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Central Government, Local Government, Technology

Looking Ahead

12 October 2009

The Development of Information Management in Asia’s Public Sector.
A survey of public sector IT executives in Asia

Government agencies in Asia now better realise the importance of information, as there is much demand from the public. In the past, people would accept what was offered to them from their government. Now, people are generally well-versed with information-and-communication-technology tools and are more aware of what government is doing for them. So the public in Asian countries wants more information and they want it faster.

Evidence from the “Looking Ahead - The Development of Information Management in Asia’s Public Sector” study suggests that officials in the region are keen to end paper-based systems in favor of electronic-based information systems. Yet, in countries like Indonesia and Thailand, public sector officials may need greater support from IT firms to ensure that there is sufficient appreciation of the benefits and greater knowledge of what tools are available. Moreover, when the responses were viewed in regard to the size of the annual IT budget, the results revealed that meaningful IT spending could better facilitate the shift towards electronic-based information systems. For example, 50% of respondents from organisations with annual IT budgets over US$10 million claimed that 76-100% of content is electronic in their information systems. Although caution does need to be attached to drawing definitive conclusions, the results hint at some underlying trends that are worth further investigation.

One of the most encouraging findings from the study was the remarkable clarity with which APS officials see the changing landscape of information management. A predominant majority of respondents from all surveyed countries agreed on one common point: that the amount of information has significantly increased since the early part of this decade, and this trend will most likely continue over the next 5-10 years. More than 80% of responses from all surveyed countries anticipated an increase in the amount of information. Moreover, nearly 70% of respondents acknowledged that their current information systems will require a significant overhaul to turn the rising information tide into a manageable operation. However, what is required is for APS executives to follow these trends and lead their divisions towards using more robust IT systems.

While these findings are evidence of a growing realisation that there are drastic increases in the amount of information, alarms were raised about how greater paper volume could overwhelm sectors if this increase is not quickly and decisively dealt with. As such, the study revealed a link of this issue to features like document indexing and classification, and information accessibility. Nearly half of respondents saw accessibility as the most critical factor of an efficient information system. Here, the study provides some key pointers on how modern information management systems could help organisations in Asia tackle these challenges. For instance, scanning and capture technologies, beyond their ability to convert paper documents into electronic format, could facilitate efficient workflows that are better aligned with the information needs of public sector organisations.

Another concern highlighted in the findings was that a vast majority of public sector organisations in countries with less developed IT systems choose a piecemeal approach to fulfilling their information needs. This is what distinguishes locations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines from more advanced neighbors like Hong Kong and Singapore, which take a methodical approach in pursuing IT projects. The number of respondents that favoured ad hoc approaches was hardly insignificant, as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines collectively resulted in a third of such approaches.

However, there is a growing recognition among IT executives that information management systems could help in tackling future challenges facing the APS. It is also encouraging to witness that these government officials are now more willing to try new ways to manage problems like large paper volume and information accessibility. Such forward-looking interest, as one respondent mentioned, could be an outcome of user-friendly information management systems.

For gaining optimum value from information systems, the study highlighted a few major areas that APS executives could find useful for future investigation. Firstly, for organisations growing in operational and staff size, it is far more better to adopt the electronic-based information systems sooner rather than later. Another area for Study would be around the tradition of five-year strategic plans that many Asian countries follow for executing their IT projects. Now, while IT product lifecycles are shrinking by the day and industry at large is becoming more competitive, five-year planning periods could prove too long.

Click here for the full report, downloadable via Kofax’s website.

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