The global economy and public services are rapidly migrating to secure digital environments. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “the global digital economy is expected to reach $25 trillion within five years”. In other words, 25% of the global economy.
The benefits for the population are numerous: access to employment, to knowledge, facilitated regional development and more resilient public administrations. Still according to the OECD, Europe sets the tone, particularly in the United Kingdom and in the Scandinavian countries.
In Canada and Quebec, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) report “An Informed Approach to Digital Transformation: Critical Considerations for Canadian Government”, 92% of public agencies have started their digital transition or plan to do so. . This is great news, but important questions remain unanswered and we want to bring them to light.
How long will it take? How fast will adoption happen by citizens? And will this be done consistently across all of our levels of government?
Too often, for security or political reasons, our public institutions have neglected the experience of citizens in the migration of their services.
There are many portals, they are complex to use, and processes and user experiences are rarely consistent across portals.
For many people, the dissonance is major. On the one hand, one can buy a plane ticket in five minutes and on the other hand, it is difficult to sign a form in a government service. Moreover, why invest massively in construction without municipalities having the technology to evaluate projects or issue permits effectively?
A scratched confidence
Confidence in our public services is eroded. Yet delivering user-centric digital services can be done securely and privacy-protecting. People want a simple and secure user experience. It’s no coincidence that, according to the IDC, 56% of organizations are transforming their business models to provide a better online experience.
It is urgent to act. According to the same IDC study, more than half of respondents (51%) believe that government agencies’ technology debt limits their ability to deliver needed digital services. Still, more than 31% of government agencies estimate that tech debt delays work by 25% to 50%.
The main problems of this debt are the docking of new technologies on old systems (44%) and technological planning (46%).
Right here, for nearly 30 years, our organizations and many of their peers have been inventing reliable technology solutions that work just as well on modern systems as they do on legacy ones. Quebec and Canadian companies are able to provide governments and regulated sectors with trusted solutions. Solutions that can now help all segments of the population to obtain better services and facilitate the economic development of our territory.
As directors of technology companies, we invite you to think in a balanced way and to adopt unified and safe local solutions for the population. Imagine that a single secure session gives access to all public services: hospitals, transport, taxes, etc. It would take a lot of pressure off people’s lives and on our public system.
Now is the time to act to preserve our international competitiveness and maintain the public trust that will be tested if we remain with folded hands.