Big data & analytics for digital transformation in the public sector

In the face of increasing business complexity, informed, collaborative, and fact-based decisions are more important than ever before. An unprecedented "information explosion" can severely hinder the abilities of public sector organisations to address the demanding needs of the public. Yet, like all other verticals in the services sector, a historic opportunity to accelerate productivity is the adoption of modern analytics in the core management architecture. The integration of modern-day analytics tools is a tremendous opportunity to make informed, fact-based business decisions by harnessing the value of a growing data mountain. 

According to a report from Newswire, the global big data analytics market is projected to reach US$ 234.6 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% between 2022 to 2026. 

Let’s see how data analytics and Business Intelligence (BI) are disrupting the public sector and how the industry is utilizing them. 

Big data analytics & public management  

Big data is a rapidly growing field that offers significant opportunities, especially when clubbed with modern analytics to uncover deep insights from data. Apart from the private sector, governments around the world are also adopting big data analytics at a rapid rate, which is why it’s becoming an integral part of future strategy-making for the public sector. 

The public sector organizations have access to a lot of data, which is generated from daily transitions, employment records, education, industries, and agriculture departments. Several developing country leaders have called for big investments in big data to modernise their economies as per future requirements.  

Also Read: Data Analytics and Business Intelligence Trends for 2023  

Big data analytics in public sectors: Use cases  

Big data analytics and its applications allow government organizations to access a large volume of information that is regularly generated from multiple areas. With real-time access, governments can focus on the areas that need special attention or have opportunities. Big data can be applied in the public sector in the following areas: 

Modern agriculture  

Precision agriculture, site-specific crop management (SSCM), and satellite farming are some of the modern concepts that revolve around the utilisation of big data. Governments around the world are developing integrated decision support systems (DSS) to leverage and support national agriculture programs. The adoption rate of analytics in agriculture has been increasing, and its market is expected to grow from USD 585 million to 1236 million in recent 5 years, at a CAGR of 16.2%.  

Public health 

Big data analytics has transformed the healthcare industry dramatically by enabling the collection, processing, and analysis of vast amounts of health-related data. With the use of big data analytics in health care, the public sector can make informed decisions that improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and optimize resource allocation. 

Through historical data combined with existing mobility patterns, countries and governments can track the outbreak and take the necessary measures to control it. Big data analytics has a significant potential to revolutionise the public health sector by improving disease surveillance, detecting outbreaks, monitoring epidemics, and assisting in public health interventions. 

• Disease surveillance: Modern data platforms can collect, analyse, and interpret data from multiple sources such as social media, search engines, and online news platforms. This can help public health officials to identify disease outbreaks in real-time and take immediate action to prevent the spread of the disease. 
• Predictive modelling: Big data analytics can be used to develop predictive models to forecast disease outbreaks, identify high-risk populations, and guide public health interventions. 
• Personalized medicine: Big data analytics can be used to analyse large amounts of data from individual patients to develop personalized treatment plans. This can help public health officials improve the quality of care and patient outcomes. 

According to a report “The global big data health care market size was valued at UDS 32.9 billion and predicted to reach USD 105.73 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 13.85% from 2022 to 2030”. 

Smart cities  

Analytics plays a crucial role in the development and management of smart cities. With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smart cities generate a vast amount of data that can be used to improve the quality of life for citizens, enhance public services, and optimize urban infrastructure. Here are some use cases where analytics are already playing their parts.  

• Connected public transport systems: Skånetrafiken (a public transport provider from Sweden) partnered with Telia and Swarco to form a real-time monitoring system. This provides the real-time whereabouts of individual buses. 
• Flood monitoring: In the year 2017, Buenos Aires was forced to evacuate due to floods. As a result, the government installed a real-time monitoring system (based upon a wireless sensor platform) which provides real-time information about the condition of the river.  
• Connected street lights: The city of Chicago introduced the Chicago Smart Lighting Project in 2017. The expected results were 75% less consumption of electricity once the project is finished.  

Also Read: Revolutionizing manufacturing industry through data analytics 

What lies ahead for the public sector? 

Insights gleaned from data can be beneficial for the public and governments around the world. As the global world is moving ahead, big data analytics is expected to play a key role. Cloud infrastructure is growing at a CAGR of 30% in the public sector. Governments and agencies are following the trends in data storage and computational requirements from multiple businesses in the private sector.  

In most cases, government applications will require powerful tools for data integration, modelling, and deployment of data lakes and cloud data warehouses. In view of the massive data influx from disparate data sources including millions of devices, cameras, real-time tracking and monitoring, the public sector must become data-driven.  

Where do we come in? 

If you’re an organization that strives to harness the power of data, Systems Limited offers 360-degree Data management & business analytics solutions for your business needs. Our robust data management and self-service business intelligence solutions are designed to help derive crucial insights based on trusted quality data.