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The Channel has a rich heritage in providing technologies to local government customers and this year is full of opportunity. We’ve only just voted in local elections, with mayors, councils, local authorities and commissioners starting to put plans together for the future. And now a general election campaign is in full swing.
This time of transition could mean plenty of technology projects are about to be greenlit, so understanding which technologies are in demand and where future priorities might be is to your advantage.
Digital transformation remains a priority across the sector. Dan York, local government sector lead, Avaya UK and Ireland, explained, “Local government organisations are adopting digital transformation technologies in general. In particular, due to the pending PSTN switch off, they are looking at cloud communications, and also contact centre technologies that help make a citizen’s journey to find the services they need as frictionless as possible.”
York expects telephony services to remain of primary importance for some local services, such as local authority-run schools. However, other public-facing services are now expected to offer a range of digital communication channels. That could include email, chat, phone, FAQ and form fill webpages.
These options mean citizens can choose how they make contact, which is important because local government has an obligation to facilitate inclusivity and access to all services.
Technologies that can turn data into intelligence are also in demand. Sascha Giese, tech evangelist, SolarWinds, explained, “In today’s data-driven landscape, public sector organisations like local governments are inundated with vast amounts of information. Therefore, it’s essential that resellers offer solutions that streamline data and facilitate meaningful analysis in a cost-effective way.”
James Banks, acting group technical director, Charterhouse Group, added, “Local government organisations face a wide range of challenges and needs. Technology can help with many of them, or at least play a key part in a wider solution or approach. We believe there is real value for local government organisations in working with a partner experienced in this sector.
“That experience can help those challenges and needs to be accurately translated into key functional requirements and provide a range of options for how these are best achieved or exceeded.”
Streamlining decision-making
To successfully work with customers in the public sector, it is important to engage with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). Ritchie Butters, director of business development EMEA at 8x8, explained why. He said, “CCS and other frameworks are a vital and necessary part of operating in this sector. In theory, it streamlines the decision-making process, but also being on the frameworks gives you credibility, allowing channel companies to showcase their specialisms and expertise.”
For Avaya’s York, being on a framework offers you the best chance for success. He said, “If a channel company wants to have the best chance to become an authorised supplier to local government, one option is to register to be included on a formal procurement framework, such as those operated by Crown Commercial Service, or G-Cloud. From there, they can register interest in and respond to a local authority’s invitation to tender.
“This involves being 100 per cent compliant against stated requirements. Successful bidders are ranked on value for money with the most cost-effective suppliers being selected to join the Crown Commercial Service framework. The G-Cloud Framework has a similar process but includes a larger group of suppliers primarily focused on cloud services.”
York emphasised the reality that being on a framework reduces procurement costs for public sector organisations, which is important with budgets under pressure.
He said, “Being on a framework is important because it demonstrates to procurement officers that you have been pre-vetted, can meet the minimum terms and conditions and are cost-effective. This reduces the cost of the procurement exercise for each individual department or organisation, provides peace of mind for the procurement team and ultimately value for money for the taxpayer.”
Tackling challenges
These frameworks are a necessity, but they can also pose challenges for channel companies operating in the sector. York, from Avaya, said, “One of the most common challenges is often applying to participate on a public sector framework. This adherence to the terms and conditions, as well as the many regulatory and compliance requirements of the framework, can be a significant body of work to undertake. These frameworks also tend to refresh every few years to stay current. As such, reapplying to the frameworks becomes a recurring task.”
Another challenge is to ensure local government customers are provided with the level of detail they will need to make a decision. York explained, “Responding to tenders typically involves a lot of detailed responses, given the local authority’s obligation to transparency and fairness to all bidders, even before any demos or further engagements take place with the customer. Good bid management and an understanding of how these frameworks operate is critical to success.”
Projects in the sector can also be limited by the need to demonstrate value for citizens, which can mean investments need to focus on one area when broader benefits could be achieved by widening the scope of the project. Ian Taylor, sales director for local government and housing at 8x8, said, “One unusual thing in dealing with local government is that, while the overall customer experience and contact centre markets are moving toward single platform solutions, local governments are issuing tenders more in silo, so you’ll see a tender for UC or CC instead of single platforms. In part, this is down to IT managers and procurement sticking with what they know – and also potentially trying to save some money – but it’s not necessarily the most efficient approach for them, which leads into the bigger issue of data.”
