How intelligent automation can help councils to innovate, save time and money. FT Mark Gannon.

Today we had IT leader, Mark Gannon on the TLG podcast to discuss "How intelligent automation can help councils to innovate, save time and money".Key points from our conversation:1. I think there are still too many services in councils not digitised end-to-end which leads to waste and failure demand. The tools and capabilities exist to do so what is stopping councils from doing this? Do senior leaders and politicians get digital?2. Most councils deliver similar services but there is still quite a bit of ‘we can’t do it like that as we are different / unique / special’. Can councils afford this approach anymore? There is great collaboration going on in some areas – how do we get more of this going? How do we encourage and sharing mindset in local government?3. Data is trapped in silos and councils are missing out on the ability to understand their areas, create new insights and drive service improvements and early intervention to reduce costs. What are the challenges preventing councils from unleashing their data? What role do suppliers have in supporting this? Is there a skills gap in this area?4. A lot of councils are still procuring for the non-digital age. Local government needs a radical overhaul of how it specifies and procures digital solutions and platforms. How can we make procurement quicker? How can ensure that those involved in procuring are aware of the latest developments in low-code, RPA, AI and IOT?5. Councils spend a lot of money responding to problems once they have happened instead of using AI, data and IOT tools to help prevent issues from occurring in the first place. How do we improve the ability of councils to undertake more early intervention and predictive analytics?6. Too many councils talk about improving digital services without really understanding good service design or involving their citizens in the design of those services. But a lot also spend too much time in the design phase and not the delivery phase. How can councils strike the right balance between pace of delivery and delivering the right things? Is there a role for developing internal consultants in councils to support transformation initiatives?7. Local authorities are spending far too much money maintaining legacy applications that are expensive and not particularly effective which lead to poor citizen and employee experiences. Why are vendors making it hard for councils to transform? How can vendors help councils to rationalise their IT estate and connect applications together without charging huge prices?https://www.netcall.com/industries/local-government/citizen-hub/