Introduction

Cloud transformation is more than simply digitizing data. It requires evolving from rigid, legacy platforms to an IT environment that is designed to adapt to the changing needs of an organization. It calls for innovation, and changes in policy, procurement, talent, and culture, to take full advantage of new opportunities that come with cloud-based technologies.

Governments around the world embrace the cloud to deliver services faster to citizens and to spur economic development. At the same time, this transformation helps them better cope with budgetary and human resource constraints. However, organizations should understand that there is more to transformation than just migrating workloads and data to the cloud. To fully benefit from cloud technologies, organizations need to modernize all aspects of the enterprise to enable the agility, speed and flexibility the cloud can afford.

Public sector leaders who leverage cloud technology can empower business outcomes through the effective use of cloud services. AWS cloud-based digital transformation frees up resources, which enables your team to engage deeply within your business units to identify opportunities for digital enablement. Look for opportunities to support and accelerate digital literacy across the enterprise, and work cross-functionally with your business partners to define what digital means for your organization.

To meet this larger demand for innovation, public sector leaders must empower their teams to find new ways of innovating for the business. This requires the leadership to be more comfortable with technology autonomy. Instead of defining and controlling IT delivery, public sector leaders must provide a sense of purpose to their team by making them accountable for the customer / citizen experience. Defining and communicating such a strategy while leaving room for the team’s decisions is not trivial. Organizations that have autonomous teams need more and better leadership, not less.

Teams need to operate off a common platform to avoid unnecessary diversity. Cloud platforms enable teams to build amazing customer experiences because they enable creativity and collaboration while reducing accidental complexity. Changing the mindset within your IT organization is the first step to changing the mindset outside of IT. Leading with business needs first earns trust with key business partners, enabling alignment on joint decision-making, shared accountability, and how digital business initiatives are measured.

Budgeting, controlling, tracking, and monitoring IT projects that solve discrete problems must give way to leading your IT teams in a way that inspires and creates space for innovation. By unlocking innovation, and enabling innovation at speed, you can reposition your IT organization as a valued business partner, rather than as technology support.