Thursday, May 7, 2020

Governments Should Outsource All IT Operations

Public managers can no longer accept the rationale from their direct reports that “I am doing the best job I can.” In way too many cases this is simply not enough and today’s demands for technology leadership goes far beyond dedication, duty, and countless hours trying to keep things going. It must include competencies as well. We must delve deeper and actively assess what vulnerabilities lie within our systems, as well as looking more closely at staff competencies and expertise. To be clear, it is not my intention to cast any shadow of a doubt regarding their hard work and dedication. Today’s technology comes with a greater price and this will be paid one way or another -- be it investments or damages.

Just as important, one cannot ignore the fact that outsourcing to any degree does not absolve the jurisdiction’s responsibility regarding issues of compliance and security. Someone will still need to manage any contract in terms of performance and outcomes.

1 Retirement of senior staff. We are witnessing the largest retirement boom in recent history, leaving many jurisdictions short of talented staff, institutional knowledge and areas of needed expertise. This alone is presents a challenge to fill positions requiring a great deal of expertise - however when coupled with the rest of the list it becomes dire.


2 Staff turnover. This is certainly related to the above but at the same time different. Younger staff are generally not staying at one place for a lengthy period of time as did their predecessors. While this provides opportunities that can benefit the organization – new people bring new perspectives and skills – a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience is (also) walking out the door.

3 Reduced incentives. Governments were traditionally known for their generous health and retirement benefits. But ever since the Great Recession in the 2000s, benefit packages have shrunken in all categories. Add to this the fact that government service has been cast in negative terms – mostly by politicians who have other agendas in mind - makes it even more difficult to recruit qualified staff. This is especially true with technology professionals. This of course leads to increased turnover and poor morale within the organization.
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