The top priority of application developers at state and local government agencies is improving the quality of the citizen experience (46 percent), followed by reducing the cost of service delivery (42 percent), according to the results of a newDigital Government Survey conducted by OutSystems in partnership with IDG.
Other top priorities include improving data security (42 percent), providing better access to data and information (40 percent), and increasing the speed of service delivery (38 percent).
“The survey results clearly show that developers in government agencies need tools and processes to help them create positive user experiences while also keeping a lid on costs,” said Mike Hughes, product evangelist at OutSystems. “A low-code approach to application development accomplishes both goals. It allows teams with limited resources to rapidly meet the needs of their users while providing a consistently high-quality, secure user experience.”
Organisations that use OutSystems can build applications up to 10 times faster using pre-built components with proven reliability instead of coding everything from the ground up. This enables departments with limited resources to stretch budgets and personnel to service other priorities. They can free up staff to help citizens who truly require personalised service and allow IT teams to devote more time to innovation.
OutSystems government customers have used the low-code platform to drive positive results in their communities. The City of Oakland, California saved $1 million within one year, enabling the city to accelerate delivery of numerous applications that serve Oakland’s 412,000 citizens. Additionally, a single developer at the City of Shawnee, Kansas modernised 30 apps for the city’s 66,000 residents in just a year with the help of the OutSystems platform – shortening the time significantly from what it would have taken using conventional development methods.
Across Asia Pacific, OutSystems is seeing a heightened demand for government agencies to accelerate their service delivery and bolster the citizen experience. In Singapore, for instance, the government has put digital transformation at the forefront of the smart nation focus, with the Digital Government Blueprint (DGB) outlining plans for electronic payment and digital signature options, among other digital services centred on improving Singaporeans’ needs. Given the pressure of rising citizen expectations and budget constraints, accelerated service delivery and rapid application development will be crucial as the Singapore government works towards its goal of having 90 to 95 per cent of government transactions digitalised by 2023.
Meanwhile, all government services in Australia are expected to be fully online in line with the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)’s Vision 2025, which endeavours to deliver innovative solutions leveraging data and technology to improve the citizen experience.
Australia has already introduced myGovID, a digital identity credential application that allows citizens to access government services, including tax file number application, online.
With a number of citizen-focused applications expected to be rolled out across Asia Pacific, there is a heightened need to focus on capability building and scalability, rather than merely implementing individual projects that belong to individual government agencies. This is where low-code development platforms can come in to close the gap and accelerate the completion of large-scale digital initiatives.