Hyperconnected services, legacy modernization among top govt tech trends in 2021: Gartner

Hyperconnected public services, data sharing as a platform, accelerated legacy modernization and anything as a service (XaaS) are among top ten major trends that will shape the government sector in 2021, according to the research and advisory firm Gartner.  

The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant requirement for flexible work management is expected to change how public institutions function. Gartner said that the trends are directly linked to public administration and policy issues that should be addressed by government leaders. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the acceleration of digital innovation across the government sector around the world, presenting government leaders with new opportunities to use data and technologies to build trust, agility and resilience in public institutions,” Apeksha Kaushik, associate principal analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. 

Hyperconnected public services – where tools and services are used to automate IT operations— will streamline work for government bodies. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 75% of governments will have at least three enterprise-wide hyperautomation initiatives launched or underway. 

Read: Information security spending in India to touch $2.08 bn in 2021: Gartner 

Accelerated legacy modernization due to the limitations of decade-old legacy infrastructures will shape how government agencies work. Gartner said that by 2025 more than 50% of government agencies will have modernized their legacy applications. The latest report from Gartner is based on data from several studies.  

Security will also remain a top priority for governments. An adaptive security approach, by doing away with traditional notions of perimeter, will provide a safe haven among the migration to cloud services. Gartner said that 75% of government CIOs will be directly responsible for security outside of IT (information technology) by 2025.  

In the cloud defined world, anything as a service (XaaS) will emerge as a top strategy.  XaaS provide an alternative to legacy modernization, where the user only has to pay for what they use, providing better scalability and less time to deliver.  

By 2025, 95% of IT investments will be as-a service, predicts Gartner.  

Also read: Covid-19 has forced organisations to go digital

Case Management as a Service (CMaaS) will also evolve with time. Case work is commonly known as social work here in India. This service will provide workers with a business whose building blocks can be interchanged, hence allowing for better institutional agility. As early as 2024, governments using CMaaS will implement new features 80% faster than those without, Gartner said.  

In terms of hyperconnected public services, the governments will utilize platforms to automate business and IT processes, utilizing hyperautomation principles to develop end-to-end digitized processes. About 75% of governments are expected to have atleast 3 enterprise wide hyperautiomation initiatives, Gartner said.  

Growing digital identity of citizens, composable design principles by the government, building accountability structures for data sharing among government offices, and using multiple channels of digital engagement to interact with citizens are among other developments that will emerge in the near future.  

Lastly, the utilization of AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning and advanced analytics at each stage of government activity is expected to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and the consistency of decision-making processes. Gartner said that by 2024, 60% of government AI and data analytics investments will impact real time operational decisions of governments.