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New report urges governments around the world to achieve digital transformation

October 23rd, 2025

The Association for Computing Machinery's global Technology Policy Council has released a report titled "TechBrief: Government Digital Transformation." It is the latest in a series of TechBriefs—short technical bulletins that present scientifically grounded perspectives on the impact and policy implications of specific technological developments in computing.

In today's world, almost every process or interaction between people and governments—from paying taxes to renewing passports to reporting potholes—requires the use of devices such as computers. While this changeover began in the early 1990's with the advent of the Worldwide Web and continued through the early 2000's, essential work remains.

The report, co-authored by experts from diverse disciplines, emphasizes that recent advances in technology make a renewed public focus on digital transformation even more urgent.

"The COVID-19 pandemic brought home how essential access to government services is during severe situations," explained Carlos E. Jimenez-Gomez, an expert in public sector digital transformation and co-lead author of the new ACM TechBrief. "For example, we saw the importance of information sharing and interoperability in digital services. At the same time, the pandemic exposed where we need to make improvements—whether we are in a severe situation or not."

The TechBrief recommends six key pillars that should guide a successful government digital transformation. They are:

Digital public infrastructure
Digital identity
Data governance and privacy
Interoperability frameworks
Information and data system modernization
Citizen-centered design

"In this ACM TechBrief, we emphasize that public well-being increasingly depends on successful and inclusive digital transformation," said Shrinivass A.B, Senior Full Stack Engineer at Fidelity Investments and co-lead author of the new ACM TechBrief. "The public today interacts with governments through digital channels, making reliability, security, and accessibility foundational to trust. Achieving this requires not only modern technology but also sound governance, interoperability, and citizen-centered design.

"The six pillars we outline in this TechBrief offer a holistic, multidisciplinary roadmap for governments to modernize responsibly and sustainably. We believe that with informed, strategic, and collaborative approaches, governments can accelerate digital transformation while preserving transparency, equity, and public confidence."

"Governments around the world have made good progress in their embrace of digital technologies over the past 25 years," added Simson Garfinkel, Chief Scientist, BasisTech and co-lead author of the new report.

"Nevertheless, most governments have a patchwork quilt of services, rather than a unified system that is easy to navigate, secure, and interoperates across national borders. We hope that this TechBrief will be a roadmap for policymakers who are eager to help transform the systems that their governments have today into the unified system that we all hope to use in the future."

More information:
Carlos E. Jimenez-Gomez et al, ACM TechBrief: Government Digital Transformation, (2025). DOI: 10.1145/3769690

Provided by Association for Computing Machinery

Citation: New report urges governments around the world to achieve digital transformation (2025, October 23) retrieved 23 October 2025 from https://sciencex.com/wire-news/522689276/new-report-urges-governments-around-the-world-to-achieve-digital.html

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