Learning the lessons of e-government

Ramon Padilla

Published: 17 May 2005 17:00 BST

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E-government. Does the word strike fear in your heart? It does for me because of the myriad of ways the term is bandied about and because for some, it seems to be the sole measure of a government IT shop's success.

For many, e-government means that the government agency has a Web site. The degree to which that Web site is interactive and allows the public to network to obtain services over the Internet is the benchmark for how "electronic" your government really is. Of course.

You see, the true definition of e-government is how well it utilises technology to improve the productivity of its workers as they serve the public in their particular capacities. I think you can lump most government agencies into one of four categories.

The four categories of e-government organisations

Category I — Snazzy on the outside, ugly on the inside

There are some government organisations that have superb Web sites that provide excellent functionality — but don't look behind the curtain, because to gaze there is like staring back into the Stone Age: slow and under-performing networks, low-quality or non-existent end-user support, aging systems, poor security, antiquated applications, unresponsive technology management, etc.

How can this be? Quite simply, the powers that be have decided to invest in only those areas that are visible to the public. If the Web site looks sophisticated, then all the other operations must be too — that is the kind of thinking that goes into this decision. However, while the Web site might look slick, security best practices may be non-existent. Because of poor protection against virus threats, for example, the network is compromised, resulting in significant downtime and a waste of money. As you know, a glitzy front door does not mean the shop is in order behind it.

Category II — Not much to look at, but lots of heart

Conversely, there are those e-governments who have a very plain Web presence, but are using technology in sophisticated and dynamic ways behind the scenes, such as:

• Well-managed and high performing networks
• Superior customer service
• Established IT governance and portfolio management
• Implementation of effective and smooth running applications that support the core business of the departments, such as: mobile data terminals in police, fire, and EMS vehicles, advanced jail management systems, superior ERP installations, etc.

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