Taylor explained that because councils often have multiple systems or don’t have a full overview of what’s happening with regards to data, they don’t have the full overview of what’s happening. He added, “That means they often aren’t picking the best solution for their needs because they don’t know what they don’t know. We’ve seen cases where organisations have asked for X amount of seats or licences and it turns out that they’ve actually only needed half of them.”
As such, Taylor cautioned, it is possible to answer a tender or RFP and then, once you get into deployment, you can realise there’s better tools or better things for the client and they were often completely unaware of this possibility.
The sector is aware of the need to break down siloes and that is giving rise to another challenge around assisting with those efforts.
Banks, from Charterhouse Group, said, “We are seeing a substantial desire across the public sector for closer working. A number of recent procurements, for example, are utilising the ICS [Integrated Care System] approach which brings together NHS organisations, local authorities and others to take collective responsibility for planning services.
“This can help to improve health and reduce inequalities across geographical areas and requires high levels of collaboration on technological decisions and directions The approach offers unique opportunities to take advantage of new technologies and ways of working.”
The power of SMS
To put the possibilities for local government in deploying new technologies into context, Esendex, a service provider in Nottingham, works with a variety of public sector organisations on SMS and business messaging projects.
Tom Rahder, chief marketing and product officer, Esendex, explained, “SMS is having a big impact on how local government organisations are communicating with residents and different communities.
“It allows them to communicate updates to businesses and residents, send reminders and collect payments quickly. By using mobile messaging services, councils have the potential to reduce administration and resource costs and become more productive and efficient organisations overall.”
Esendex worked with Rotherham Council on a project to send text reminders to citizens and to take mobile payments. The council was able to collect £1.8 million in council tax arrears between June 2022 and June 2023 after it began using text reminders, with payee responses rising from 17 per cent to 44 per cent.
In addition, Rotherham Council saw click-through rates of between 34 per cent and 67 per cent from recipients engaging with the council’s message.
Emerging technologies
When asked what emerging technologies might make their mark on this sector, artificial intelligence (AI) was the phrase on everyone’s lips. York, from Avaya, said, “AI can be woven into citizen and employee engagement solutions to enhance efficiency, personalisation, and insight, without compromising security or privacy. This careful balance ensures that local government can leverage the power of AI to optimise its operations and citizen interactions while maintaining trust and compliance with data protection regulations.
“From AI-driven analytics that provide deep customer insights to intelligent virtual assistants that enhance self-service capabilities, local governments should look for vendors that promote ethical AI use, ensuring that applications are transparent, accountable and equitable.”
As a technology that has been the subject of considerable hype even prior to the emergence of today’s large language models (LLMs), the use of AI within local government could demonstrate the power of the Channel. Many technologies are now being marketed as AI, so it can be a challenge for buyers to understand what capabilities are available to them.
Banks, from Charterhouse Group, explained, “In a marketplace where seemingly every vendor now has AI throughout their products and offerings, it’s crucial to have a partner that builds a clear understanding of what the council needs to do and then provides good advice on what the technological options are to achieve that.
“That approach allows the council to make an informed decision that will deliver best value – a key concept throughout the public sector.”
Banks pointed out the areas where AI is having an impact. He said, “There are some really exciting areas that are already making a difference in this space. Concepts like live translation and transcription are incredibly useful for organisations that previously may have either: incurred significant expense hiring translators or grappled with delays in securing a suitable translation service.
“We also see a big desire to shift the types of communication channel in use, with many councils keen to offer webchat or WhatsApp services. These can make services more accessible and inclusive for all. AI can also support chatbot capabilities to deliver faster responses for simple queries, as well as using automation of repetitive tasks such as taking simple payments remotely.”
AI looks set to offer opportunities in the months and years ahead. Giese, from SolarWinds, added, “We now seem to be in a place where we are steering away from the fearmongering and hysterics around AI and are ready to make great use of it. While many local government organisations will not yet have the funding to be able to deploy AI, there is no harm in drawing up plans to see what could be possible with their allocated budgets.
“By the time the proposals reach the top of the approvals the technology may be much cheaper and more mature than it is right now. The UK government is already trialling ways that AI can help to streamline processes such as improving the experience of their website, so we may see local governments following suit.”
This feature appeared in our June 2024 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.