2025 Top 10 Trends and Priorities for Government - State

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Top Priorities for 2025

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Implement Cybersecurity Governance for Whole-of-Government

speaker 1

Christine
Coz

Executive Counselor

speaker 2

Erik
Avakian

Technical Counselor

 Feb 04, 2025

Implement Cybersecurity Governance for Whole-of-Government

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01

Strengthen cybersecurity practices

The Challenge

Overcome cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity isn't a one-time purchase or policy; it requires robust processes, effective technologies, and advanced skill sets tailored to the specific agency's operation. Threats are growing daily with the rapid expansion of AI. The stakes are now even higher in the form of loss, fines, reputational and brand damage, and worse.

Why It Matters

Secure public trust.

Protecting information is crucial for all levels of government. Publicized security incidents can erode public trust and bring into question the effectiveness of government operations. Effective cybersecurity measures are essential to safeguard data, ensure compliance, and maintain the integrity of government services.

The Solution

Create a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy

Develop a systematic approach to cybersecurity, identifying threats, vulnerability, and consequences. This ensures that investments in control measures are appropriate to the risks faced by the agency.

Enhance visibility and understanding

Work with public sector executives, IT leaders, and legislative officials to improve the visibility and understanding of the community's cybersecurity posture and risk exposure.

Research Center - Security Research Center

Security Research Center

A holistic approach to building an agile, robust security program.
Local Government Cybersecurity Report

Local Government Cybersecurity Report

  • Increased use of technology to improve effectiveness of public services delivery has led to more to cyberthreat risks.
  • Cybersecurity is not an afterthought. It must be addressed through a combination of technology and best practices.
  • This trend analysis will provide you with key insights to assist your IT team to effectively meet these threats head on.
Local Government Endpoint Protection Report

Local Government Endpoint Protection Report

  • Cybersecurity encompasses best practices, training and awareness, and technology.
  • Most Local Government IT departments do a good job at securing their networks and intrusion monitoring. However, the most vulnerable part, the “endpoint,” is often at risk.
  • Learn about what endpoint protection is, the state of the market, key features, and leading vendors to see how this technology can transform your IT strategy and the ability to deliver it.
Addressing the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage in Government

Addressing the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage in Government
State/Provincial Government Cloud Access Security Broker Report

State/Provincial Government Cloud Access Security Broker Report

  • As government organizations move to the cloud, the challenge is on IT leadership to clarify the new risks associated with this strategy.
  • Those subscribing to these services require very little IT knowledge or involvement. These arrangements are often made outside of IT and without IT oversight.
  • Learn about cloud access security brokers, the state of the market, key features, and leading vendors to see how this technology can transform your IT strategy and the ability to deliver it.
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02

Empower digital government

The Challenge

Meet the growing demand of digital services.

Public sector constituents struggle to meet the growing demand for accessible and user-friendly digital services. Creating seamless and equitable digital experiences that are intuitive, secure, and build trust while also addressing complex requirements and ensuring robust authentication for transactions involving sensitive data is a growing challenge.

Why It Matters

Empower constituents.

Digital services must improve equitable access to government services and participation in democratic processes. Ensuring robust authentication and redesigning service delivery processes are crucial for reducing touchpoints, meeting service level expectations, and building accessibility and security by design.

The Solution

Identify the value streams and use cases that provide the most value

Use human-centered design, personas, and empathy mapping to identify the best value streams and use cases for digital service delivery. This includes creating user-friendly interfaces and mobile applications.

Ensure seamless access and address conflicts

Identify and address potential areas of conflict such as privacy, legal, technical, and compliance/security issues. Map value streams, shared capabilities, and conflict areas against a digital government reference architecture.

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03

Effectively integrate AI

The Challenge

Balance the potential and risk of AI.

The potential of AI in government scenarios has both excited and concerned technologists and policymakers. The rapid advancement of AI technologies requires governments to navigate issues related to data privacy, ethical use, and the potential displacement of workers.

