WSO2: How industry can help support the delivery of the cross-government roadmap for digital, data, and technology? #techUKDigitalPS

Upgrading legacy technology and eliminating poor technological standards are high on the public service agenda, with advances in technology and best practices forming a big part of the conversation. The recent government budget announcement promising £3.5 billion for the future of tech and science shows that government institutions are taking their digitalisation journey seriously. But battling technical and legacy debt, where development teams take short-term actions to expedite the delivery of a project that later require remediating is costly and time consuming. Implementing good practices from the outset must be the priority in moving digitalisation forward.  

When we envision successful public services, we often expect them to be as dynamic and agile as many of the private sector applications we, as a society, have become so accustomed to using. However, to create these outstanding digital experiences we need the right digital layers in place that underpin these services.  

So, what does this mean for a sector that doesn’t have limitless resources for technological fixes? 

Data-sharing for dynamic success 

APIs are rapidly becoming widely accepted and recognised for their capabilities in public sector by the wider organisation, not just the IT teams. The reality is that APIs are the connective tissue for the digital world, enabling integration and access to digital resources. With demand for digitised services ramping up, many public sector organisations have taken an ‘API first’ approach to keep up with the online world around them. To be successful in digitising core business operations while dealing with rising security threats, public sector technology leaders must elevate APIs to a more strategic discussion and reinforce their business importance. Likewise, organisations need to end the siloed nature of APIs and adopt a more modern integrated platform approach to deliver both business optimisation and improved customer experience.   

Today, to ensure an enhanced level of service, public sector organisations must communicate with each other on both a local and country-wide level. This type of data exchange is strengthened using APIs. One example is the Central Digital and Data Office which leads the digital, data, and technology (DDaT) function for the UK government. The Data Office plays a crucial role and, through the use of APIs, it enables transformation at scale by collaborating with numerous government functions and departments. Not only does this use of APIs in data-sharing establish best practice standards, it also establishes strong governance systems.  

Guidance on API usage 

However, not all API use is equal, there are pitfalls that should be avoided.  Recognising that there are areas for improvement there has been and is work underway to provide guidance from the Central Digital and Data Office around APIs and data standards across government. The good news is that organisations are starting to understand the benefits, and embrace APIs to deal with the economic pressures they face. Our 2022 Vanson Bourne survey found that 90% of enterprises in the UK and Ireland believe their developers would be better placed to innovate if the user experience was more connected to building, managing, and integrating APIs. And 84% believe that building, managing, and integrating APIs should be treated as one process rather than isolated aspects of the API lifecycle. These are promising statistics and demonstrate that organisations are starting to take a more modern and joined-up approach to APIs. 

It is critical, therefore, when developing the next phase of public sector digitalisation strategy, that the conversation moves on to how we can best integrate siloed departments to leverage and open-up data to better work together; this is where APIs really help. 

This article was written by Chris Davey, Vice President API & Integration Software BU, WSO2. Read more...

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