Beyond the crisis: Our future is now - are you ready?
To the question what will the world look like after the COVID-19 crisis, we’d say there is only one thing that is clear right now: our lives will be vastly different to just a year ago. The pandemic has brought some profound changes. We work differently, shop differently, and interact with friends and family differently.
Covid-19: in a race against the clock
We are in uncharted territory: the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are unfolding rapidly, with profound effects on bereaved families and on people's health and prosperity around the world. Yet while today’s events are unprecedented, so too are the capabilities of advanced computing to help human beings combat the disease. Time is now of the essence as agencies everywhere work hard to contain the outbreak while scientists
Evolving as a modern e-state: A new age of government
At the beginning of this new decade, what kind of future governments will evolve given the power of new digital technologies and data now flooding our society? Governments everywhere face similar challenges. In a globalized economy, they must safeguard national security and the rule of law while stretching precious resources to meet the needs of growing populations amidst a widening wealth gap and…
Evolving as a modern e-state: Absolute e-states and data sovereignty
In today’s fast-changing world, while most governments acknowledge they must transform public services using digital technologies, many do not have a clear vision of what kind of digital nation – or ‘e-state’ – they want to be, and for what reason (other than reducing cost and striving for greater efficiency). As I’ve written in some of my blogs, I believe these countries
Evolving as a modern e-state : could governments become obsolete ?
As well as the unicorns who have introduced us to taxi, delivery and retail services we’ve never seen before, there’s been a revolution in the financial services sector that means we can now make payments without needing traditional banks. With FinTechs, we’re seeing new market entrants who can offer such speed and razor-sharp services that their traditional rivals are rapidly
Evolving as a modern e-state : why reinvent government services
While love might not be part of the equation, states do have long-term relationships with their citizens. It’s a kind of contract: in exchange for security, order and efficient everyday services, the citizen pays taxes and abides by the law. In the digital age, one might expect governments to deliver efficient and effective services online; after all, it’s in the contract! Yet
Evolving as a modern e-state : the essential paradigm shift
Since the agricultural revolution, people have organized themselves into communities to grow crops, create wealth, make laws and settle disputes. Over time, public administrations evolved to maintain the rule of law; these created huge bureaucracies and tightly controlled procedures to keep updated registers and archives about their citizens. Not only that, they continually checked each citizen’s status to ensure that their records were…
Obsolete and absolute e-states
All over the world, governments are under increasing pressure to accelerate their transformation into modern ‘e-states’ to achieve their goals. Whether to save taxpayers’ money, safeguard national security, implement new policies, or deliver cheaper, better, faster public services, governments everywhere need to harness the power, speed and agility of digital technologies and ever-growing volumes of data. At the same time, the socio-political climate is evolving fast: following the era of liberal