Last year, the government set out its roadmap for digital and data, 2022 to 2050, which highlighted its vision for the years ahead. This included achieving digital skills at scale, a system that unlocks digital transformation and better data to power decision-making.
The government has a range of ambitious priorities it wants to meet for the future, including levelling up, the programme to spread opportunity more equally across the UK, and the plans to decarbonise the economy to net zero by 2050. Data and digital will be vital in achieving these goals quickly and more efficiently.
As the roadmap highlights, digital and data are the essential building blocks for all successful organisations, and people expect government services to be as good as the experiences they receive from the private sector. As Paul Willmott, executive chair, Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) says, “Rising to meet these expectations will require change on a scale that the government has never undertaken before.”
So why is it so difficult for the public sector to adopt digital services?
According to a recent report published by the National Audit Office (NAO), the UK’s independent public spending watchdog, most government IT projects suffer from a “specialist skills deficit” – something the government is desperately trying to overcome, as per the data and digital roadmap.
Launched in March 2023, the report states there has been a 20 percent reduction in digital, data, and technology apprenticeships from 800 in October 2021 to 637 in December 2022. At the same time, there has been a seven percent increase in government digital, data, and technology vacancies from 3,900 in April 2022 to 4,100 in October 2022. Not only is there a specialist skills deficit, but the ability to recruit and train the future of the workforce is also lacking.
The government needs specialist skills and strong expertise to adopt digital services successfully. Technology is constantly changing, and as such, organisations must have the skill set available at hand to be able to react to the nature of digital transformation programmes.
One example is the recent hot topic of DataOps, which many organisations are already implementing.
The DataOps solution
DataOps relates to the issues involved in handling vast amounts of data. It aims to integrate the work of development and operations teams by promoting a culture of collaboration. The idea is to streamline the entire data pipeline, from data collection right the way through to analysis. It’s an agile approach with the goal of creating ultimate business value.
Getting value from data is particularly important for public sector organisations, where expectations remain high due to the taxpayers budget. But, with the correct data, departments can make better decisions, improve operations, and create more value for people looking to use services such as filing a tax return, renewing a passport, or applying to change their address.
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To be able to do this, departments must have people within the civil service who are comfortable with the language of large-scale data projects.
Making better-informed decisions with DataOps
DataOps aims to break down silos across IT operations, data management, and software development teams, encouraging collaboration and communication. This enabled a more comprehensive view of the data at play.
This new approach is gaining momentum across departments as it can be worked at scale while ensuring data is handled securely and complied with regulations around data protection.
Suppose the DataOps frameworks are followed and collaboration is prioritized. In that case, it’s a great way to provide better real-time data insights, increase transparency through data analysis, and ensure better quality data.
In turn, better-informed decisions can be made with the trust and knowledge that teams have worked together to ensure the best outcome.
The public sector reality
Seems simple – right? The data management process is far from easy, with most departments using various databases to collect and store their information. This includes on-premise, in the cloud, and perhaps even hybrid IT environments. This makes the DataOps process in the public sector quite complex.
But that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. If the government truly wants to achieve its ambitious goals, public sector organisations must invest now to reap the long-term benefits. But with budgets tighter than ever with the cost-of-living crisis in the U.K. and a sluggish economy, streamlining the entire data pipeline requires people who are sufficiently experienced and qualified to deliver on those promises.
Suppose public sector organisations want to accelerate their digital transformation efforts. In that case, money must be made available to invest in frameworks like DataOps and bring both experienced and new talent into the workforce to ensure the future-proofing of their organisation.
