Key digital transformation insights for government from the private sector
As governments around the globe embrace Microsoft’s cloud platform and many more consider the possibilities, private sector experiences of digital transformation can be a rich source of learning and inspiration. And the good news is that numerous commercial businesses are using Microsoft technology to dramatically improve their operations and service delivery
Many businesses are already using Microsoft cloud technology to accomplish a broad range of goals ranging from collaborating more effectively to improving customer service, goals shared by innovative governments of all sizes around the world. Consider the following examples:
Creating a culture of collaboration
Henkel, a worldwide company with brands and technologies in adhesive technologies, beauty care, laundry and home care, recently took a major leap forward by deploying Microsoft Office 365 to 47,000 employees. By doing so, it has created a culture of collaboration in which company employees use video conferencing, shared workspaces, team dashboards, and the latest productivity Office software to connect and collaborate with colleagues across the organization. Employees take advantage of desktop sharing during meetings to deliver presentations and edit documents. They also share documents such as calendars, newsletters, social commentary, and training materials on team sites. Reporting has been improved for the finance team, Excel has helped identify performance improvements for research and development, and project work across geographically dispersed teams is easier to manage.
In the same way, Office 365 can make it easier for government employees to more easily communicate and collaborate across departments. Employees can immediately see who’s available and initiate ad hoc video conferences across offices. They can share their desktops to collaborate on documents in real time. And they can create team sites to provide secure access to important materials such as calendars and training materials. Simply put, Office 365 can improve efficiency by fostering a connected culture of collaboration and providing a modern workplace that helps attract and retain skilled staff.
Cost-effective data analytics
Few industries are more conservative than the insurance industry. Towers Watson, a consultant and software provider to the insurance industry, analyzes massive amounts of data to help customers price auto insurance policies based on drivers’ actual driving habits. With telematics and mobile-phone technologies, it’s now possible to stream real-time data on driver behavior, including how fast they drive, how hard they brake, and how they adapt driving behavior to changes in the weather. Yet processing and analyzing all this information can be a massive computational workload. To quickly and cost-effectively store and analyze big data, Towers Watson uses Microsoft Azure in a hybrid cloud environment. By doing so, the company expects to save up to 40 percent in capital and operating costs compared to building an on-premises solution, while giving its customers the detailed information they need to more accurately price auto insurance policies.
Imagine what government agencies can achieve by learning from the Towers Watson’s experience with Microsoft as a model for creating hybrid cloud environments to analyze large amounts of data. As government agencies collect more information, not just through the citizen services they provide, but also through sensors monitoring their vehicle fleet, building energy use, air and water quality, traffic flows and many other applications, Microsoft Azure can provide the cost-effective analysis , quickly turning the data into advanced insights that help governments save costs and better serve citizens.
Streamlining payroll/HR workflow with the cloud
Governments of all sizes can benefit from optimizing their core systems with the cloud. Shangri-La International Hotel Management Pte Ltd manages nine properties in Malaysia including hotels and resorts where it employs 5,000 individuals. The company’s HR department wanted to streamline its workflow in order to improve efficiency, as well as enhance service delivery to constituents. The group utilized different payroll systems across its various properties, causing a bottleneck of information, often resulting in delays in processing that required manual efforts to resolve.
Shangri-La migrated to a cloud-based system from a Microsoft partner that runs on Microsoft Azure to enable management to make data-driven HR decisions while maintaining compliancy with strict government regulatory standards. Now it only takes a few minutes to generate and analyze reports. In addition, employees can access their pay slips on their own computers, tablets and smartphones, saving the payroll department time and effort while reducing the need for paper. Running on the Azure cloud also ensures business continuity and disaster recovery, meaning Shangri-La no longer has to worry about data loss or corruption.
These three examples from the private sector demonstrate just a small selection of the many organizations taking real benefits from their digital transformation with applications that can be utilized by government agencies.
To learn more about how Microsoft technology and digital transformation can help governments improve their efficiency and effectiveness, download our free Office 365 for Government Trial as well as our Azure Government Trial.
