Public sector CIOs 'must stop thinking paper, start thinking change'

http://www.silicon.com/0,39024729,39164577,00.htm


Public sector CIOs 'must stop thinking paper, start thinking change'
So says Hong Kong's IT boss...
By Jo Best

Published: Thursday 7 December 2006

The CIO of Hong Kong has warned that the public sector around the world is too hung up on old business processes and is failing to get all the benefits of online government.

Howard Dickson, CIO of the Hong Kong special administrative region, said the legacy of paper is holding back governments.

He told delegates at the ITU Telecom World conference in Hong Kong: "A lot of communication is predominantly messaging - the end product still ends up on paper. Administration is still very much paper-based."

He added that information management has not progressed at the same pace as connectivity: "It was designed in a different era... [There are] the Bluetooths and wi-fis and WiMaxes - what are the equivalents in information management?"

The Hong Kong CIO believes radical change may be necessary. Dickson said: "As well as investing in the agencies, do we need to reinvent our entire structure of government?"

He also suggested governments are hung up on rationalising potential tech change and proving the business model when they should consider taking more leaps of faith, offering the example of the development of the BlackBerry.

He said of technology: "The more we can capture people's imagination, I think you'll see it much more the centrepiece going forward."

Despite the widespread connectivity in many countries, Hong Kong's IT head said the digital divide can still be found in richer nations, where the elderly and lower income families don't enjoy the same connectivity as the digital majority.

He added: "It's comforting looking at the numbers but the more people at the end of the tail not included it will start to cost us money further along the line."