Public sector opportunities in the cloud
Cloud technology and mobility could appeal to government customers, claims David Akka
Akka: Sees hope in the clouds
The public sector remains an appealing market, as billions are still spent each year on goods and services essential to the delivery of public services.
The answer could come in the form of cloud and mobile technology. The cost-saving potential of moving traditional on-premise applications to the cloud is well documented. The cloud can also improve application accessibility for people who are not always office-based, as well as enhance communications.
However, channel partners need to do much more than just sell the cloud concept. Go back to basics and identify the authority’s needs. Many ineffective processes could be improved through automation, particularly where someone carries out much of their work away from the office.
A local planning department team may do field research, updating data manually in the office and passing it through a series of reviews before change can be authorised.
Data could be transferred directly from a mobile device into the relevant systems while teams are still out on the road.
Care of the elderly is another area where I think cloud technology could help, especially as the number of people over 65 rises. Cloud-enabled mobile applications could help care workers cut administration time, providing easier access to data off-site.
Councils may not currently have the budget to spend on large IT projects, but there is lots of scope for smaller schemes. They don’t want to take out existing systems; they’re looking for ways to improve them.
Demonstrate improved productivity, customer-centric service delivery and tangible cost savings.
Application platforms allow the development and deployment of applications in the cloud, on-premise and over mobile devices from the same code foundation, enabling the channel to stay ahead of new technologies while keeping their options open.
David Akka is regional managing director is Magic Software Enterprises