3 Ways Government CIOs Can Get Executive Buy-In for Digital Initiatives

Gartner research predicts that by 2023, more than 80% of the government’s digital implementations that do not build on a technology platform will fail to meet objectives.

A digital government technology platform (DGTP) is your best opportunity to avoid that bleak inevitability. It is a long-term solution that puts data and intelligence at the core of a new set of service delivery models. It is a disruptive, wholesale modernization of legacy applications that enables government organizations to provide enhanced services to their constituents.

For success, it requires clear CIO leadership. The best way to do that? Speak about outcomes, not processes. 

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“Educating the organization’s leadership on the business and technical benefits of a DGTP is critical in getting its buy-in. CIOs need to avoid losing government leaders’ attention by using ‘tech speak’ and, instead, discuss the DGTP in terms of business and mission capabilities and value,” says Gartner VP Analyst Bill Finnerty.

A DGTP involves every component of a government organization’s IT ecosystem. And by speaking about it in terms of outcomes, you have a better chance at getting buy-in from senior leadership.

Here are three ways to do it:

Business advantage No. 1: “We can maximize our investment in the solutions we already have.”

Because a DGTP leverages reusable components, government agencies can rationalize their application portfolios and reduce maintenance and support. 

From a senior government leadership perspective, this means the agency can maximize its investment in solutions that enable business capabilities. The result: avoiding duplicative use of resources and, instead, leveraging them to provide a common service and further meet the changing needs of the agency.

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Business advantage No. 2: “We can develop solutions faster.”

With a DGTP, developers and business technologists can reuse code or use low-code integration to connect to APIs, enabling them to develop solutions with greater efficiency.

For senior government leaders, the ability to leverage the same capability in many solutions means that resources can focus on delivering on business needs faster.

Business advantage No. 3: “End users can learn new capabilities faster.”

A DGTP enables governments to create a consistent experience across solutions. Reusing capabilities makes it easier for constituents and employees to deploy new, more efficient services without having to learn new tools or set up components for single-use scenarios.

Focus on these three business advantages to increase your chances of securing executive sponsorship of a DGTP initiative. The key is to drive the conversation in terms of your leadership’s priorities, including service optimization, improved citizen experience, cost reduction and improved us of ecosystem partners.