Challenge 1: Organizational Silos — The most common risk identified for digital transformation is the combination of siloed strategies and decision making (51%). It is also the most common highest-ranked challenge among respondents (23%). The challenges associated with government silos are constantly raised by our clients and impact every aspect of digital transformation from strategy, to funding, to successful implementation. The silos exist across governments, across departments and across business areas, and each type of silo requires different types of interventions.

Challenge 2: Risk-Averse Culture — Governments are particularly sensitive to the risk. Executives are fearful of failure that reflects badly on elected officials and that often leads to a risk-averse culture (see Senior Executive Leadership Is Critical to the Success of Public-Sector Digital Initiatives). Frontline, service-delivery-focused workforces can also be change averse, as they do not perceive any benefit in changing their proven practices. So, it is not surprising that business culture blocking change is the second most common challenge (42%) when adopting digital solutions. Government CIOs who drive a technology-led transformation are destined for lackluster progress at best and failure at worst. Transformation programs must be business-outcome-led and incorporate organization change as a core element of their program.