Shared and integrated ICT essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Grassroots proof of success

There has been a significant increase in the use of broadband/ICT to build sustainable communities. This is often taking place at a grassroots level, driven by desperation, and is already producing a wide range of sustainable, efficient and effective social and economic outcomes. So at a grassroots level there is plenty of proof that ICTs are seen as a critical and strategic tool by those using these tools to deliver better and cheaper outcomes.

A serious problem, however, is that this much-needed level of strategic thinking about these issues has, in many cases, not yet reached the higher (bureaucratic) echelons and therefore ICT tools are, at a management level, not being used in a strategic way. In some cases this is due to lack of understanding of how ICTs can be used, in other cases this is due to the fact that appropriate use of ICTs would result in significant process simplification, and such process simplification might alter existing power structures and/or result in staff reductions or redeployments which might be difficult to implement. This lack of strategic implementation of ICTs is hampering large scale implementation and a more coordinated approach. At that level strategies and policies need to be developed that will see ICT integrated throughout the organisation – a fully-interconnected environment, both within the organisation and linked into the wider society/economy. Collaboration cooperation and interoperability with others within and outside the sectors involved need be established in order to share ICT resources so as to maximise the benefits and minimise (share) the costs

If we look at the hundreds, if not thousands, of projects where ICTs are successfully used at a grassroots level as a transformational tool we see that shared and integrated ICTs allow these communities, countries, NGOs, and agencies to deliver more and better results at a lower cost.

Lack of strategic leadership

This must be a huge incentive for anybody involved in such projects to embrace ICTs. However those in charge of these projects need to undergo a cultural change in strategic thinking, and this is the crux of the problem. The people involved in generating policy and strategy are often far removed from the coalface – and they are also often conservative by nature and reluctant to change their often decades-old structures and systems. They fail to use ICT as a tool for transformation; instead they use it as an ad hoc, add-on tool. ICTs are often used to automate existing processes, whereas they should be used in the context of process re-engineering: obliterate, don't automate.

As well as this, costs will be incurred in setting up these systems, with benefits flowing later. Thoughtful financial management and planning, and most likely outside assistance, is required to make the transition happen.

One only has to look at how the new digital media companies operate to see the enormous advantages of this new approach (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and many others). Highly personalised services based on data gathering and data analytics, all fully automated, lowering costs by up to 80% compared with similar services delivered in the 'old way'. Ultimately all organisations and sectors, private and public, will need to transform themselves in order to maximise the social and economic benefits that such a different approach can deliver through better services and lower costs.

Death by pilots

Before management will consider any changes there is often a call for examples and proof, which is often used as an excuse – to show that something is actually being done. Management is prepared to approve tests and pilots, but when these pilots prove to be successful the organisation fails to scale them up. We call this 'death by pilots'.

There are now also enough examples of companies, and indeed whole sectors, in the private sector who failed to transform themselves (publishing, entertainment, photography, music, retail, etc). The same applies to other sectors (education, health and other sectors). It is patently obvious that the growth in costs of healthcare and education are completely unsustainable in both developed and developing economies. There is a more than urgent need to use digital productivity to make the operations of these sectorssustainable, and this can only be done with the assistance of ICTs.

If we fail to significantly improve integration of ICT into the SDGs, those SDGs will fail, in the same way that the businesses and business sectors that are not using digital productivity to make their operations and activities more sustainable are failing.

How to move forward

As mentioned, ICTs should not be used as add-ons but as tools to transform the sector/ project/organisation/business model. In order to obtain a better understanding of these processes, look at the businesses sectors where such transformations are taking place. There are plenty of reports on these transformational processes – and what needs to be done – from companies such as IBM, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Ericsson, Alcatel, etc.

Also, the key problem is no longer that those at the senior level need to be convinced of the importance of ICT. Their problem is how to strategically address the issue within their organisation and integrate it into their existing models. This is an area where significant new and extra support is needed. High-level strategic presentations, workshops and other activities can inform, educate and assist management to develop the appropriate high-level policies and strategies. My experience here is that person-to-person meetings work better than reports and other information. It is important for management to understand the entire concept of digital productivity, the digital economy and the business models that are needed to transform their organisations so that they can achieve the benefits of better services at a lower cost. Obviously, assistance with the financing of the transition is another key issue.

The penny needs to drop, but once that happens leaders will emerge to make the transformation come about.

This is a complex and disruptive process. It often requires cannibalisation, job losses – perhaps including people within their own organisation – and completely new ways of addressing the problems and opportunities of our society of 7 billion people. We can no longer run our society as though there are still 3 billion of us, as there were back in the 1960s, yet many systems and structures we work with today date back to that period. But, as is clear from the current SDG process, these strategic transformations are being placed in the too-hard basket. It is, however, critical for us to act positively and convince the leaders at the top that there is no other option but to fully integrate ICTs into whatever work they do.

Furthermore, ICT infrastructure can and should be shared among the various sectors involved in the SDGs. This includes overarching cloud computing facilities, data centres, M2M deployments, smartphone application developments – plus, of course, shared broadband infrastructure resources. What could be considered here is who should coordinate efficient and effective sharing of (UN) ICT infrastructure resources.

If ICTs are implemented at a greenfield stage they often do not account for more than 10% of the total costs of the project. Retrofitting, on average, is ten times more expensive.

You cannot drive the strategic elements of the transformation from the bottom; it has to be driven from the top. It also needs to be driven in a trans-sector, not cross-sector, way – a cross-sector approach means that the bosses of each sector will say 'I will share as long as you do it my way'. If we want to see strategic and effective sharing of resources, leaders (not managers) will need to take charge of this. Leadership from the top is essential to give a clear direction to the transformation. This is exactly what the strategic plans around the SDGs should do – provide that high-level strategic direction.