US Public Sector Organizations Seek Support to Transform Workplaces and Embrace Digital Tools

• ISG Provider Lens report sees the COVID-19 pandemic driving public sector organizations to embrace digital and virtual work environments

US public sector organizations are transitioning to digital workplaces in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and are turning to service providers to assist with their digital transformations, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group, a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

“This will require significant transformation of organizations, infrastructure and work cultures into digital business environments, and stronger partnerships with IT and business services providers to prepare for new ways of working and meeting the increasing challenge of attracting and retaining workers.”

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens Future of Work – Services and Solutions Report for the US Public Sector finds state and municipal governments, public health providers, educational institutions and non-government organizations (NGOs) focused on creating digitally enabled work environments that optimize worker experience, productivity and security. They are also exploring ways to utilize COVID-19 economic recovery grants to invest in IT.

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It is unclear how many US workers will return to traditional, in-office workspaces, continue to work remotely or use a hybrid model combining the two, the report says. However, the new work environment is likely to blend aspects of pandemic-driven remote and virtual environments with the characteristics of working in a traditional office.

“The future workplace for the U.S. public sector and their commercial counterparts will be built on digital IT capabilities and services,” said Nathan Frey, partner in the ISG US Public Sector business. “This will require significant transformation of organizations, infrastructure and work cultures into digital business environments, and stronger partnerships with IT and business services providers to prepare for new ways of working and meeting the increasing challenge of attracting and retaining workers.”

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Public sector customers are engaging providers to help them frame organizational and operational strategy, assess organizational and technological maturity, enable a seamless employee experience regardless of location and roles, and support changes in culture, habits, security and infrastructure.

From an analysis of publicly available data, ISG says an average of 30 to 35 percent of U.S. public sector and government agency clients use or plan to leverage a managed service provider for their IT landscape.

US public sector customers are interested in adopting a flexible and selective engagement model with managed service providers, where they can pick and choose areas to be managed by service providers and for co-management, the report notes.

The US public sector market was previously dominated by large-scale IT infrastructure managed service providers that offered technical end-user computing services, the report says. The pandemic has accelerated the shift from traditional end-user computing elements toward work-related technologies that serve as key business enablers that can make or break employee experience.

Providers with diverse strengths are now competing in the future of work services market with strategy and transformation services at the core, supported by managed workplace services and an overarching focus on employee experience to prepare customer workplaces and workforces for the future of work.

The rise in modern low-code/no-code development, the democratization of IT and an emphasis on digital dexterity and reskilling have led to a laser focus on managed services that can enhance and improve the experience of end users and prepare them for the changing ways of working, the report says.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens Future of Work  Services and Solutions report for the U.S. Public Sector evaluates the capabilities of 22 providers in one quadrant: Digital Workplace Services for the U.S. Public Sector.

The report names Accenture, Digital Workplace Group, HCL, IBM, KPMG, Leidos, PwC and Unisys as Leaders in the quadrant. Zensar is named a Rising Star—a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition.