Government agencies prioritize IT Strategies to facilitate Web-based Self-Service, says Ovum

According to Ovum’s ICT Enterprise Insights survey, it has been revealed that, in the next 18 months, web-based self-service will be the top global IT investment area for government agencies, backed by stronger investment in CRM, compliance management, and collaboration tools. Ovum further forecasts that IT spend by the Central Government agencies will reach US$248 billion by 2017.

This survey also finds that web-based self-service is prioritized by more than 50 per cent of global government agencies, and more than 60 per cent of global tax/revenue and infrastructure agencies. However, the relative investment priorities are different when segmented by geography and agency type. Of those surveyed in North American defence agencies, for example, 65 per cent place compliance management at the top of the agenda, with cross-departmental collaboration tools and geographic information systems tied in the second place.

The popularity of web-based citizen self-service reinforces the digital services strategies being adopted by many governments in 2013, with a focus on the ability to complete transactions online or on mobile devices and on citizen-centric processes. However, it is important that self-service provision via the Web is not separate from a strategy encompassing self-service via mobile devices, and a more general strategy of using data more effectively. Granular, whole-of-government roadmaps that aim to improve digital capabilities are imperative here. Indeed, an IT strategy is not a digital strategy, explained Nishant Shah, Senior Analyst, Ovum.

A revelation from the survey data is the relatively low investment priority given to BYOD, even compared to categories such as interactive voice response or payments.