Measure/demonstrate: TechnologyOne boosts council digital transformation

There's something of a paradox arising in local government councils across New Zealand and Australia. Even after transitioning from legacy technology systems, questions remain around value realisation, with many councils not measuring performance after the implementation is done. As a result, the full benefits, while tantalisingly close, aren't necessarily realised.

That's according to a new report commissioned and published by TechnologyOne, which confirms that rolling out a modern system is just one step in value creation. It's what comes next that determines bang for buck, which is why the provider of widely used cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for local government is advocating the concept of Continuous Digital Transformation (CDT).

TechnologyOne's New Zealand country manager Ben Sheehan started by explaining why improved systems are necessary. "New Zealand Councils are under tremendous pressure delivering services in an ever-changing environment. They have constant pressure from central government and ratepayers, yet must continue delivering services. And the vast majority are looking at technology to solve those challenges."

He added that the difficult part is measuring, demonstrating and communicating the value of investments to communities, councillors and internal stakeholders.

Go-live is just the beginning

The report, titled 'Local Government Digital Transformation: A Practical Guide to Value Realisation' argues that technology projects don't end at go-live, and illustrates how ongoing measurement, process refinement and benefit tracking delivers improved outcomes. Those involved in delivering projects typically describe this as 'maturing' the implementation; they also say that the real work isn't the technical implementation.

Instead, it is the change management, ongoing support, training, positive reinforcement, maturing the system by identifying and ironing out real-world niggles which often emerge in use because no workshop or whiteboard is capable of exposing them.

The report introduces Continuous Digital Transformation (CDT) as a formal process for embedding and improving ERP over time. Even before expanding what that framework means, this idea has merit. After all, digital transformation is a continuum, with today's innovations quickly becoming tomorrow's legacy technology.

"Digital transformation is continuous," Sheehan reiterated, explaining that the new CDT Framework gives councils practical tools to embed value realisation into everyday operations.

Targeted at improving software and processes, it includes a 'value register', ROI calculator, readiness assessment, and governance tools. It also advocates alignment between finance, operations and executive teams around assessing spend impact, drawing a close line between investment and outcome.

Continuing, Sheehan said CDT has a dual goal. "We want to help councils get the most from their technology investments and articulate the value to their communities."

The latter point is notable. IT Service Management drills in the concept of 'perceived value', and one should consider who the perceiver is. For councils, it's a combination of internal people, from the mayor and CEO all the way down to the people mowing the lawns or collecting the garbage. It's also every ratepayer, and as Sheehan said, we are all ratepayers and we can be quite demanding, occasionally vocalising dissatisfaction with perceptions of council value delivery.

"The challenge with traditional ERP is that it became a never-ending project," commented Sheehan, channelling the industry joke that there's no such thing as a complete enterprise software implementation.

Improvement, not implementation, should be continuous

"So, we reinvented ourselves in 2023 and introduced this concept we call SaaS+, with the point that ERP should be straightforward. And what we're seeing is as councils move towards SaaS and start thinking about how they can better use tools like AI, they're going through a process of saying 'we just want to adopt out of the box'."

Having spent 38 years focused on local government, Sheehan said TechnologyOne is listening. "We took a step back and said, 'there must be a better way of doing this' and built fit for purpose ERP under a fixed price. That's SaaS+ a standardised process delivered through a fixed price model."

SaaS+ (or indeed, any move into the cloud) is the basis on which CDT is built; those long-trumpeted advantages of flexibility and continuous updates are something of a prerequisite for unlocking continuous and enhanced value, particularly as new technologies emerge and are incorporated into ERP and other software.

Sheehan points to real results already emerging. Using the CDT Framework, he said "One council has achieved a 38% reduction in total cost of ERP ownership. That's an incredible, massive drop. And, really, what it means is they can achieve a 22% return on investment within four years, not only reducing total cost of ownership but articulating to ratepayers why they're doing this."

Asked who should read the report, Sheehan said those at a senior level in local government would benefit, adding that they don't have to be a TechnologyOne-aligned council.

"Anybody that's a C-suite executive should be thinking about articulating the value of their investments and must read this IBRS report. Sure, we'd love them to be our customer, but [the report] is available to everybody at no cost. We're committed to making life simple for our communities and helping councils clearly demonstrate the value of their investments is an important part of that mission."

Access Local Government Digital Transformation: A Practical Guide to Value Realisation.