In working to build a modern and connected society, there are a wide range of options and priorities, taking in everything from making services more accessible to unlocking the power of data.

As government minister Steve Barclay said last year: “Now more than ever, it is important that government responds to people’s heightened expectations about the services they use. During the pandemic, people have had to interact with public services in a variety of new ways, including the NHS app and the vaccine booking service. People rightly expect government to be data-driven and digitally literate, and this will be a priority for me in my new role.”

But how is this translating into tangible impact and how will the digital transformation of the public sector progress in the years ahead?

On the face of it, there is significant activity on the part of public sector organisations - both local and national - who are putting a wide range of digital projects out to tender. A glance at the bidstats contracts portal, for instance, reveals over 450 notices have been placed in just the last month alone.

Recently, for example, IJYI was selected by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as its new data partner to drive operational efficiency. The project involves extending the MCA’s existing Microsoft Azure data ingestion platform to incorporate additional data feeds which range from static sources, such as flat files and databases, to real-time sources which include streaming automatic ship tracking data. Further information can be found in this Customer Story here. 

Additionally, the MCA Data Scientists require access to data from multiple MCA systems in order to combine it to derive new insights, drive policies and strategic decisions. IJYI will implement a collaborative process, sharing knowledge, advising on best practice based on a transparent and flexible commercial model that provides MCA with strong value for money.

This kind of partnership between public sector organisations and private sector technology specialists is playing a key role in accelerating the shift to digital platforms. Looking ahead, the digital strategies being adopted across local and national government are becoming more ambitious. This represents an ideal opportunity to further accelerate the pace of change and deliver innovative digital services that are quickly becoming minimum requirements for our connected society.

From AI, machine learning and automation to the integration of personal smart technologies, it’s clear that authorities have reached a tipping point in their digital investment strategies. Managed well, this will result in the delivery of better online services, built to maximise the impact of available funding while helping to keep government services relevant as the pace of digital innovation continues to increase across society.