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3 pain points of modernising legacy IT system in government agency

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Modernising legacy IT systems in a government agency can be challenging. Sometimes it becomes more challenging than initially expected. When our case management experts get asked about their experience with modernising legacy IT systems in the public sector, they admit that sometimes things are more complicated compared to projects in the private sector. In this blog post, we’ll discuss three major pain points in modernising government legacy IT systems. For that, we asked our experts to share their successful strategies in tackling the most common challenges they meet in public sector IT modernisation projects.

Related: How to write a good request for proposal for government case management system?

Modernising legacy case management systems with heavy technical debt

Over time, legacy systems can become complex, with many patches and workarounds added to maintain functionality. This can make upgrading or replacing the systems difficult and disrupt existing processes. Therefore technical debt is one of the most common pain points for government agencies seeking to update their IT legacy systems. Part of the reasons for that are:

  • The legacy case management system is often based on outdated technologies that are no longer supported or need to meet current security and compliance standards.
  • Legacy systems may have been built over many years, with numerous patches and workarounds added to maintain functionality.
  • It’s common for legacy systems to have integrations with other systems that are difficult to replace or that need to be updated as part of the modernisation project.
  • Modernising legacy systems can be expensive, requiring significant technological, staff, and resource investments. CIOs must consider the long-term cost of maintaining the systems over time.
  • Risk of failure: legacy systems may have vulnerabilities or weaknesses discovered over time, and CIOs must assess the risk of failure as part of the modernisation project.

As part of their strategy, CIOs must consider the complexity, cost, and risk of failure associated with technical debt when planning a modernisation project.

Related: Everything you should know about buying a public sector case management software off-the-shelf

Data migration when updating the existing case management platform

Migrating large amounts of data from legacy systems to new case management platforms can be a time-consuming and complex process, requiring specialised expertise and careful planning. It is a critical aspect of modernising a legacy system. Here are some key considerations for data migration that our experts shared:

  • Data quality: data migration can reveal issues with data quality, such as duplicates, missing values, and inconsistent formats. CIOs must ensure that the data is cleaned and standardised before migration to ensure the new system is accurate and usable.
  • Data mapping: Data mapping is the process of mapping data from the legacy system to the new platform, and it is critical to ensuring that the data is transferred accurately. CIOs must work with stakeholders to understand the data structure and relationships and to define the mapping rules.
  • Data security: Data migration can be sensitive, especially in a regulatory agency. CIOs must ensure that data is protected and that security measures are in place to prevent unauthorised access or theft.
  • Data archiving: Legacy systems may contain historical data that is no longer needed for daily operations, but that must be retained for compliance purposes. CIOs must consider data archiving options to ensure that the data is preserved and accessible.
  • Data testing: Data migration is a complex process. CIOs must conduct thorough testing to ensure that the data is transferred accurately and that the new system is functioning as expected.

CIOs must carefully plan and execute the migration to ensure that data is protected, accurate, and accessible. Internal teams can ensure a successful data migration and a modern, efficient case management system by working with stakeholders and following best practices.

Resistance to change

Resistance to change can be a common challenge when modernising a legacy IT system for inspection management processes, as staff may be familiar with the existing system and may be wary of new technology. Here are some strategies that our experts recommend to CIOs to tackle resistance to change:

  • Communication: Clear and effective communication is key to managing resistance to change. CIOs should involve staff early in the modernisation process and keep them informed about the benefits and goals of the project. This can help to build trust and reduce anxiety about change.
  • Providing training on the new system can help staff feel confident and prepared for the transition. CIOs should consider offering training sessions and resources that allow staff to learn at their own pace.
  • Engaging staff in the modernisation process can help build buy-in and reduce resistance. CIOs should solicit feedback and ideas from staff and involve them in testing and validation activities.

A modular and phased approach to modernisation can help manage resistance by allowing staff to adjust gradually to change. CIOs should break the modernisation project into smaller, manageable components and implement them incrementally.

 

Case study: Why the phased approach of adopting an inspection management software is a good tactic?

Read it to understand:

    • The advantages of modular digital transformation
    • The vital architectural practices and technologies that enable modular transformation
    • How a regulatory agency in the UK is benefitting from a modular approach with Canalix.

Download now.

Emphasising the benefits of the new system can help reduce resistance. CIOs should highlight the benefits for staff, such as increased efficiency, improved functionality, and a better user experience.

In conclusion, managing resistance to change is an important aspect of modernising a legacy IT system and government case management software. CIOs should take a proactive approach to communication, training, and engagement to build buy-in and ensure a smooth transition. By involving staff and emphasising the new system’s benefits, CIOs can overcome resistance and deliver a successful modernisation project.

Ask us more about Canalix, a case management system for government agencies:

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How investing in cloud services creates savings for government agencies?

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Everyone have heard government leaders talking about cutting costs. This is a budgetary policy that is happening in every EU country. Now in times of global health, social and economic crisis, these conversations are taking place more often than ever. Making cuts in the budgets seems like a shortcut to getting numbers in order. But shortcuts are not everything. A long-term cost optimisation policy is the smarter way to go for a variety of reasons.

Related: How digital safety inspection program can reduce the cost of inspections?

Shortcut plan vs long-term strategy?

