Across the globe, the future for leaders of government agencies who crave digital business transformation progress is looking good. Artificial intelligence (AI) and no-code or low-code solutions will enable them to overcome software development challenges.
Worldwide government IT spending is forecast to total $589.8 billion in 2023 -- that's an increase of 7.6 percent from 2022, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner.
"Global challenges like inflation and workforce scarcity and their local repercussions are testing the abilities of government CIOs to respond with appropriate service delivery mechanisms and organizational accountability," said Apeksha Kaushik, principal analyst at Gartner.
Government IT Solutions Market Development
In addition, the ongoing IT Great Resignation and the competing demand from the commercial sector have forced governments to re-examine their approaches to counterbalance internal talent scarcity.
In 2023, government IT organizations will sustain their commitment to invest in digital programs because they deliver compelling results.
Governments are increasingly spending their IT budgets to replace legacy platforms and applications. Gartner's survey has showed that 57 percent of government CIOs plan to increase funding for application modernization in 2023 -- up from 42 percent in 2022.
This year, they will also ensure their digital projects ensure mission impact. An increasing number of government institutions are already putting in place at least one digital metric linked directly to outcomes associated with their organization’s public purpose or mission.
By 2026, Gartner now foresees over 75 percent of government leaders will gauge digital business transformation success by measuring the enduring organization mission impact.
In 2023, software will continue to be the highest growing segment. Application modernization investments will increase, supported by more software-as-a-service (SaaS) based solution offerings.
Furthermore, the use of low-code application platforms is also on the rise and will further accelerate legacy platform and software application modernization efforts. Without a doubt, government spending on IT services will advance in 2023.
"Compensation constraints and limited resources to attract and retain IT talent is becoming an even bigger challenge today as many governments are facing IT talent shortages," said Kaushik.
To continue modernizing and innovating critical IT infrastructure and applications, some government organizations will embrace a multi-sourced distributed workforce strategy and flexible working models.
They'll evolve by optimizing the use of internal IT talent, and investing in Digital Employee Experience (DEX) tools to empower and spark innovation, plus partner with IT service providers to speed innovation.
Throughout 2023, government organizations will continue to invest in initiatives that improve access to digital services as citizens demand experiences that are equivalent to online consumers.
Outlook for Government Digital Transformation Projects
However, while digital transformation remains a top priority for governments, some government CIOs have indicated they are falling short in realizing maximum benefits from their digital investments.
"Government CIOs who are moving beyond scaling digital business across their critical services are ensuring that further investment in digital solutions can directly impact how they achieve the mission or public purpose of their organization," concluded Kaushik.
That said, I believe savvy government agency leadership will follow the trend of private sector pioneers. First, they'll invest in improving their online employee experience, which will have a corresponding positive impact on their citizen services experience.