss EHR and digital hospital, and Singapore May 25-26th. I look forward to hearing from you. Please look for our Health Industry Insights, Asia/Pacific Country Profile report series; Australia and New Zealand reports will be available by the end of May.