Microsoft Envision

This article is part of Microsoft Envision, a digital series exploring critical business and technology trends.  

Need a quick guide to new technology impacting government?

For those making ICT decisions in the public sector, there’s a lot to keep you awake at night – and that’s after you’ve navigated a worldwide pandemic. But digitisation and the new work preferences emerging from Covid also offer huge opportunities to leaders of public sector organisations. 

Find the people to serve the people 

Seamless digital experiences are something consumers expect, whether shopping online, interacting with their bank or streaming entertainment. And so, we all now expect this when we use government services – like digital driver’s licences, app-based application forms and 24/7 customer service. 

But with almost a quarter of HR professionals citing their top challenge this year as recruitment¹, the skills shortage will require public sector organisations to take advantage of every opportunity to attract and retain the best talent.  

Flexible technology is key to catering to hybrid working, which enables organisations to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. It can provide accessibility tools and services to help those with disabilities engage fully in the workplace, in ways not previously possible. And it can mean enabling involvement from mature people or those with young families to work non-traditional hours. All of which expands the pool of talent available with a more equitable environment for collaboration and inclusion. 

Digital collaboration makes it so much easier for agencies and departments to co-operate and share resources, while safely controlling information access. I’m especially passionate about a multi-stakeholder project Microsoft supports. We’re helping police connect with various healthcare and government organisations, as well as not-for-profits, to combat domestic violence. Previously, officers might leave a scene because they didn’t personally witness enough to intervene, which can lead to devastating consequences. Now, they’ll be able to pull up a digital trail, with everything from calls to crisis lines to hospitalisations to requests for financial support, which gives officers far more context. I’m truly excited about what this technology can do for survivors of domestic violence. 

Getting a handle on cyber risk 

When it comes to cybersecurity, public services are facing an increasingly complex and threatening landscape. I hear these concerns expressed in every conversation with government decision makers. And rightly so. It’s a constantly evolving environment, which requires de-risking single points of failure, automating security wherever possible and implementing zero trust. 

Government has such an elevated duty of care when it comes to data privacy and compliance, even while seismic shifts like Covid raised citizens’ expectations of rapidly rolling out and pivoting services. But it is possible to meet that duty of care and create opportunities from compliance. My team and I have worked with many government departments to deploy cutting-edge regulatory tech to help with transparency and automation, ensuring public sector workers can do the right thing by keeping data secure with simple processes and guidelines – on a platform that only gives them access to the information they need. 

Where once manual record-keeping was a problem, now many public services are struggling with ever-expanding digital data sets. Automation is key for rapidly classifying and managing the mountains of information, as well as maintaining an effective open data policy. A great example I came across was by an innovative Queensland police officer who created an app that made it easier to manage borders to maintain Covid border precautions. The Microsoft platform meant he could see each incoming traveller’s point of origin, Covid tests and the availability of local hotels – all in one place. It drew all existing data together, making it faster and easier to make decisions. This app was then rolled out across all Queensland’s borders and airports. 

And now to the metaverse 

So many of my discussions this year have revolved around the metaverse and its virtual reality spaces. It’s not just a buzzword – there is so much to explore and very tangible benefits are emerging. 

The industrial metaverse, where technologies meet physical interactions, is what really holds potential for public services. Microsoft HoloLens enables some of this, such as delivering virtual healthcare or connecting a remote expert to a scene. There’s also fantastic application for low-risk training, remote engineering and maintenance, 3D crime scene replication and large-scale infrastructure design. 

And as we see better ways to collect and use of data, governments will experience uplift from practical application of AI and ML. For example, environmental agencies now capture more data through traps and sensors than is possible for humans to analyse, so tools like AI object recognition help draw out insights to enable more effective awareness, decision-making and action.  

These technologies expand the metaverse into more applications than just a social space to hang out. We need to talk about and normalise language around industrial metaverse, such as IoT, digital twins and mixed reality. It’s not as daunting as it might seem, but it does require willingness to embrace new ideas. 

For example, innovation has helped The Yield take on one of the most volatile problems of our time – the intersection of climate change and world hunger. With open eyes, data and AI, the Australian agtech business is helping farmers grow and sell more produce with less impact on the environment. 

Beyond the tech, it’s the culture of innovation that lets people use and create the tools they need to thrive. Ultimately, it’s organisational culture that encourages a growth mindset and breaks down traditional hierarchies to create more agile multi-functional teams. Yes, it needs to be supported by a robust and secure technology foundation that provides access to services and data, but the most futureproofed organisations first and foremost embrace a rich diversity of thought internally. That’s what makes us dynamic in our ability to weather challenges and maximise opportunities. 

For more on preparing for the future to harness the opportunities ahead, watch this episode of Microsoft Envision with Judson Althoff, Microsoft Corporation, and Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum.