Digitalization is transforming the world as connectivity has become inextricably linked to daily existence. Digital platforms are changing the way we learn, work, and shop, and reshaping the relationships between customers, workers, and employers.
The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital channels across countries, increasing productivity in many sectors and businesses along the way. The global economy is being driven by high-speed internet, mobile accessibility, and cashless payments. Certain countries are even heavily leaning into this digital future with increased online services and accessibility. Information and communication technologies started to support new forms of interaction between governments and their constituents, allowing the concept of e-government to emerge on a global scale.
Many governments have begun to deploy e-government in order to provide better services to citizens, create better business conditions, and improve the efficiency and transparency of government administration. As a result of this development over time, almost every country has an e-government plan in place today. Governments are harnessing the power of technology in transformative ways by making data-driven assessments and decisions, improving public service delivery, providing greater accountability and transparency, and building greater public trust.
These services are based on new information and communication technologies such as AI, IoT, Cloud, and mobile:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): During the pandemic, governments increasingly turned to adopt AI and integrate it into their services to evolve the way they operate, allowing them to provide faster service and minimize human workload. Government officials and advisors are focusing on implementing AI-based solutions as a way to improve on the already advanced level of services provided by private and public organizations for the benefit of the citizens. AI has improved the results in an increasing number of sectors by improving both e-government systems and e-government-citizen interactions. AI can be used to help citizens interact with governments by using virtual assistants or chatbots to answer questions, forwarding requests to the appropriate government department, and assisting with document searches, form completion, and appointment scheduling.
- Internet of Things (IoT): IoT allows people and objects to connect in an unrestricted and seamless manner. As a result of this widespread connectedness, government services are becoming more user-friendly and efficient and can now respond more wisely and quickly to issues, resulting in more comfort and convenience for individuals. IoT enables governments to gather and process large volumes of data through the use of sensors and scanning devices. Government organizations are using IoT to manage traffic and reduce vehicular pollution through road censors, detect man-made or natural disasters and warn authorities, track peoples’ location when exposed to heat and hazardous materials, and monitor public safety.
- Cloud services: The pandemic forced governments to quickly create new channels for virtual service delivery to meet the high level of demands remotely and reach citizens. By leveraging the Cloud, they were able to provide a seamless transition to telework. Cloud-based services allow users to access desired content and services from a variety of mobile devices, from the comfort of their own homes. As a result, communities are benefiting from increased productivity, convenience, efficiency, and lower resource consumption as citizens use the cloud more regularly. Governments are also using Cloud-based communication platforms to interact with citizens and deliver critical messages and updates. Furthermore, the Cloud allows government personnel with internet access to share information and view documents from anywhere in the world, facilitating collaboration between domains and divisions at all levels of the organization.
- Mobile: Due to the pandemic’s mobility restrictions, governments worldwide are moving quickly and adopting mobile solutions to provide cash assistance. Businesses are also benefitting from financial technology to ensure employee safety and company survival. Governments have changed their service delivery systems to better harness the capabilities of mobile phones as a result of the widespread use of mobile technology and the use of mobile government (m-government). Mobile-specific functions assist citizens in connecting to e-services and allow them to obtain government services on demand at any time and from any location.
Effective management is a critical aspect of establishing success in governments and governmental organizations. With a greater understanding and use of e-governments, the goal and evaluation of services continue to be focused on meeting the needs and demands of citizens. Strategic Management and Innovative Applications of E-Governments are a key reference source that offer organizational and managerial instructions, applications, and reflections on current concerns in electronic governmental practices.
Digital Solutions Systems are being used by government facilities around the world, including police departments and local governments, to balance the demand for public access with the rising need for safety and security. Many countries have even started to modernize their judicial systems and inspection services by digitalizing their work processes to provide documents and goods that are in compliance with all privacy, quality, and security regulations. These solutions enable the public sector to run more efficiently as it enables governments to turn all documents into digital records and store them in an organized and efficient way, allowing all entities and stakeholders to have easy access, reduce costs and error, and simplify all processes.
Governments recognize that e-governments have evolved to make government administration much more efficient, effective, and friendly. It has compelled governments to reconsider their organizations, duties, business processes, and collaborative arrangements. To ensure the long-term viability of e-governments, current governments must continue to seek out new solutions and service opportunities and to stay up-to-date with the latest digital innovations, and perhaps even consult with a digital transformation partner or a digital solutions provider.
