PublicTechnology.net

As the UK’s first director general for digital heads for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and the Government Digital Service struggles to maintain its footing at the centre, David Walker asks what the reality is for government digital.

Gareth Ricketts, the health sector lead for Updata, says the new health and social care network has the potential to transform NHS services for the future - but first there needs to be more communication of the change.

Digital technology offer charities a wealth of options. But Tris Lumley of think-tank New Philanthropy Capital says that they should heed advice from the Government Digital Service and take user-centric approach to transformation.

Jane Roberts strategy director at Toplevel and asks whether more clarity is needed to stop departments from tying themselves in knots over what kind of ‘open’ to use.

Debra Maxwell, chief executive officer for customer relationship management and public sector at Arvato, looks at how big data can help local authorities bring in more revenue.

Bob Wachter’s recommendations for digitising the NHS are measured, realistic and long-term, but could still fail without doctors’ buy-in, argues David Walker.

Lincolnshire Health and Care’s Gary James explains how the county’s new integrated Care Portal system aims to transform healthcare for an ageing and widely dispersed population.

Mark Skilton of Warwick Business School says that the opening of Microsoft’s three UK data centres marks another step on the road to full public sector adoption of cloud computing in the country.

Martin Ferguson, Socitm’s director of policy and research, says that the review of health information technology led by clinician and IT expert Bob Wachter has missed the opportunity to include local government perspectives. 

Chris White, head of digital solutions at Capita Software Services, looks at how councils can use single sign-on citizen portals to improve services and support vulnerable residents. 

Joe Kim, chief technology officer at IT monitoring and management tools developer SolarWinds, looks at the scale of the problem faced by healthcare organisers handling ever-increasing amounts of data and offers five ways they can tackle it.

The public sector might know what core digital skills it is short of, but its across-the-board capacity to embrace change is the key problem, according to​ Mel Ross of transformation consultancy Adapt2Digital.

As PublicTechnology looks at diversity in public sector technology careers, Home Office developer Barbara Cassini reflects on her experiences as a female developer in both public and private sectors, saying that some offices are just better than others.

The next generation of data storage and processing technologies will be critical to the success of smart cities, says James Norman.

Chief clinical information officers must be given more powers to tackle the risks of integrated care models to stop them being undermined by security breaches, writes Saif Abed, Imprivata's medical director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

The Government Digital Service is evolving not retreating, and its new leader has the chance to complete the cultural shift from confrontation to collaboration, writes Matthew Trimming of entry market company META

High-profile social care reviews have highlighted the need for comprehensive record-keeping. James Foley, vice-president for customer experience at BT smartnumbers, asks whether the electronic recording of meetings could improve trust between clients and social workers.

Budget pressures are persuading governments to look to the cloud to improve services while keeping costs down. Max Peterson of Amazon Web Services sets out five questions to ask yourself along the way.

A straw poll session at this year’s Socitm Spring Conference revealed some uncomfortable insights on the state of digital transformation across the UK public sector. Mel Ross looks at what’s to be done.

Faced with the effects of years of austerity and ageing technology, investing in digital will be essential for the justice system - but new technology must work for the people, writes Melanie Mylvaganam, IT policy analyst at the Bar Council.