The Indonesian Government continues to embark on a journey towards becoming more digitised and connected to its citizens. With several smart city initiatives, like in Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya, it is evident that the both federal and local governments are beginning to embrace the wave of digital transformation.

Data Analytics and Cloud Computing technologies are starting to make waves throughout the public sector. Government agencies are starting to see the benefits of these technologies and making plans to further integrate advanced ICT solutions.

On 25th February, 2016, 138 public servants from Indonesian Government public sector agencies were brought together to discuss how they can drive digital transformation through digital service delivery and ICT integration.

Mr. Mohit Sagar, Managing Director, OpenGov, opened the forum by discussing technology disruption in government. The public sector has a unique duty to drive these initiatives towards digital transformation and embracing mobility, as it is the only way that society can move forward.

He asked the audience to really work to engage with each other and ask questions about the areas they may need more support in. Only through collaboration and knowledge sharing will public sector agencies be able to achieve higher ICT ambitions.

The Jakarta Capital City Government Office sent their regards to the attendees at the Leadership Forum, wishing them the best in their experience discussing digital transformation with their fellow public servants and counterparts.

Tuty Kusumawati, Head of Board for Regional Planning Development, Jakarta Capital City Government, represented the Governor’s office at the forum. She said that the Governor’s Office hoped the public servants will think ‘future forward’ in order to achieve the ambitious goals of digital transformation. They feel that Jakarta is leading the way towards a smarter future – and Government is at the centre of this change.

After the opening of the forum, open dialogue sessions were held amongst the audience. During these sessions, attendees discussed 12 topics related to government IT solutions and best practices.

Topics covered included: How Smart Government becomes truly Digitally Transformed, Data Protection in a Federated Environment, Digital Services: new opportunities for Government and Citizen Services, Staying one step ahead in the IoT age, The Pillars to Government Transformation, and more.

Based on these discussions, it became evident that Indonesian Government Agencies are actively working to ensure their systems are secure and adaptable to the increasing demands from the ever-evolving technology sphere.

Listening in to these dialogues, we learned that the government is curious about how they can produce and manage a more centralised system, how they can navigate the process for service consolidation, and how they can create more opportunities from big data.

Jakarta Smart City driving the city’s digital transformation

Jakarta is working to become the nation’s first smart city. From the top of the Government, there has been a great push to digitise all processes and use technology to create more efficient services for citizens.

In 2014, the Jakarta Smart City Team initiated the move towards transforming the most populated city of Indonesia into a more connected and future forward place. In anticipation of the 2018 Asian Games, the city is being pushed to transform itself into a hub for technology, innovation, and futuristic transport.

Setiaji, the Head of the Technical Implementation Unit for Jakarta Smart City, took to the stage to introduce the steps his team is taking towards increasing communications systems and technology through innovative methods.

Looking at some of the concerns from the community, Jakarta’s Smart City Unit worked to integrate several platforms, which address societal issues and concerns. These include mobile apps such as Qlue, Qraved, and Safety Pin. These apps can be accessed through a single portal on Jakarta Smart City apps.

“We envision a Jakarta that is more efficient and innovative,” stated Setiaji.

Setiaji went on to emphasise the importance of collaboration in driving smart city initiatives and programs. The Jakarta Smart City unit works with several private, public, and startup organisations to create solutions which improve quality of life for the citizens of Jakarta.

The main areas of focus for Jakarta Smart City are public services, public information, and public participation. With respect to public service, the city is working to simplify government procedures, improve housing, and reinvigorate activity centres for the community.

Smart City transformation also involves increasing the way that information is shared with the public using platforms they commonly use.

“One of the most popular and effective applications is the citizen complaint app. Here, 90 percent of citizen complaints have been handled by the respective public agencies,” Setiaji announced.

Apps such as this have provided the avenues for citizens to interact with their government in new methods. Through this, the public is able to actively engage with their government and provide feedback on their service delivery. These tools are essential for a Smart City to function properly.

Information Security at the forefront of Government priorities

Indonesia’s Government leaders are finding that cyber security is of increasing importance to IT infrastructure. With respect to technology management, the highest priority for government is to make sure their systems are secure and that they do not put citizens at risk of identity theft. Government is handling a lot of sensitive and important data which they must ensure is managed correctly.

When the audience members were asked if they plan to execute an information security solution in the near future, it was discovered that 30 percent already have plans in execution and 25 percent are looking for more information and services.

It is crucial that organisations educate their workforce about information security, in order to ensure more robust security infrastructure. If you neglect to educate your staff about the threats of cyber-attacks, you leave the organisation at higher risk of attack.

After surveying our audience, we found that 43 percent felt that their employees are aware of privacy requirements and information security best practices and 54 percent felt employees were only somewhat aware. Based on this feedback,

During the forum, it was expressed that security must be the base of all technology integration. Before introducing new technology, one must make sure that security standards are up to par with the agencies’ requirements. Before that, the agency must have a policy which considers all methods of cyber-attacks and the ever increasing global cyber threat landscape.

While talking to Col IGN Budiman SP M Sc, Chief Information Security Officer, Armed Forces Information and Data Processing, Indonesia National Defence Forces, he relayed to us that his organisation is taking several precautions to ensure that security is at the forefront of their defence system.

The role of CISO was created within the National Defence Forces, just a few months ago. This was due to the ever increasing threat of cyber physical forces which are weakening defence systems. It is not enough to fight battles on the ground, but now, governments must fight battles in cyber space.

It was realized that the agencies present at the forum still had some improvements to make to their information security infrastructure. As Indonesian Government continues to recognise the increasing threat of cyber-attacks, they will continue to adapt and take on new solutions or strategies to improve their defence systems in the cyber physical world.

Indonesian Government looks to embrace Data Analytics

Government agencies are looking to use data analytics solutions to derive new insights to issues which impact society. For example, police forces could look at data to realise crime patterns in a particular neighborhood. With this, they can actively work to deploy extra police forces at times when criminal activity has shown to be more frequent.

There are several ways in which data analytics can be embraced by government organisations. But we found from our audience that organisations do not always have the right tools or information to conduct such initiatives.

During our first panel session, we discussed when the right time for government to optimize data centres is and how this would help strengthen data analytics capabilities. To this, Klaus Felsche, Former Director of Analytics Innovation for the Australian Immigration and Border Protection, brought up the point that in order to extract valuable insights from data, data centres must be compatible with the latest technology.

While surveying our audience, it was revealed that much of our audience felt most challenged by the area of data analytics. With this feedback, we probed to find out more about their plans to further utilise data analytics tools.

While 29 percent of our audience had plans to execute a data analytics solution within the next 6 months, 30 percent felt that they still need more information and services to make such a decision.

When asked if our audience is planning to execute a data analytics solution in the next few months, a majority said that they needed more information or services.

Yet, many of the audience (54 percent) felt that they do not feel the most capable or properly funded for big data and analytics solutions.

This shows that they understand the need for big data analytics solutions but may not have the resources or funding to provide for this. This is an area where the government could invest a lot more resources to help extract valuable insights which will drive digital transformation in Indonesia.