Business Technology Roundtable

The global transition toward artificial intelligence (AI) has reached a critical juncture, marking a fundamental move from theoretical exploration to the large-scale implementation of Applied AI Initiatives . Applied artificial intelligence refers specifically to the practical deployment of AI technologies and methodologies to resolve discrete real-world challenges and generate measurable organizational value.  Unlike theoretical AI research, which prioritizes the advancement of fundamental science and the exploration of hypothetical machine intelligence, Applied-AI is strictly purpose-driven and practical implementation-oriented. Success in this domain is no longer measured by academic citations or AI lab breakthroughs, but by business impact, operational efficiency, and tangible societal outcomes. Between 2023 and 2025, Applied-AI consistently maintained the highest innovation scores among emerging technologies and ranked in the top five for global investment activity. As the ind...

The OECD’s latest report, "Governing with Artificial Intelligence: The State of Play and Way Forward in Core Government Functions", is an indispensable blueprint for public sector digital transformation. The analysis confirms what many leaders already suspect: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer an optional add-on but the definitive next frontier in the digital government journey, offering the potential to fundamentally reshape how the state operates, delivers value, and maintains fiscal integrity. The imperative for modern governance is clear: deliver more value to citizens with greater efficiency and impeccable integrity. Applied-AI offers the transformative power to move beyond incremental improvements and achieve systemic, high-impact public sector transformation. The Productivity and Prudence Dividend The most compelling case for embracing AI in government centers on its potential to unlock unprecedented employee productivity and cost efficiency levels. Public ser...

The scale of fraud targeting U.S. federal government programs has reached staggering proportions, demanding immediate attention from policymakers and technology leaders alike.  Recent findings from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveal that federal government fraud losses range from $233 billion to $521 billion annually – representing 3 to 7 percent of federal obligations. This massive drain on public resources demands innovative solutions and a fundamental shift in how government agencies approach fraud prevention. If fraud was stopped, the savings could eliminate the annual Social Security Trust Fund deficit, and support the departments of Homeland Security and Commerce, with enough left over to fund most of the food assistance programs run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Growing Sophistication of Fraud The challenge has grown particularly acute in recent years, with fraudsters becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approaches. During the pandemic, we...

We’ve apparently reached an inflection point with the development and execution of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) corporate policies. The role of business leadership in sustainability issues around climate change has received increasing attention from companies and their key stakeholders. But over the past year, something changed for CEOs worldwide, and sustainability talk turned into action. Continued disruption -- including upheaval and disruptions from the global COVID-19 pandemic -- has society at large calling for a new approach to economic advancement and business priorities. According to a recent survey by Oxford Economics, when it comes to optimizing opportunities and delivering business value, some CEOs have discovered an additional step. These savvy CEOs report deliberately integrating their Sustainability and Digital Transformation efforts. Digital Transformation and ESG Drive Growth For organizations with a clearly defined sustainability strategy and the right ...

The rapid adoption of digital business transformation processes and the ongoing deployment of open hybrid cloud platforms are enabling the achievement of software development bold goals. But when management consultants and industry analysts talk about how IT innovation is changing many organizations, government leadership of this key trend typically isn't top of mind. That said, a new market study by MeriTalk reveals that approximately two-thirds of American federal government IT leaders say DevOps adoption will help agencies shift into the cloud computing fast lane. Agile methodologies, continuous integration and continuous delivery are improving IT collaboration and migration speed. But according to the findings, help is required -- with 66 percent of leaders saying that their agency needs to move IT services to the cloud faster to meet their mission and constituent needs. DevOps is a software development and IT management method that brings software engineering, quality a...

What are the best practices for deploying managed cloud services? Case studies have now confirmed that cloud services can be a better, faster, less expensive and less risky way to source Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions, according to the latest market study by Ovum. Results from recent research conducted by Ovum details the experiences of five public sector organizations that have successfully deployed cloud services -- either with Infrastructure-as-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Highlighting the known benefits and the catalysts that empower organizations to embrace the cloud service delivery model, Ovum says they have developed a framework to assist government agencies in understanding the organizational factors associated with early adoption of managed cloud services . Moving Beyond Analysis Paralysis "Cloud services have long been debated across the globe, but it is now time to stop discussing theor...

While much of the market attention on cloud services adoption tends to be focused on private enterprise applications, government agencies potentially have a lot to gain from its widespread use. The cost-savings and scalability advantages of the cloud have been clear to those savvy IT leaders that are informed, but government adoption has been hampered by some unique challenges -- and the absence of a compelling mandate. That is, progress was slow until the " Cloud First " initiative was launched. IDC has released a status update that details the growing demand for cloud services and enterprise architecture resources among U.S. government agencies. Their latest market study focuses on the results of an IDC Government Insights survey, which measured the progress of cloud solutions at government agencies -- while also examining the related architecture needs. The results of the comprehensive survey revealed that despite the growing demand for cloud services, many IT mana...

