\u201cOh that must be challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2026is what people sometimes say when I tell them about my role in public sector digital transformation. Indeed, they then give me their impression of public services as too large and slow-moving.<\/p>\n
Well, in some ways they\u2019re right. The public sector has a solemn duty to help citizens lead healthier, intellectually richer, more equal and inclusive lives. And the fact is that duty can sometimes require consultative processes and quite gradual change.<\/p>\n
It goes without saying that public services have become even more vital to communities this year. Though, there\u2019s been another huge change \u2013 digital transformation has accelerated.<\/p>\n
This year, public service projects that may have taken two years suddenly needed to be completed in two months.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure you can imagine, this acceleration has been both exhilarating and challenging for all of us at Microsoft. But that new pace of change can only happen in an atmosphere of implicit trust.<\/p>\n
\u2018Trust\u2019 \u2013 a word we use regularly \u2013 is quite difficult to define. In everyday life, it\u2019s a feeling of confidence in the principled intentions of others. When I\u2019m speaking to our public sector customers, however, trust also means moving beyond the merely transactional. It means having confidence in our platform, our security, privacy and compliance. And confidence that both parties are committed to a long term relationship, with shared goals, shared philosophy and a shared vision for the future.<\/p>\n
Without that trust, it would be extremely difficult to innovate and change, making this year\u2019s increased speed of digital transformation impossible.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m extremely proud of what we\u2019ve been able to achieve with our customers this year. The healthcare sector is a large part of my remit, and we\u2019ve done some fantastic work there. But alongside that, we\u2019ve also collaborated with organizations spanning almost every level of government. And that includes those firmly rooted in history and tradition, like elected assemblies and law courts.<\/p>\n
Some parliaments had never seriously contemplated the possibility of going virtual. Partly because of anxieties over security. However, with innovations like Election Guard<\/a> and the initiative to protect this year\u2019s U.S presidential election<\/a> from foreign cyber interference \u2013 Microsoft has shown that its secure technology can be trusted with responsibilities as momentous as safeguarding democratic process. And I think that explains why legislatures and judiciaries trusted us to implement online sessions and digital voting.<\/p>\n