ISG Provider Lens™ report sees the COVID-19 pandemic driving public sector organizations to embrace digital and virtual work environments

U.S. public sector organizations are transitioning to digital workplaces in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and are turning to service providers to assist with their digital transformations, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions Report for the U.S. Public Sector finds state and municipal governments, public health providers, educational institutions and non-government organizations (NGOs) focused on creating digitally enabled work environments that optimize worker experience, productivity and security. They are also exploring ways to utilize COVID-19 economic recovery grants to invest in IT.

It is unclear how many U.S. workers will return to traditional, in-office workspaces, continue to work remotely or use a hybrid model combining the two, the report says. However, the new work environment is likely to blend aspects of pandemic-driven remote and virtual environments with the characteristics of working in a traditional office.

“The future workplace for the U.S. public sector and their commercial counterparts will be built on digital IT capabilities and services,” said Nathan Frey, partner in the ISG U.S. Public Sector business. “This will require significant transformation of organizations, infrastructure and work cultures into digital business environments, and stronger partnerships with IT and business services providers to prepare for new ways of working and meeting the increasing challenge of attracting and retaining workers.”

Public sector customers are engaging providers to help them frame organizational and operational strategy, assess organizational and technological maturity, enable a seamless employee experience regardless of location and roles, and support changes in culture, habits, security and infrastructure.

From an analysis of publicly available data, ISG says an average of 30 to 35 percent of U.S. public sector and government agency clients use or plan to leverage a managed service provider for their IT landscape.

U.S. public sector customers are interested in adopting a flexible and selective engagement model with managed service providers, where they can pick and choose areas to be managed by service providers and for co-management, the report notes.

The U.S. public sector market was previously dominated by large-scale IT infrastructure managed service providers that offered technical end-user computing services, the report says. The pandemic has accelerated the shift from traditional end-user computing elements toward work-related technologies that serve as key business enablers that can make or break employee experience.

Providers with diverse strengths are now competing in the future of work services market with strategy and transformation services at the core, supported by managed workplace services and an overarching focus on employee experience to prepare customer workplaces and workforces for the future of work.

The rise in modern low-code/no-code development, the democratization of IT and an emphasis on digital dexterity and reskilling have led to a laser focus on managed services that can enhance and improve the experience of end users and prepare them for the changing ways of working, the report says.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for the U.S. Public Sector evaluates the capabilities of 22 providers in one quadrant: Digital Workplace Services for the U.S. Public Sector.

The report names Accenture, Digital Workplace Group, HCL, IBM, KPMG, Leidos, PwC and Unisys as Leaders in the quadrant. Zensar is named a Rising Star—a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition.

Customized versions of the report are available from Digital Workplace Group and Unisys.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for the U.S. Public Sector is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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