Harnessing Legacy Data to Drive Digital Government Transformation

I recently attended the 2019 Government ICT event in London along with our CTO, Giles Nelson. For the last 15 years, the event has offered a platform for departments and agencies from across the public sector to come together and share insights and best practices into modernisation projects.

The theme of this year’s event was “modernising government,” with discussions on topics that included cloud utilisation, real-world application of emerging technologies and the opportunities and pitfalls of Brexit.

From a MarkLogic perspective, our focus was on sharing our insights regarding the value that organisations from across the public sector can derive from harnessing legacy data to deliver new services.

This is particularly prevalent today, since after eight years past the formation of the Government Digital Service, local authorities, central government departments and healthcare and defence organisations are all looking at the next evolution of digital services and how to innovate.

Key Considerations for Modernisation

Challenges such as Brexit are placing new pressures on how data and information are processed in terms of visas and passports — while the requirements for policing and intelligence communities to safeguard vulnerable children and adults require the sharing of data insights in a seamless, timely and efficient way.

By managing access and harnessing legacy data, organisations across the defence sector can provide new levels of service. Vital to this is looking at the data first rather than how you model it, which in itself is a different perspective than that of traditional IT transformation programmes.

But another vital consideration is trust. GDPR, data breaches and privacy concerns are forcing both the industry and consumers to rethink how they perceive the organisations that are responsible for storing and managing their data.

While consumers can vote with their feet if they’re not happy with the way their data is handled by their mobile phone provider or supermarket, this luxury is not available when it comes to the “natural monopoly” held by local or central government departments over citizen-centric information. These departments must be watertight when it comes to how and where they capture data and how they demonstrate best practices to keep it safe.

How MarkLogic Helps

This is where MarkLogic can really make a difference. MarkLogic is the only NoSQL database to be awarded Common Criteria Certification — a government-grade standard for security engineered from the ground up and by which vendors demonstrate their commitment and ability to provide security to their customers. This means that not only is the original source of the data protected, but with access controls put into place at the data level, it is as equally secure in its future use.

Data is a first-class asset, and new services, whether for business or individual citizens, need to be built more quickly and with a data-first approach that prioritises security and maximises access.

At MarkLogic, we equip government organisations to rapidly transform a dizzying flood of information into actionable, situational awareness. Find out more on our Public Sector solutions page.