States and localities spent an estimated $103B on tech – are IT leaders ready?

There is a wave of tech spend that’s been growing at the state and local level, and thanks to the proliferation of digital transformation and smart cities initiatives, there’s no sign of it slowing down.

Consider the following:

• States and localities spent an estimated $103 billion on IT in 2018¹.
• Smart cities initiatives are expected to reach $95.8 billion in tech spend worldwide in 2019².
• GovTech spend is growing at 17.7% annually².

This increase in tech spend translates to an increase in tech projects and an increase in the number of products or services that need to be supported. How can IT leaders make the most of the resources they currently have at their disposal?

Trend 1: Manage Support Tickets and Projects Together
Optimizing resources means that we need to think strategically about how we allocate and manage time. For instance, if you have resources working on support tickets using a standalone ITSM platform and then you have a separate tracking system for projects, you are apt to underutilize resources or miss deadlines. In short, adopting a platform that brings IT service and project management together will help IT leaders get a better handle on who is doing what and who can be assigned to new work coming in.

Trend 2: Leverage a Self-Service Portal
It is estimated that a typical tier 1 support request via phone, email, or walk-in costs $22, whereas self-service is just $2 per incident³. A comprehensive, searchable knowledge base coupled with an accessible portal will reduce the drain on your support desk, allowing technicians to focus on strategic projects, proper change management, and improved overall tech experience.

Trend 3: Project Management – One Size Does NOT Fit All
As projects will come in all shapes and sizes, it is important that we use a framework that suits the job. For instance, using a Waterfall approach for a basic team collaboration project will exhaust the team and result in poor outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to have the flexibility to use Waterfall, Agile, KANBAN, or basic team collaboration as the project warrants. The other key factor is to adopt a portfolio approach. This way you can see all projects and resources in one view.

Be prepared: bring service & project management together on a single platform. Learn more

¹whitehouse.gov
²IDC 2019 Figures
³HDI