Public Sector

For Public Sector what really matters is delivering better services to all stakeholders.

Flexible Working

Communication comes in many forms for a government organisation. Information can be quickly dispensed to the public via internet applications. The difficulty is in providing a simple and easy to maintain system that is also secure. Government institutions can be responsible for sharing an immense amount of information to the public so it must be easy to navigate and easy to search. Being a representative of the state, the web interface to the government institution must appear highly professional. Government institutions have always been spread across the country in many locations so that they are accessible to the public. This is an increasing trend, e.g. decentralisation. A department can be spread across several or many locations. It is important to be able to clearly, quickly and cheaply communicate not just with the public but internally as well. A collaboration solution enables the staff to work together, no matter where they are. Processes and documentation can be worked on together by a disparate team. The traditional means of communication such as e-mail are still critical but instant communications such as instant messaging, voice and video can offer much more, e.g. a video conference can be held right at your desk.

Data Management

Public Sector has a greater need to retain data than heavily regulated industries such as finance and pharmaceuticals. In the future, it will not be unreasonable to expect an inquiry to request an e-mail from 10 or maybe even 20 years ago. Current archival mechanisms such as backup to tape and permanently store are unreliable for many reasons. Relying on a tape that is on a shelf and never tested is hopeful at best. Backup software comes and goes. Software that is good now will possibly not be available or even work with older tapes in the future. Tape drives are constantly changing. Today’s highest standard will be considered a rare antique in 10 years. Finally, searching for and recovering a specific file or a series of mails from a specific time in the distant past is not a small tasks; it is both difficult and takes a long time. Implemented a well thought out data retention lifecycle will resolve those issues by automatically archiving data from expensive, high-performing disk and gradually move it to cheaper storage according to defined policies. The data is still stored in the same location before as far as any user or application is concerned, thanks to a location abstraction mechanism.

Security

As a public body dealing with sensitive information, you need to stay ahead of the game when it comes to security. One instance of complacency can produce unthinkable consequences particularly in the Health Care Sector where it really can be the difference between life and death.