Two-thirds of public sector FTE expenses could be cut with correct technology: Former ICTA Chairman

• Public sector institutions remain overly reliant on outdated on-premises systems that increase overhead costs
• Connectivity infrastructure significantly outdated compared to closest regional countries
• Says absolutely feasible to run a government with fewer staff if the right technology implemented

By Nuzla Rizkiya

The government could potentially cut off two-thirds of its public sector workforce expenses by strategically implementing the correct technology to streamline public services, according to former ICTA chairman.

Administrations and public sector institutions in Sri Lanka are still overly reliant on investing in outdated on-premises systems that only end up increasing overhead costs even when more cost-effective digital solutions are readily available for better service efficiency, noted former ICTA Chairman Oshada Senanayake.

“I think we as a nation are really fearful to take critical decisions, maybe because of political and social implications. For instance, we are still spending millions of rupees on a government data center on an on-prem approach, even when we could easily use cloud economics to scale up. But why are we not making that decision?” Senanayake questioned at a panel discussion hosted by the CA Sri Lanka conference recently.

He elaborated that leveraging technology in the public sector should not only replace manual processes but also reduce inefficiencies, as adding technology while maintaining the same status quo ultimately increases overhead costs.

In Sri Lanka, however, while commendable levels of technology have been adopted by certain public sector institutions, the processes largely remain unchanged, which limit the potential benefits that technology could provide making it more of a burden than a solution.

According to Senanayake, Sri Lanka’s connectivity infrastructure is significantly outdated compared to even its closest regional neighbours, like India, with public sector institutions still relying on obsolete government networks. 

This feature persists despite modern alternatives such as software-defined networks, being readily available and capable of reducing costs by at least 60 percent.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make a very significant impact, but we have to have the foundation elements to adopt it. We have still not got our connectivity right as a country, especially in the public sector. Unfortunately, we still have this old-world, archaic government network when we really don’t have to rely on it anymore” he stated.

However, he noted that the adoption of these technologies will be of no use if digital literacy within the public sector workforce is not a point of focus.

When asked whether a public institution could effectively operate with a handful of people, similar to how the current government runs the administration with just three ministers, he confidently affirmed this possibility.

“It’s absolutely feasible to run a government with fewer staff. In the public sector, I believe we can cut literally two-thirds of the full-time equivalent (FTE) requirements if the right technological decisions are made. But for this there has to be decisive policymaking. Just looking at technology, we can really transform the (public sector) operations into a lean and clean system as much as the private sector,” Senanayake asserted.