Government data centre management roles in decline, Gartner says

The transition to digital government and embracing of cloud services spells the decline of data centre management roles, according to analyst house Gartner

Digital transformation of government is gaining momentum. And according to Gartner, this will lead to a radical reshaping of the government IT workforce.

By 2023 it says, 50 percent of government IT roles that exist today will be redundant, as data officers, cloud architects and even social scientists become more promiment.

‘Gaining momentum’

Although criticised for being risk-averse, government IT organisations are constantly evolving, just at a slower rate than other industries, Gartner says.

Its recent CIO survey showed that 53 percent of digital initiatives in government organisations have moved from the design stage to early delivery stages, a 40 percent increase from last year.

Additionally, cloud services are becoming the top priority. 39 percent of governments expect cloud services to receive the largest amount of additional funding this year.

“These findings demonstrate that leadership has become more comfortable with cloud delivery models and has moved away from concerns regarding security and data ownership,” said Cathleen Blanton, research vice president at Gartner.

‘New skill requirements’

As momentum builds, however, government IT organisations need to adapt by changing the roles that comprise workforces.

In a cycle that will be familiar to other industries, as demand for cloud services rises, the need for data centre management roles will decline dramatically, says Gartner.

But unless cloud, data and security roles are introduced digital transformation efforts will be chastened. Worringly, 38 percent of government respondents did not introduce any new roles in 2018 due to insufficient resources, skills and cultural issues.

The diversification of government IT tasks will also encompass inclusion, citizen experience and digital ethics, requiring a new supply of researchers, designers and social scientists working in government IT.

“Government CIOs must employ experts to model and explain how citizens and businesses will need to respond to regulations and policies, and what impact that will have on society, the economy and government revenues,” Ms Blanton added.

XaaS

Cloud services delivered as a subscription service will be a chief component of an increasingly supported anything-as-a-service (XaaS) model.

Gartner predicts that by 2023, over 80 percent of new technology solutions adopted by governments will be delivered using this model.

“The model offers an alternative to legacy infrastructure modernisation and investment,” said Alia Mendonsa, senior director analyst at Gartner.

“It’s a promising way to scale digital government, because it can provide small local offerings as well as nation-wide services.”

However, Gartner says the risks are high if XaaS solutions are delivered hastily by business units without contact with IT departments, as the former often lack ‘knowledge to negotiate complex contracts’ and individual departments may be unwittingly acquiring ‘duplicative capabilities already offered centrally’.