Government agencies are reportedly one of the primary benefactors of managed cloud services. According to the results from a recent market study by IDC, IT decision-makers across the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) found that 59 percent of public sector respondents are confident in the ability of their internal IT departments to deploy private cloud environments. However, IDC Government Insights cautions that high levels of private cloud adoption may not bode well for a collaborative and citizen-engaging government and preemptive measures should be taken for collaboration to take place across organizational boundaries. More insights can be found in the IDC report entitled, "Cloud Computing for Government: a View from Asia-Pacific." Frank Levering, Research Manager for IDC said, "An efficient and productive internal IT department is definitely a good to have in any organization, private or public. However, a department that is highly confident in running its o...

While most commentary about managed cloud services tend to focus on the advances in commercial enterprise applications, government agencies are also making noteworthy progress. In particular, the advent of regional community cloud hubs is a phenomenon that's worthy of further exploration. According to their latest market study and related report, IDC Government Insights believes regional cloud hubs will significantly change the way state and local governments procure online computing services. These regional cloud hubs, defined as one government agency offering computing and storage services to other government agencies, have proven successful in the State of Michigan and State of Utah. In addition, the IDC's research provides a framework for building similar regional cloud solutions. According to Shawn McCarthy, research analyst, IDC Government Insights, "We believe that cloud hubs will see rapid growth, since the first multi-agency efforts have already shown a pos...

According to the findings from a global market study, the healthcare sector has a highly complex IT environment that's supporting a very diversified professional user population (i.e., clinicians) -- along with their patients in life-critical situations. The industry is currently facing growing economic and regulatory pressures that make its IT infrastructure primed for change. Therefore, all organizations will likely consider the potential benefits of migrating to cloud computing. Improvement in the quality of healthcare services is a key driver for managed cloud service adoption. Billions of dollars of federal incentives are provided for the delivery of quality healthcare services, and expanding the use of electronic health record (EHRs) systems -- as well as providing the basis for the exchange of information and data across and between the providers. These EHR systems are expected to be used extensively by 2014. Another significant opportunity is the consumer-oriented c...

Busan Metropolitan City launched a center to host a variety of services for its citizens. Operating like an app store for developers, the Busan Mobile Application Development Center (BMAC), marks the first phase of their deployment of Smart+Connected Community (S+CC) services -- in collaboration with Cisco and a local service provider, Korea Telecom (KT). The plan is part of the Busan Green u-City (ubiquitous city) blueprint, which is in line with the national agenda to support environmentally sustainable economic growth in the country. Busan, a bustling city of approximately 3.6 million residents, is located on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. The second-largest city in South Korea, Busan occupies about 300 square miles (766 square kilometers), 8 percent of the entire Korean peninsula. Busan also has the country's largest container-handling port (fifth largest in the world) -- thanks to its accessibility from the Pacific Ocean, deep harbor and gentle tides. Ci...

Cloud is not a one-size-fits-all proposition – clearly, the right approach depends on your organization’s needs and priorities. Different service and deployment models can be adopted to match the requirements of different types of workloads from across the whole organization. To illustrate some of these solution trade-offs, we’ll profile public-sector organization needs, and their related information technology and communications service requirements. Government entities will use a variety of Cloud configurations. Those of sufficient scale will likely adopt similar Cloud models to those of large enterprises. Organizations with common needs and interests may join together to build and share community clouds. Some government services may be provided through the public clouds of managed service providers . A major issue for public-sector organizations will be balancing concerns and regulations regarding privacy and security with aspirations for transparency and sharing information. ...

Governments everywhere are struggling with unprecedented challenges. They're expected to reignite a global economy in free-fall, while grappling with crumbling infrastructure, aging populations, declining quality in education and healthcare -- plus a heightened social concern about preserving the environment. All in a budgetary environment of declining tax revenues. Like the private sector, governments are now turning to technology to help them to improve both the delivery of government services and to promote overall economic growth. Building 21st Century Economies Like the waterways and highways of previous centuries, government leaders recognize they must create essential tech infrastructure to fuel innovation-led growth and prosperity. High-speed broadband is seen as a catalyst for encouraging economic development. However, meaningful services are required to stimulate demand. For example, Germany has committed €4.6 Billion to install Telepresence capabilities throughout its ...

Do you believe that the growth of managed services adoption will have little impact in the government sector, or other non-profit organizations? Think again. Let's consider the facts. Clearly, all organizations benefit from improving their processes. Government Insights , a global independent research and advisory firm, released a report focusing on Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and their use in managing the delivery of IT and network services. As IT and network technology are embedded further into business processes, the apparent need for productive cross-organizational partnerships becomes evident. The state of these Business Technology partnerships can be either an enabler or an inhibitor -- when negotiating an SLA. Demand for Service Level Agreements Organizations may develop SLAs with internal IT staff and/or with external IT service providers. In both cases they set guidelines and minimum standards for the delivery of IT services to the end-user community. Jan Duffy, resea...