Looking back: DigiDay 2024 discussion round "End-to-end digitization"

aforms Managing Director Marvin Behrendt was able to discuss the topic with the following panel of experts.

• Peter Grassnigg, CEO Rubicon (DACH region)
• Philipp Dörre, CEO Gentics (DACH region)
• Felix Moser, DTI Swiss Confederation (CH)
• Alex Sollberger, Myni Gmeind (CH)
• Manfred Brandner, Owner eee group (DACH region)
• Moderated by Christian Rupp

We would like to thank all participants and the organizers for the exciting discussion and summarize our statements and inputs on the individual points in the discussion once again.

"Best practice Austria, Switzerland"

Standardization and e-government basic building blocks

• Austria recognized very early on that e-government requires standards and basic building blocks. As early as the late 1990s, various Bund-Länder-Städte-Gemeinden (BLSG) working groups were set up to define the architecture, interfaces and also the look and feel of e-government applications.

  Driven - also by the cost aspect - a construction kit for e-government applications was created. Examples of this are:
  - MOA modules for signatures
  - Portal network for identification and access management
  - Form style guide for a uniform appearance of online services

• With the basic services, it is now possible to create simple to complex end-to-end e-government solutions - almost like an assembly line - in the sense of a "software lego".
   
• The architecture with basic services and standard interfaces prevents software silos and thus dependence on individual providers.
   
• Each building block - e.g. GEVER, forms or portals - can be selected "best of breed".
   

• Online services are an essential part of the digitalization of the administration - because they represent the "visible" part for citizens and companies.

  - You can think of it like an iceberg. Of course, the majority, in our case the specialist applications, registers or GEVER, are "under water" and very important for the iceberg to float. However, customers only see the part that sticks out of the water. The online services and portals.
  
  - It is important to have a flexible solution here that allows you to quickly create simple and highly integrated online services without programming. Just a basic "forms" building block.

   

"Experiences/learnings/obstacles from best practices"

Depth vs. breadth

• An essential question in digital transformation is: Where do I start? Which topic do I pay particular attention to?"
   
• We have had very good experiences with the concept of the "Potemkin village". This means providing as many online services as possible (we call it breadth) while initially avoiding deep integration and consistency. (We call it depth).
   
• This has many advantages: Users can rely on every service being available online and politicians can bask in the glow of a complete e-government.
   
• The decisive advantage, however, is that if a lot of online applications come in due to the breadth, then this is a motivation for the departments to participate in end-to-end e-government.
   

"What is needed for rapid implementation (standards, expertise, political will)"

In our view, the people and teams who implement e-government are very important. This requires a driving force and a clear distribution of responsibilities:

Teams and approach

• Departments as customers
• Business analysts as solution designers
• Internal/external implementation

Further necessary is the courage to beta - i.e. to try out solutions that are not perfect - and to use the current possibilities.

We hope this has given you some interesting input. If you have any questions or input on any of the topics, we look forward to hearing from you.

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