Surge in demand for digital council services as pandemic drives people online
Local councils in the UK report a 27 percent increase in the use of digital services over the 12 months from summer 2020, compared to the previous year.
Digital experience company Acquia used freedom of information requests to compile the report, which also suggests the UK government’s drive to encourage usage of digital services is bearing fruit with local councils making considerable strides to improve accessibility.
How councils can be truly digital-first by transforming IT support
The appetite for councils to become digitally-led and transformative in their IT is growing, and this growth picked up a lot of speed last year due to the challenges presented by Covid. A sudden shift to working from home, combined with an urgent need for councils to continue the same level of service provision remotely, has increased the pressure on IT support teams within those councils.
This general mood is reflected in statistics, too. Research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Cantium has found that 70 percent of IT professionals in the public sector reported an increase in IT support tickets and requests since the tectonic shift in working life arrived in March of 2020.