To keep pace with evolving citizen expectations and resource constraints, government agencies are increasingly turning to automation. But integrating this technology securely and effectively requires careful planning and execution. In an interview with Government Technology Insider, IntelliDyne’s VP of Technology and Innovation, Ali Malik, explores the key considerations for government agencies looking to leverage automation, from identifying the right solutions to navigating security and compliance requirements.
Original Article (from “Government Technology Insider“, March 4, 2024):
The integration of automation solutions by government agencies has been one of the biggest technology trends recently. Commercial-grade automation software can provide federal agencies with the tools they need to drive the mission forward by increasing efficiency and freeing up time previously dedicated to repetitive tasks to more purposeful activities, like improving customer experience. However, there are many security compliance requirements this technology must meet before it can be integrated into everyday use. We talked with Ali Malik, IntelliDyne’s Vice President of Technology and Innovation, to learn more about navigating the challenges of incorporating automation solutions into government agencies so that their use can be optimized.
Government Technology Insider (GTI): Why are government agencies turning to automation solutions to help deliver on the mission?
Ali Malik (AM): Over the last few years I‘ve noticed that it’s become increasingly difficult for government agencies to retain employees when the jobs are routine, repetitive, and predictable. We all know that the government workforce is aging out. Many of these people have jobs that the younger workforce doesn’t want because the job consists of repetitive and predictable tasks.
In many cases, the solution to this workforce shortage is automation. If you don’t automate, then you’re going to lose that accumulated knowledge that goes with the job when your workforce ages out. However, if you take the opportunity to replace that function with automation, you can do it better, faster, and cheaper.
There is also constant pressure for government agencies to do more with less. The budget constraints result in increasing backlogs of claims and forms processing. For many civilian agencies, their ability to process claims and forms quickly and efficiently correlates with the ability to deliver constituent services. By using automation, agencies will be able to increase accuracy and speed to optimize service delivery.
When there is a global challenge, such as a pandemic like COVID-19, supply chain disruptions, or financial crises, our interconnectedness is brought into stark relief. By using automation solutions, federal agencies will be able to change those processes to quickly respond to future global challenges. Automation can help ensure that agencies can continue to provide essential services and carry out their objectives year after year with minimal interruptions.
Agencies have been adopting modern technologies and methodologies to improve customer experiences and navigate workforce changes. However, our society has developed a certain set of expectations about how they should consume services. Constituents expect government experiences to match or exceed those that they’re consuming from the commercial sector. Agencies can use automation solutions to improve, scale, and deliver outstanding experiences that meet constituents’ expectations.
GTI: Automation sounds like it solves a lot of problems, but what challenges can it bring for agencies? How can agencies overcome these challenges?
AM: Before organizations even think about automating any work, they need an automation vision and strategy. They need to ask themselves: What is the problem they are looking to solve? Sometimes agencies look at automation as a ‘one size fits all’ solution, but each automation solution helps to solve a different problem that a federal agency is facing. There are automation solutions that focus on customer-centric challenges by integrating solutions that add value and enhance experiences by speeding up processes, creating the ability to scale out, and providing more reliable, accessible services.
Conversely, there are automation solutions that focus on operational-centric challenges by reducing costs, improving efficiencies, interconnecting internal functions, and conducting repetitive jobs or processes. There are also different variations of automation based on the type of work agencies are interested in automating, whether it’s front-end office tasks, back-end office tasks, information worker tasks, software developer tasks, or technology engineer tasks. Having a partnership with a vendor can help agencies navigate which automation solutions they need to solve the problems they’re facing.
There are also security challenges when it comes to the level agencies want to automate their processes. There may be certain automations that, depending on the use cases, agencies might feel more comfortable having a human involved who can change things tactically and strategically when setting up automation workflows.
Another issue is governance. Many of these automation platforms are ‘no code’ meaning that anyone can begin building. However, allowing anyone to build automations will eventually lead to a ‘wild west’ scenario where agencies can be harmed by poorly crafted solutions that wreak havoc on customer experience. The solution is to keep automation platforms in the hands of trained professionals and create a governance structure around use case selection, design, development, and sustainment.
Lastly, there can be challenges when it comes to the overall lifecycle management of automation solutions. An organization’s policies and processes change over time, which can have an impact on current automations in your environment and more importantly impact the customer or end user. It’s important to take that into consideration so that agencies can have a plan for how they’re going to address and assess the lifecycle of an automation.
GTI: How do partnerships between government agencies and private sector partners help federal agencies integrate new technologies and manage risk?
AM: Innovation is typically fueled by a challenge that needs a solution. We don’t normally just sit around and innovate for innovation’s sake. The challenge can only be fully understood when you have a true partnership. Private sector partners need to have an intimate understanding of their government clients’ business, data, mission objectives, and the challenges they face so that they can come up with innovative strategies, mitigate risks, and make things better, faster, and cheaper.
Government agencies need a partner that is focused on understanding their pain points and challenges. By doing so, the private sector partner can identify the right set of automation technologies to bring to the agency to solve those challenges and problems. This shared understanding allows the private sector partner to provide strategic advice and execution of an automation solution. Any organization looking to mature its automation capability needs to have a plan for how it will move forward. This includes identifying technology problems, setting the appropriate cultural growth mindset, and hiring the right people who will help navigate and overcome future challenges.
There seems to be a bit of confusion when it comes to agencies being able to identify which automation solution would best meet their needs. There are a variety of automation solutions out there, and often these solutions are lumped together in one big bucket. People are confused about which tools and vendors they need to help solve their problems. Each automation tool is specifically engineered to handle a certain type of problem. By misdiagnosing what tool you need, you can end up doing more harm than good down the road.
I’ve just recently experienced a government client that went through the whole acquisition process thinking that they needed a robotic process automation (RPA) solution. However, we quickly realized that if we automated the process that they were proposing, we would be replicating a process that shouldn’t exist in the first place. What they needed to solve their problem was data workflow automation, not a process automation.
Automation is everywhere now – however, I think there is still a need for education to help leadership understand and correctly identify what type of automation problem they have. This is where private sector partners can help by educating our customers to help them implement the solutions they need to overcome any challenge.
GTI: Do you have any final thoughts to share with our readers?
AM: Many federal agencies are still in the early stages of automation integration. Selecting the wrong automation tool can create complexities early in the automation adoption process. If you start leveraging and utilizing the wrong tool sets for your problem, you can create more havoc and more problems later down the line. Providing agencies with this insider knowledge and education is vital for the success of an automation strategy.
In a fully mature automation enterprise, you’ll find evidence of successful implementations of each type of automation. There’s not one magic hammer to solve every problem across an entire enterprise. There are many different types of automation, and you have to have the appropriate tool sets for each.
Learn more about how to get commercial-level automation with government-level security here.