At Redcentric, we recently participated in PSE’s “Digitalisation of the Public Sector 2025” webinar, where industry experts gathered to discuss the evolving landscape of public sector digital transformation. Our Chief Technology Officer, Paul Mardling, joined a distinguished panel that included:
- Jonathan Pownall, Senior Digital Specialist at the National Audit Office
- Helen Coomb, Cabinet Member for Resources and Transformation at the London Borough of Redbridge
- Kurt Frary, Head of IT/Chief Technical Officer at Norfolk County Council
With public sector organisations facing a complex landscape of legacy systems, budget constraints, and ever-evolving security threats, the conversation made one thing clear: collaboration and strategic investment in technology are now more critical than ever. We examined the key themes which were discussed by the panel.
Understanding and optimising existing infrastructure
One of the biggest hurdles in digital transformation is understanding what already exists. Many councils and public sector bodies operate on fragmented infrastructures, with different departments procuring technology independently over the years. As a result, systems are often underutilised, poorly integrated, and difficult to maintain.
To move forward, organisations must start with a clear audit of their digital estates. Establishing ownership of legacy systems is key, ensuring that decision-makers have visibility over interdependencies and potential bottlenecks that may impede progress. Without this clarity, the risk of repeating past mistakes, where new systems fail to fully replace the functionality of older ones, remains high.
The task of understanding your IT estate is greatly simplified by using application dependency mapping tools which will auto-discover all the components and dependencies of an entire technology stack end-to-end. With the installation of a single agent organisations can detect causal dependencies between websites, applications, services, processes, hosts, networks, and infrastructure within minutes reducing the need for time-consuming manual processes and accelerating decision-making on IT infrastructure.
Fostering collaboration to drive change
Digital transformation in the public sector cannot happen in isolation. The PSE event highlighted the importance of councils, central government, and public bodies working together to share best practices and lessons learned. Organisations such as the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) are already demonstrating how collaborative efforts can address common challenges, such as housing conditions, through data-driven insights.
Pooling resources and expertise across regions and departments can prevent duplication of effort, improve procurement efficiency, and accelerate the adoption of scalable, cost-effective solutions. The future of digital transformation in the public sector will be defined by a shift from siloed decision-making to collective strategy development.
Leveraging data for enhanced citizen services
Understanding how citizens engage with public services is crucial for designing systems that meet their needs. The discussion at PSE reinforced the need for data analytics and predictive modelling to inform service delivery.
Different demographics interact with government services in different ways. While some older residents prefer phone-based interactions, younger citizens may favour messaging platforms or mobile applications. The public sector must ensure digital inclusion by providing multi-channel access and embracing tools such as omnichannel contact centres to give citizens a choice of how they want to communicate, thereby balancing innovation with accessibility.
Strengthening cyber resilience amid evolving threats
Cybersecurity remains a major concern, with public sector organisations frequently targeted by increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, including ransomware and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The panel stressed that organisations must adopt a proactive approach to security, ensuring resilience through:
- Regular staff training on cybersecurity best practices.
- Adoption of the Cyber Assessment Framework and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidelines.
- Robust business continuity and disaster recovery planning.
Many organisations underestimate the risks posed by legacy systems. Older infrastructures often lack the security protocols required for today’s cyber threat landscape, making them vulnerable to attacks. Without adequate safeguards including robust policies and processes public sector bodies risk service disruption, financial losses, and breaches of public trust. The risk of employees clicking on malicious links is still one of the most prevalent routes to a full-blown cyber-attack, so cyber security starts from the ground up with a robust end-user access policy, as well as a strategic top-down approach. A vCISO can provide a holistic view of the organisation’s cyber resilience and offer clear strategic guidance to inform senior management. It is vital to ensure that the whole organisation understands it can reduce cyber risk and putting plans in place to recover quickly ensures that in the event of an attack there is minimal disruption to operations.
Modernising procurement and preparing for AI integration
The procurement landscape must evolve to keep pace with digital advancements. The public sector has a unique opportunity to leverage its collective purchasing power, securing better deals with technology providers and ensuring that solutions align with long-term transformation strategies.
While AI holds significant promise for streamlining operations and improving decision-making, many public sector systems remain far from AI-ready. Organisations must first address foundational digitalisation challenges, modernising infrastructure, integrating data, and improving interoperability, before AI can deliver real value.
The path forward
The digitalisation of the public sector is not just a technological shift; it is a fundamental rethinking of how public services operate. Legacy modernisation, collaboration, cybersecurity, and procurement reform must be tackled in parallel to ensure transformation efforts deliver real benefits for citizens.
At Redcentric, we are committed to supporting public sector organisations through this journey, offering expertise and solutions that drive efficiency, security, and innovation.
Paul Mardling, CTO, Redcentric commented, ‘With the huge pressure on budgets today, successful digital transformation offers the opportunity to both reduce costs and improve the experience and outcomes for consumers of public services. However, with the wealth of competing priorities it can be hard to get started on that journey which is where an experienced partner like Redcentric can help. We use our wealth of experience across the public and private sectors to help customers on their transformation journeys and support you with all aspects of getting started.’
As the public sector continues to navigate this digital evolution, the message from the PSE event is clear: the time for action is now.