Why It Matters

Harness the transformative power of AI.

AI can revolutionize government operations, enhancing efficiency and service delivery. Understanding and leveraging these technologies is crucial for staying ahead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

The Solution

Develop an AI strategy

Incorporate an AI strategy into the broader IT strategy and roadmap. This includes understanding and communicating to leadership the differences between AI and generative AI and establishing responsible AI policies.

Identify and prioritize use cases

Identify viable use cases for AI and generative AI, from constituent service delivery automation to threat detection and process automation. Use capability maps to identify candidate opportunities and initiatives.

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04

Modernize IT

The Challenge

Overcome legacy system hurdles.

Governments face significant challenges in modernizing applications to stay efficient and effective. There is often no framework to communicate and justify modernization efforts. Additionally, some users are resistant to change, and competing priorities can undermine the value of modernization.

Why It Matters

Modernize for efficiency.

Application modernization is essential to holistically serve the needs of the community. It ensures that government services are efficient, effective, and capable of meeting the demands of constituents, staff, and the organization as a whole.

The Solution

Establish a digital application vision

Guide modernization efforts and ensure alignment with organizational objectives by gaining a grounded understanding of the digital application construct and prioritize these attributes against digital business goals.

Define the modernization approach

Obtain a thorough view of the organization and technical complexities, risks, and impacts. Employ the right modernization techniques based on the organization's change tolerance, ensuring a smooth transition.

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05

Attract and retain IT talent

The Challenge

Address public sector IT talent hurdles.

Traditional incentives like pensions and job security are losing appeal as candidate and employee expectations evolve. This highly structured and often unionized nature of the public sector workforce favors seniority, slowing down upward mobility for skilled new talent.

Why It Matters

Meet modern workforce expectations.

Offering flexible hiring and work models, agile governance structures, and cross-agency talent pools allows the public sector to remain competitive in the job market. These changes create a more attractive work environment and provide opportunities for skill growth and career advancement.

The Solution

Understand workforce trends and impacts

Learn about IT workforce trends and their effects on the organization. Gauge the impact of these trends on specific capabilities to stay ahead of challenges and opportunities.

Provide training and meaningful projects

Offer ongoing training and professional development, especially leadership programs. Assign IT professionals to challenging and meaningful projects that align with their interests to keep them engaged and motivated.

Build an Annual IT Talent Strategy

Build an Annual IT Talent Strategy
IT Talent Trends 2024

IT Talent Trends 2024
Addressing the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage in Government

Addressing the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage in Government
Addressing the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage in Government

Addressing the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage in Government
Industry Reference Architecture for Provincial Government

Industry Reference Architecture for Provincial Government
Local Government Service Modernization Report

Local Government Service Modernization Report

  • Local government organizations continue to be pressured to provide more services while maintaining current spending levels.
  • Labor continues to be one of the largest expenditures in Local Government.
  • Learn how to overcome these challenges with technology enablers and set the course for service modernization.
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06

Manage valuable data assets

The Challenge

Bolster data management.

The ability to strategically and effectively manage valuable data assets is challenging for governments. Ineffective data management can lead to poor decisions, missed opportunities for engagement, and critical cybersecurity risks.

Why It Matters

Empower data-driven decisions.

Proper data management ensures that government can leverage their data assets to enhance operational efficiency and service delivery. Effective data governance and management are crucial for making informed decisions, improving experiences, and mitigating cybersecurity risks.

The Solution

Align data management with strategic plans

Ensure data initiatives support the broader objectives of the organization by aligning data management plans with agency requirements and strategic goals.

Create a collaborative plan

Unite IT and the organization in managing data assets by developing a collaborative plan. This plan should be scalable and adaptable to evolving needs.

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07

Strengthen digital identity

The Challenge

Navigate complications in cybersecurity and identity.

