The proliferation of AI is changing the game for all industries, and the public sector isn’t exempt from keeping up with the pace of innovation. Citizens expect seamless services from their government agencies, just as they do from their bank or doctor’s office. To unlock the full benefits of AI at scale while protecting citizens’ data, a secure industry-ready cloud platform with built-in security and controls is key.

Prakash Pattni,MD, Financial Services Digital Transformation

According to a recent IBM Institute of Business Value (IBV) CEO Study, nearly 80% of government organizations have implemented cloud computing in their business and are already seeing benefits. These benefits include cost reduction, strengthened security and improved citizen experiences. The hybrid cloud serves as a powerful tool to help public sector leaders better serve their citizens and adhere to regulatory compliance while also prioritizing data sovereignty, resiliency, performance and security.

Understanding the barriers to innovation within public sector organizations

The challenges that government agencies face as they modernize mirror the ultimate mission of the public sector: serve the public interest while protecting citizens and critical systems. Often, agencies must quickly absorb and adapt to both global and regional shocks (such as natural disasters or cybersecurity threats) on a larger scale than enterprises in the private sector. This situation contributes to an added layer of difficulty. 

However, citizens still expect government services to match the speed and ease of the private sector. Whether they’re going to the department of motor vehicles or shopping online, citizens demand convenience. Technology advancements across generative AI drive the need for these seamless services even more. 

“Technology changes, priorities change, but what remains is the need for effective and transparent management. That's what allows us to evolve without losing control.” said Demetri Rico, Manager at the Telecommunications and Information Technology Center (CTTI) of the Government of Catalonia. 

As governments build their critical infrastructure, they need to focus on resilience. Citizens entrust their governments to constantly protect critical infrastructure across their entire supply chain. That requires developing systems that meet citizen demand, optimize resources and minimize disruption. 

To achieve this standard, governments around the globe must remain agile and create a digital architecture that allows them to scale and modernize citizen services with ease. They must also prioritize cybersecurity efforts and embrace technology investments. Collaborating with the private sector, specifically technology providers, can enable them to focus less on IT management and more on driving outcomes for their citizens.

Enabling governments to become future-ready

As government agencies look for solutions that allow them to achieve true transformation, they must be more intentional about placing workloads where they perform best within a unified on-premises and cloud platform. IBM Cloud® strives to provide an enterprise cloud platform that meets the unique needs of highly regulated industries such as the public sector, financial services, healthcare and telco.

“The cloud allows us to offer a more fluid experience to users without losing sight of data governance,” said Daniel Corregidor, National Institute of Public Administration. Our enterprise-grade platform is designed to help clients who want to be agile, ramp up quickly, pay as they go and keep the confidence of their constituents.

IBM continues to support the public sector on its transformation journey by working with clients to build a workload placement strategy while also allowing them to focus on security and compliance. By tapping into security capabilities such as confidential computing and “Keep your own key” encryption, public sector agencies position themselves to better protect the sensitive data of their citizens.

IBM enterprise cloud platform designed for regulated industries can help agencies speed up delivery, run tests to see what services are working, and incorporate feedback quickly. IBM’s suite of government solutions empowers government agencies to go beyond traditional services and invest in secure, resilient, scalable and trusted technologies.

The value of hybrid cloud and AI for government infrastructure

As the public sector incorporates AI into its strategy and builds cyber resilience, collaboration with technology providers is the next step forward.

In the end, citizens must feel confident in the systems their governments build. The public sector can tap into technology solutions across hybrid cloud. Furthermore, AI can help modernize their IT infrastructure and operational processes while contributing to the secured and reliable delivery of public services.