The use of outdated systems in the public sector has led to reduction of the work load and challenged the efficiency of areas like regulatory enforcement in the peak of the covid-19 in Europe. More specifically the inspection management part of the regulatory agencies was challenged when strict social distance measures applied. This affected the citizens and the efficiency of the workforce, operating on the inspection management part.

Read now: A guide for finding the best inspection management software online

As a result there are a lot of conversation about cutting costs in government agencies now. However, optimizing costs is the direction for government agencies that are using outdated systems to run their processes.

“Government leaders often fall into “salami-slicing” budget cuts across the board. “Government leaders’ approach is to make incremental cuts to budgets areas across the board, rather than taking a more strategic cost optimization approach. These cuts can be particularly damaging to IT, derailing digital projects and ignoring the positive impact that budget spent on IT can have in reducing costs elsewhere in the organization.” says Cathleen E. Blanton, research vice president at Gartner.

Digital Transformation Drives Efficiency and Cost Optimisation

With the events that happened in 2020, government CIOs must evaluate whether the government agencies can deliver their services to the public with the current work model. After this assessment is made, the CIO must research alternative models of work. We’re living in the age of cloud technologies, so if we talk about transforming an overlooked field like inspection services, the cloud alternative must be on the top of the list.

Related: All you need to know about cloud adoption in government agencies

By researching cloud alternatives, CIOs must focus on the values of the cloud, but also to make sure that the new work models won’t be a challenge for the workforce. The values may vary. For example in the inspection management part the value may be about optimizing costs for travel of inspectors, in the case management part it may be about optimizing the processing time. The values vary at the different levels of government organizations. The good news is that with a good plan, CIOs may have an overview of the expected outcomes before buying a cloud software for inspections or for somethings else.

Related: Why is it a good idea to test a cloud software with PoC (proof of concept)?

Plan smart, implement cloud smarter

Adopting cloud for government agencies is not a simple task. It must be planned carefully and at different stages. If we look at the wholesome of processes behind regulatory enforcement, we will see room for different software solutions – inspection scheduling, inspection management, compliance management, case management, self-service portals and other e-government solutions. If the cloud implementation is planned to cover different solutions at different stage, then it will be one smart plan that will not only implement cloud, but will also do it in progressive way. It means that at every stage the workforce will be more mature to extract the values that are promised by the cloud.

Related: How route optimisation reduces costs in regulatory agencies?

The strategic approach of cost optimisation requires long term planning skills. This approach starts with formulating clear strategy and then implementing it.

Related: How to formulate cloud adoption strategy?

How to choose the right cloud service supplier?

There are hundreds of options on the SaaS market of cloud solutions for e-governments. However, when choosing a cloud service supplier, CIOs must look for something more than that. They need to identify a supplier, who is willing to be a partner and contribute to the planning of the most optimal cloud adoption plan.

Do you need help for cloud integration of inspection software and case management platforms for government agencies? Or you just want to start with gathering data via self-service portals and plan the further cloud adoption for other public services?

Contact us now.
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Transforming Regulators With Government Case Management Software

It’s no secret that there’s a whole genre of jokes about government agencies. The reason is mainly the predominant stereotype that describes government services as slow and clumsy. But if we look up to the top smart cities in the world, we’ll find examples of local governments that are successfully breaking up with this stereotype.

It is always inspiring to look up to great examples. But is it serious comparing London’s multi-million digital transformation budget to the budget of a local government agency somewhere in England? Of course not. However, essential digital transformation solutions can make a big difference for local governments. The modernisation of government case management systems is such.

How Regulatory Case Management Systems Transform Government Agencies? 

  • Less manual work, more automation

Public agencies oversee many parts of the regulatory enforcement process. Sometimes these parts interact with each other. Or there are new compliance rules that change the process. This work adds up every day. That’s why procedures in the public sector are often slow when done manually. 

Digital transformation is changing this by integrating governments with valuable case management platforms. Such platforms improve efficiency via data-driven automation that allows faster workflow. And it’s no secret that when we talk about saving time, we talk about saving costs. So this is the most fundamental transformation value that a regulatory case management software can bring by automating manual processes.

  • Eliminating expensive mistakes

Data automation is the technology through which case management systems ensure fast workflow. But how do they ensure intelligent workflow? The answer is artificial intelligence. A smart case management system will remove the risk of expensive errors.

We will give an example of the way Canalix is applying AI optimisation in the inspection process:

Imagine that different cases are categorised by their specifics and located in various places. The solving of each case requires an inspector with a specific skill set. The manual process of matching inspectors with cases have a considerable risk of error. Such risk may lead to sending wrongfully skilled inspectors on site. But with intelligent case management software like Canalix, each case can be matched with an inspector based on skill set, distance, availability, etc.

Our innovative solution makes the resource allocation visible in the inspectors’ scheduling calendars in real-time.

Related: Three Benefits of Using AI-Driven Inspection Software

Providing security

Keeping the data in excel files on our government agency’s server will make it easier for hackers to steal the data. But a sound case management system can provide additional security. If you want to take care of your government agency’s case management security, make sure that you look for cloud-based platforms that are specifically built to answer the public sector’s needs.

Related: Why Regulators Need Industry-specific Inspection Software?

Government agencies are organisations that still have baby steps to make into digital transformation. Modernising their case management software is suitable for making more significant steps into this field. Do you want to lead your organisation into its first step in digital transformation? Contacts us for a free demo.

Related: Why Self-Service Portals Are a Good Idea For the First Step Into Digital Transformation?

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