Executive authorities under the quarantine conditions: Artem Sitalo’s conclusions for the “Novoye Vremya. Business”
Executive authorities under the quarantine conditions: Artem Sitalo’s conclusions for the “Novoye Vremya. Business”

Exclusively for the “Novoye Vremya. Business”, Artem Sitalo, Head of the Implementation and Support Department, Central Office of the State-Owned IT enterprise “INFOTECH”, analyzed the success achieved and issues faced by the Executive branch of government during the pandemic.

As they say, trouble doesn’t come alone, but it also brings grief. This proverb also applies to the situation the Executive finds itself in since the quarantine exposed all of the existing issues with the automation process management they employ. However, it should be noted that these issues, albeit severe, did not affect everyone.

State authorities, which have long understood the feasibility of automating management processes and have made appropriate efforts to do so, easily withstand the restrictions imposed. Nowadays, a centralized methodology of accounting, planning and management of decisions considered to be the main principle of automation; this principle applies to the automation of the Executive bodies to a higher degree than it does to other branches of government.

The issue of document management stands out among the rest. The majority of institutions automate only the workstations used by clerks. Elsewhere, document management is performed the same way as always, in paper form. Even failing to consider the enormous financial cost of this approach, its inefficiency is evident nevertheless. Our experience with the introduction of the digital document management at the Ministry of Internal Affairs demonstrated that the speed of processing and execution of documents increased manyfold. At the same time, it became possible to control the performance of the document deadlines, enabling determination where the longest delays occur, and, accordingly, improve the efficiency of these departments. Changing the old, clumsy system in a few months was a real challenge for us; therefore, such results delight us.

Nevertheless, there are still cases for the issues mentioned above.

First, many departments do not have a single automation policy for their activities. As a result, subordinate institutions of such departments make decisions on automation independently. Thus, they end up using different products, approaches and methods to solve the same issues. As a result, the uniform principles of accounting and various reporting documents violated, data exchange complicated or made impossible.

Second, there exists an issue with communication channels and networks. For the majority of the Executive bodies, these issues are purely technical, such as the lack of communication channels or their poor quality. However, existing channels also suffer from problems with the legal regulation of the security of information. According to the current legislation, the internal network of an Executive body must not be connected to the Internet. This precaution makes access from the outside impossible, which would be rather appropriate under the quarantine conditions. The use of duly configured VPN networks could solve this issue, but, for the time being, such networks not permitted as a means of organizing remote access.

What are the consequences of these issues for the people?


First, these are delays in logistics chains. Such hindrances result in the delayed supply of the State institutions with inventory that, in turn, leads to some well-known issues, ranging from the lack of specialized documents to the lack of medicines in hospitals. Typically, we got accustomed that problems with the provision supply stem only from insufficient funding, even though a large number of issues in this area are directly dependent on a well-established and automated logistics system.

Second, the use of a paper document management system does not permit prompt processing of citizens’ applications, which, consequently, delay the execution of the necessary measures. Moreover, paper appeals can be lost wandering through numerous corridors and offices. The current legislation foresees a one-month term for applications from citizens to get considered and resolved. Experience indicates that appeals can be processed much faster, provided this process is automated. Nationwide, it means around a thousand applications processed daily. Furthermore, for every person, their appeal is the most important and urgent one, meaning that any delay in consideration directly affects the affairs, and sometimes even the fate of the people.

What are the ways to solve these issues?


First, there’s a need for an increase in awareness paid by the Heads of the Executive bodies to complex automation methods currently available and results of their implementation. Such perception will further their understanding that consequences of automation go far beyond simplifying the work of a particular accountant, financier or a clerk. Automation affects the efficiency of the institution as a whole and accordingly speaks about the effectiveness of its manager.

Second, the legal framework that regulates the building of secure networks and their certification needs to be simplified. At present, this procedure is too complicated and excessively expensive for the majority of the Executive bodies. The major obstacle to the digitalization of the majority of processes in the area of public administration is the complexity of establishing secure communication channels and networks.

Looking ahead into the future, I hope that appropriate changes will take place soon, capable of facilitating the establishment of secure systems for each body of the Executive. Such changes will give a powerful charge to the automation of the public sector and, of course, will affect the efficiency of the Executive branch of government as a whole.

A link to the expert column.