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FEATURED TOPICDigital Transition -The term "Digital Transition" describes the process all organizations must go through in the 21st Century, as they leverage new technologies that provide new options for Applications, Equipment, Processes, and Networks that make them more effective. In contrast, the term "Municipal Wireless" is limiting. It puts the network technology ahead of the application and process changes that drive the business case. ORIENTATION |
« From Valley to Beltway: New Dealer, New Deck, New Game | Weblog | Public Safety Digital Transformation: "To Protect and Serve" » Good Government Management: A Balancing ActI've started summarizing Lessons Learned and this week I rolled out several marketing pieces at the Texas Association of Government IT Managers (TAGITM)'s 30th Anniversary conference in San Antonio. It was a great two days, at the beautiful Westin La Canterra Resort, and my hat's off to those folks. They do what they do well. Lots of interesting conversation and dialogue with city officials and a variety of vendors, wandering around the trade show floor. More on that later, but for now, here's the first document that summarizes my assessment: Cities are in for a world of hurt with the slumping economy and the old ways of dealing with slumps are, well, pretty miserable. There's a better way. Across the board salary cuts, RIFs, wage freezes ... "sharing the pain" - "we've got to buckle down until times get better." Yechh, I can just hear it. My conclusion from all that's happened in our industry, is that there's a better alternative to the traditional way of managing a downturn in the economy. There's a better way than the two options of simply lowering costs or raising taxes when everything heads south...there's a Door Number Three to consider (thanks to my friend Ed Braddy for that one!)... And behind Door Number Three is a Field Digital Transition - the first brief then, after the jump...
The key to sound city government management is balancing costs with revenues...but city budgets are under growing pressure from increasing costs and decreasing revenues, leading to traditional belt-tightening: cutting back on jobs or services, or both. Alternately, balance is possible by using new tools and new processes to work smarter. A Perfect Storm of Bad News A perfect storm of negative economic trends threatens city budget managers in cities both large and small with direct and indirect consequences. Rising Fuel Costs. As the price of gasoline soars, unbudgeted city fuel expenses must be accommodated. Given such bad news, city management is left with few options under traditional business practices. Budgets will be scrutinized, salaries and wages frozen, and across the board reductions implemented. Pain must be shared. When governments fail to keep the books balanced, bankruptcies are rarer than with individuals or businesses. Cities continue to work through their problems until they find a solution. Pinned Down by Old Assumptions People and Processes. Bureaucracies use labor to deliver services to citizens. One view of those in government is to keep a tight lid on costs, no matter what, while others would deliver services to those most in need. A rising economy eases pressures, while a flat or sinking economy sees tensions mount as factions argue over how to adjust to increasing pressures and still meet goals. Old assumptions limit solutions to variations on painful belt-tightening, but thinking about old problems in new ways unlocks win/win solutions that improve on belt-tightening and ease tensions.
Field Digital Transition: A New Set of Tools and Assumptions New Digital Processes, Applications and Equipment for Efficiency in the Field Under the twin shocks of uncontrollable added costs and reduced revenues, the standard response is to cut labor costs and reduce services, but that leaves the city weaker and provides citizens less. The urgency of added budget pressures provides an opportunity for a better way of looking at government operations, which introduces new digital processes, applications, and equipment to make the city stronger and more productive. Digital Processes. New technology lets us look at old problems in new ways. Sending staffers out into the field in cars and trucks to gather information, returning to the office when necessary, is inefficient, when alternatives exist. Transformation by the Numbers A quantitative analysis of current business processes sets a benchmark for improvement. A straightforward business case projection demonstrates savings by challenging assumptions and looking at things in new ways. Step One: Analysis. Transformation starts with a departmental review of select business processes and costs, with a focus on mobility and activity in the field.
Posted on June 12, 2008 at 09:32 PM CommentsPost a comment |
METRONET VENDOR DIRECTORYMY OTHER BLOGSMetroNetIQ E-Store - Be sure to visit the MetroNetIQ E-Store and pick up a copy of The ABCs of Community Broadband: How Digital Transitions Will Transform America's Communities, One at a Time. The E-Store will offer special discounts on this valuable guide for community leaders, discounts that won't be available to the general public on Amazon! |
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