IDC ********** Insights has released a forecast stating that a number of regional authorities will develop new sourcing models for transformational ICT as 3rd platform technologies (cloud, big data, mobility and social business); for smart city programs; and for connected smart machines and intelligent sensors, which taken together would coalesce to more advanced Internet of Things (IoT) landscapes.
The very premise of the 3rd platform landscape fundamentally acknowledges the value of digital data as a strategic asset, noted the market research firm.
While data assets are being collected, analysed and used more pervasively, IDC ********** Insights stated that alarmingly, less than five per cent of government authorities are aware of or have made plans to recognise the financial and economic value of these resources.
With public sectors being the largest custodians of citizenry data, there is no better time than now to commence upon the economic quantification, valuation and recognition of information assets.
Asia/Pacific public sectors are under constant pressure to enhance their end-to-end stakeholder experiences; increase productivity and resources optimization; as well as rethink the way their employees work.
"The 3rd platform landscape holds an almost unlimited potential to help public sector organisations to deliver new transformative capabilities in all fields of strategic and operational undertakings. Simultaneously, they are expected to continually help public sector organisations maintain proper controls for considerations such as increased transparency, better accountability and aiding value-for-money decisions," said Gerald Wang, research manager, IDC ********** Insights, Asia/Pacific.
"ICT is ultimately, an enabler of organisational transformation. It is, however, most definitely not the technology but the harmony of the entire government ecology that brings about effective public sector transformation, one that will reap benefits for both the private and public spheres. Therefore, the focus on outcomes-based justifications and goals should always be the primary objective of any public sector ICT undertaking."
These are just three of IDC ********** Insights Asia/Pacific's top 10 Predictions for 2015 in terms of IoT's impact to public services (listed in no particular order): (1) Asia/Pacific city governments will kick-start pervasive adoption of IoT technologies in 15-20 per cent of smart city initiatives; (2) Asia Pacific city governments are expected to bring about the first wave of IoT adoptions with initiatives aimed at improving city management operations as well as e-services deliveries. Notably, fund-raising and investments in IoT will become much clearer in 2015 as prices of sensors continue to fall and the value-added services from suppliers continue to grow; and (3) 25 per cent of healthcare organisations will invest in mobility including consumer-facing mobile applications, wearables and remote health monitoring in 2015.
Consumer expectations of convenience, choice, customisation and control when interacting with healthcare organisations is growing based on their experience with other high-touch, customer-centric industries such as retail, hospitality and financial services. Like these industries, healthcare will also embrace omni-channel strategies to provide a consistent experience across phone calls, actual visits, organisation website or mobile apps. While using a unique user identity to access test results on a patient portal has been available in many countries in the region, as technologies develop, and as prescribed wearables become more common, they will be used to feed health monitoring data into the patient portals to manage chronic conditions.
The region will see a greater uptake of smart education and personalized learning initiatives
Internationalisation of education has fast become a trend in today's education systems. Especially at the tertiary levels, the base location of the university is often different from the location of students. At the same time, students are increasingly being exposed to technology in their everyday lives, especially social media, and are increasingly expecting to drive their own educational experience. In this mobile world, ICT has taken on a new significance in transcending the borders and give access to relevant content to students, irrespective of their geographical locations. In the emerging economies in the region, personalised learning will manifest itself through the increase in uptake of mlearning. In mature economies, especially at the tertiary level, ICT is not only supporting seamless access to content, but also triggering a new model of learning that is more personalised.