COVID-19 Pandemic Set to Accelerate Automation in the Public Sector, Insight Study Finds

According to a new survey of IT professionals at local, state and federal government agencies from Insight Enterprises (NASDAQ: NSIT), the global integrator of Insight Intelligent Technology Solutions for organizations of all sizes, nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said they felt their organization was very or extremely prepared to handle COVID-19’s IT business challenges – yet 53% said their organization experienced three or more weeks of downtime for some or all of their workforce.

Nevertheless, a majority of respondents to the 2020 Insight Public Sector Pulse: The Impact of COVID-19 on Organizational Readiness reported success in implementing a wide range of IT changes – from device procurement to citizen outreach. The pandemic also may have spurred a renewed sense of innovation and a desire to minimize the impact of future disruptions, according to the report.

Of note, 27% of public sector IT professionals said that automating employee work processes and tasks was among their top 3 IT priorities in 2020 before COVID-19; after COVID-19, that number increased to 35%. This shift was especially pronounced at the state and local level, where respondents citing automation as a top 3 priority grew from 23% pre-COVID to 35% post-COVID.

“The first weeks of the pandemic were understandably chaotic for IT departments at all levels of government. But now that we’ve had time to settle into a ‘new normal,’ IT professionals have a real opportunity to re-evaluate their priorities and fortify their systems against future challenges,” said Scott Friedlander, vice president of Insight Public Sector. “Automation already was underway for many government entities before COVID-19 hit, but that trend is only likely to gain steam in the months to come as agencies seek ways to continue the business of governing while protecting the health and well-being of civil servants.”

Additional findings from Insight’s special report include:

Remote work is here to stay. The most common pivot in response to COVID-19 reflected increased investment in remote work: among the most cited changes that needed to be managed were remote worker user enablement and support (43%) and implementing collaboration tools and voice communication for remote workers (41%). Looking ahead long term, IT professionals expect remote work to persist beyond the pandemic. “Remote work is an always-on option, not a reactive solution,” said one survey respondent.