How to Supercharge Your National Digital Transformation

Digitization at the national level is a high-stakes endeavor that countries cannot afford to get wrong. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that e-government programs have the potential to deliver efficiency benefits of up to $50 billion a year globally by 2020, but 70% to 80% of public-sector digital transformations either fail outright or achieve disappointingly limited success. (See “How Governments Can Get Technology Transformations Right,” BCG article, June 2016.)
Though large-scale digital transformations at the national level have many moving parts—and rely on different approaches—they tend to falter in predictable ways. To accelerate national digital transformations, government leaders must avoid the missteps that have hampered past efforts.
Though many things can derail national digital transformations, five serious problems are both common and avoidable.
- Too Much or Too Little Centralization of Power
- Disruption of Everything at Once.
- Excessive Caution in Pursuing Digital-First Initiatives.
- Failure to Keep Pace in Fostering a Digital Culture.
- Fixation on a Master Plan.
This report explores best approaches to supercharge national digital transformation, how some governments have effectively overcome some of these challenges, and how governments can sustain digital transformation.
By Rami Mourtada , Stephanie Habib , Frank Felden , Alexander Türpitz , and Miguel Carrasco
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