A new study finds the digital transformation journey is only just beginning for some agencies. 

New research looks at Australian government agencies’ digital transformation journey, revealing strong concern that agencies are under-utilising digital document process solutions.

A lack of technology and tools is making things harder, according to 68 per cent of respondents, while 58 per cent said their agency was struggling to maintain security and confidentiality.

The study - Digital Trust in Australia: Reduce Security Risks and Deliver Superior Citizen Experiences with Digital Document Processes - also says that while the COVID-19 pandemic has forced local agencies to accelerate digital initiatives, most still use a hybrid approach of paper-based and digital documents. 

Just 14 per cent of respondents said their agency had digitised its document processes completely.

“One of the biggest challenges government agencies face is the challenge of expanding digital services while preserving citizen trust,” said Chandra Sinnathamby from research group Adobe.

However, the mindset regarding the digitisation of workflows appears to be changing. For example, respondents said barriers to adopting digital document process technologies, such as e-signatures, are beginning to fade away. 

Respondents also said that concerns about the complexity of integrating signatures with day-to-day productivity applications are falling.

Participants in the study indicated that the top priorities for the next year should be improving the use of data for decision-making (70 per cent); accelerating the response to market change (64 per cent); shifting to being a digital government for IT modernisation (62 per cent); and improving overall risk management, including data security and privacy (62 per cent).

“These increased investments will accelerate the shift to e-services and help agencies catch up with digital-leader agencies in other countries,” Sinnathamby said.