Effective Use of ERP for State and Local Governments | OnActuate
 In A-ERP, A-Public Sector, Trending Insights

Today’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions deliver increased efficiency, improved customer service, and better operational visibility – everything you need to manage a business effectively. Like their private business counterparts, public organizations are fueled by these benefits as the demand for information accessibility, transparency, and security continues to rise.  

But, unlike a private company, the purpose behind implementing an ERP system is not to maximize profits. Citizen engagement, cost savings, and practical data usage are the top priorities of most government entities. As a result, they look for ERP systems that support the specific requirements of state and local government agencies, including financial management to provide standardization and accountability; human resource management to streamline HR and payroll; performance budgeting for better planning and decision making; and procurement to automate purchasing and approvals. To make this work within their environment and culture, governments are now moving towards shared platforms and cloud-enabled managed services to facilitate the digital transformation.   

With varying needs for customization, control and cost containment, here are some of the reasons that are driving state and local government agencies to implement ERP systems today:  

  • To meet system usability expectations from citizens 
  • To make data more readily available  
  • To analyze growing volumes of data 
  • To meet strict privacy compliance and regulations  
  • To protect citizen data  
  • To facilitate government reporting including financial, HR and supply chain reporting 
  • To improve processes and budget management   
  • To modernize their IT infrastructure  
What is ERP Being Used for in the Public Sector?  

State and local governments are all running at different levels of digital maturity. In fact, Gartner developed a  digital government maturity scale to identify the extent at which an organization uses data effectively to “redesign services and deliver new ones, as well as to transform and manage operations.” At the initial stage, most organizations are focused on simply moving their services online to meet user expectations and save costs. As these agencies progress down the digital path, they are able to tackle open government programs like the Open Data Initiative or commit to a totally data-centric approach to improving data flow.  

Where you fall on this scale depends on a number of different factors that many private companies don’t have to stress about when it comes to implementing ERP. On top of highly specialized functionality and controls, state and local governments face many challenges like IT budget pressure, dreaded regulatory red tape, user adoption, security restrictions, and service-led demands.  

To battle some of those barriers, here is what many public sector agencies are using ERP solutions for:  

  • Cost Savings in the Cloud
    According to Gartner, half of the public sector currently uses cloud services. That number is expected to see double-digit growth by 2021 because cloud-based solutions have lowered the total cost ownership, significantly reduced implementation times, and enabled better integration with other systems. If you are interested in learning more, we recommend you consider Microsoft Azure for Government, a cloud service specifically tailored to the security and compliance needs of the government sector.
     
  • Efficient Services Delivery
    The average citizen is placing high demands for improved customer experiences within government systems, from ease of use and access anywhere to total self-service capabilities. As a by-product of growing consumer expectations in the private sector, people want instant access to information, with all the services offered available to them online. In response to these demands, local and state government organizations are moving their services online, increasing citizen engagement, strategically collecting and leveraging data, and ultimately, digitally transforming their operations.
     
  • Strategic IT Modernization
    Bringing your legacy systems into the modern and digital world – starting with putting your services online – has had a huge impact on employees, the public, and recruitment of top talent. ERP systems are empowering state and local government with the technology they need to improve how they budget, how they allocate resources, and how they respond to demand. We are now seeing blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented reality make their way into government agencies, finding new ways to empower their workforce and deliver modern services.
     
  • Increased Data Security
    Reducing cybersecurity risks are key mandates for state and local governments. Using ERP and cloud services, the public sector is able to take advantage of world-class security and threat protection services, meeting critical compliance standards and exceeding government regulatory requirements. For example, Azure Government includes several government-only datacenter regions with Impact Level 5 Provisional Authorization.Read Blog PostIs your Government Data Secure in the Public Cloud?
     
Prepare your Business for Digital Transformation

There’s pressure to keep up with new and emerging technologies in the public sector, from mobility, digital, and cloud to IoT, big data, and predictive analytics. To keep up with the changing expectations and demands, government organizations are embracing unified ERP and finding new ways to enhance the experience for both citizens and employees.  

At OnActuate, we believe that Digital Transformation is realized through technology and organizational change. We are very familiar with business management technology and helping government agencies in the public sector implement the right ERP system for their people, processes, and business requirements. We’ve cut red tape, we’ve troubleshot compliance issues, and we’ve helped digitally transform organizations just like yours.  

Contact our team today to learn more about what it’s like to work with us.

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