CEO Offers Government Advice

The federal government could take a few pointers from the private sector if it expects to meet its goal of placing all of its services online by 2003, Lawrence Weinbach, president and CEO of Unisys said at Tuesday's E-Gov 2000 Conference.

Until every American has equal access to technology, the government will have to provide both the traditional face-to-face service and online services, Weinbach said. And once the services are online, citizens must have access to exactly the same things they would in a bricks-and-mortar office.

To get there, the private sector can provide valuable lessons for the government as it tries to get wired. Government should focus on: customer service expectations, transaction infrastructure, privacy and security issues, talent and alliances, he said.

When the government goes online, it must make certain that it does not create frustrations and doing it right will provide "tremendous political benefit because citizens don't have to wait in line for these things," he said.

Privacy and security is of enormous importance as sensitive information is transmitted over the Internet and as more virus attacks are launched. To craft workable policies "the private and public sectors must work together to create the right environment. The government is going to have to play a role if it will work," he said.

Finding qualified employees also will be a challenge, because government and business are competing for the same workers and turnover among high-tech workers is dramatic, he said. By 2004, Weinbach expects a 7 million to 8 million shortfall of IT workers worldwide, making competition even more fierce.