The way the New Zealand government buys technology is about to change in a big way. 

A Cabinet paper from Judith Collins, the minister for digitising government, has outlined and approved a plan to centralise IT and digital-related government procurement decisions within the Department of Internal Affairs.

Facing up to $13 billion in planned technology spending, with only two-thirds of it funded, the DIA team knew something had to change. 

“The underlying issue is fragmentation,” explained Paul James, the Government Chief Digital Officer and key architect of the procurement changes. 

“We are very highly digitised as a public service. But they’ve digitised in a way that leaves us very fragmented. Each agency has got their own systems, their own applications, and their own points of connection with a customer. So it’s fragmented for New Zealanders, and it’s expensive, as a result,” he told me on this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, where we were joined by Myles Ward, who will assume the new role of Chief Technology Officer for the government. 

We also talk about AI's adoption across government, digital driver's licences, and how the digital trust framework in development could underpin a youth social media ban here.

Listen to the full conversation on episode 118 of The Business of Tech powered by 2degrees Business, streaming on iHeartRadio and wherever you get your podcasts.

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