The Cost of Digital Innovation in Local Government
Prior to the Covid pandemic, the private sector was already taking significant measures towards going digital. In fact, companies spent over $2 trillion (about $6,200 per person in the US) dollars in 2019 on digital transformation efforts alone. In addition, eighty-nine percent of all businesses across the country have either initiated a digital first strategy or are in the planning stages of doing so. This is because private industries recognize that digital innovations are far more efficient than legacy systems. The bottom line is that the private sector has already figured out that going digital is far more convenient, modern, and provides a better experience for their customer base.
On the other hand, government agencies at all levels are slower to adopt digital innovation technology. The government tends to abide by the old saying if it is not broken why fix it. The problem is that the old way of doing things is broken when compared to utilizing innovative digital technology. Comparing the paper process to the all-digital process is like comparing a horse and buggy to an automobile. They will both get you there, but one will get you there significantly faster. So why is the government so slow at adopting digital innovations and modern technology in general?
The answer is simple. The government is not afraid of losing customers. The government does not need to technically spend the money on updating their systems to an all-digital format to keep their customers. Think of it this way, people who need government services do not have any other option but to get those services from the government. For example, if you go to your local building department to pull a construction permit, only your local building department can issue that building permit. If you are annoyed that the process is taking so long due to an all paper-based system, it simply does not matter. It is not as if you can go somewhere else for the service.
The lack of pressure of losing business has led to the fact that government agencies and departments are able to exist in a less than ideal technical setting. However, there is something that some government leaders and decision makers fail to realize: digital innovation in local government helps cut costs, which of course is better for budgeting purposes. It also goes a long way in improving the bottom line. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “…a penny saved is a penny earned.”
The good news is that going digital is a lot more cost effective than you may be thinking. Just think about where you can allocate all the additional funds that you save by joining the digital revolution. Government agencies that utilize digital solutions see a greater profit margin, higher community involvement, faster task completion, and more effective inter-departmental communication. They also have a much smaller carbon footprint, taking a people, planet, and profit approach to governing.
If you or your team are on the fence about integrating digital solutions to your agency processes, we have taken some time to lay out the a few key benefits government agencies see from utilizing these solutions:
- Empowered inter and intradepartmental communication
- Decreased processing times
- Greater resource management.
- Data-driven customer insights
- Overall better constituent experience
- Mobile Accessibility
- Simplified remote employee management
- Mass alerts and notifications
- Increased Productivity
Please contact us today for more information about how digital innovation in local government can help you cut costs, and how our digital solutions can help your organization. NeoLedge is a well-established, yet fast growing electronic document management company that has a global reach. The business was founded in France over 25 years ago by a team of entrepreneurs that genuinely believe innovation is a living and breathing process that pushes us to find better ways to help organizations perform.
That principal has served us well through the years, as we are now a recognized throughout the world as a groundbreaking leader in the cloud-based software industry. We are incredibly proud of the fact that we have guided and continue to guide hundreds of organizations through their digital transformation. Our company has also supported thousands of daily users, and millions of managed documents in both the public and private sectors.
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