Cybersecurity and identity are increasingly intertwined, requiring continuous control over data access, transaction authorization, and fraud prevention. The complexity of access control has grown with digital expansion and AI automation, driving the need for more intelligent, extensible, cloud-centric, and service-oriented identity access management (IAM) solutions.

Why It Matters

Build secure access management.

IAM is crucial for providing the right people with the right access at the right time, predicting their needs, and responding to inappropriate access. As more processes are moved to the cloud and face increasing security threats, a well-defined and well-documented IAM system is essential for usability and security.

The Solution

Centralize the IAM system and RBAC model

Establish a centralized, effective, and efficient system for managing identity and access. By creating and implementing a role-based access control (RBAC) model, organizations can regain control of their IAM environment and simplify the auditing process.

Select and integrate vendors

Select and implement IAM vendors by producing an RFP and shortlisting vendors that meet goals and compliance and integration needs. This approach will minimize entitlement sprawl and ensure seamless integration with various cloud vendors.

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08

Enhance application portfolio management

The Challenge

Modernize legacy systems amid rapid IT evolution.

The rapid evolution of information technology and the proliferation of digital technologies have changed constituents' expectations for service delivery. However, governments continue to rely on aging, complex, and unstable legacy systems, which are increasingly at risk of failure and cyberattacks.

Why It Matters

Improve satisfaction with digital services.

Constituents desire more digital services but are often dissatisfied with their quality and effectiveness. Public sector IT faces barriers such as misalignment of modernization policies, underinvestment in core applications, competing priorities, lack of application health knowledge, and informal processes.

The Solution

Prioritize continuous modernization and rationalization

Prioritize continuous modernization and rationalization of the application portfolio. This involves shifting the focus from technical issues to value-added impacts on programs and services.

Empower application portfolio management leads

Enable application portfolio management leads to quickly identify and address issues, and make a compelling case for the value of applications and investments to decision-makers. This empowerment is crucial for proactive management and effective communication.

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09

Master adaptive delivery

The Challenge

Embrace Agile transformations.

Most state organizations need support when starting out with Agile, DevOps, and product-centric delivery of digital platforms since transformations are difficult and complex to achieve. Many organizations that follow Scrum "by the book" often clash with reality, requiring an improvised approach for large, complex, and federated public services.

Why It Matters

The success of Agile transformations.

Adaptive delivery is difficult to master, with research showing that there are over 30 common challenges that organizations need to overcome for Agile to be successful (Journal of Systems and Software). Nearly half of all Agile transformations fail (Scrum Inc.), yet Agile projects are three times more likely to succeed than Waterfall projects (The Standish Group).

The Solution

Access real-time troubleshooting and expert guidance

Harness the combined power of research and experience to troubleshoot adaptive delivery challenges in real time. Leverage a holistic relationship with a dedicated Agile mentor to provide expert guidance.

Assess and improve skills

Assess Agile, DevOps, and product skills and practices to find ways to improve them. Solve problems faster with solutions that last by creating guardrails that will work in a government organization.

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10

Transform the CIO role

The Challenge

Navigate the complexities in government service delivery.

Government service delivery is inherently complex due to the involvement of multiple departments, agencies, and systems, often operating with limited resources. This complexity results in numerous touchpoints and systems required to deliver services to constituents, making it challenging to manage and coordinate IT resources effectively.

Why It Matters

Enhance efficiency and collaboration.

The CIO as a broker promotes collaboration, efficiency, and effectiveness in IT management. This role ensures technology supports the mission and enhances service delivery, ultimately benefiting constituents.

The Solution

Build strategic alignment and vendor management

Ensure IT initiatives align with organizational objectives and oversee vendor relationships to maintain compliance with regulations and standards.

Collaborate and integrate

Facilitate collaboration among government agencies and integrate IT services from various sources to create seamless solutions. This integration promotes interoperability and efficiency in IT initiatives.

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