Public Sector – Difficult Decisions

By Richard Zaltzman, Public Sector Director, Microsoft Small and Mid-Market Solutions and Partners (SMS&P)

Change in any organisation is hard, but rarely do commercial organisations face multiple years of continual budget cuts, restructuring and change, whilst all the time being in the public eye. 

The easy wins are long gone and now Public Sector organisations are at the forefront of resilience and transformational capability.  We know that technology has a critical part to play, with emerging roles such as Head of Transformation and the rise of the Digital Director highlighting the importance of a strong focus on technology to enable and sustain change.

The Tough Conversation

To deliver the results that Public Sector organisations must achieve, we and our partners really need to focus on what it takes to get through all of the barriers, to an environment where services are provided dramatically differently. Sometimes this is a really tough conversation. For example, moving services to the Cloud provides a platform for new operating models, but also creates tension, so collectively we need to work through all of the benefits with our customers.  Not just the notional cost saving, but the benefits delivered through being able to deploy mobile solutions to provide care in the community, of having stronger intelligence across agencies, of reduced risk and more focus on the person who at the end of it all, is a patient, a householder, an employee, a learner.

Honesty

We have to be honest with our customers when they are not investing enough to get the results they need.  We need to push ourselves and our customers to really understand what it is going to take to change, and that the technology is only part of the solution.  If we can get this right, together we are a crucial catalyst for the transformation of Public Sector in the UK. 

Learn more about the Public sector opportunity and access partner resources via the MPN Public Sector Hub.