Helping public sector consolidate IT for better oversight and control

With digitalisation becoming the norm globally, public sector organisations have found themselves managing increasingly complex IT environments where tool sprawl and makeshift solutions often create operational gaps and security risks.

This decentralises information systems and introduces security and compliance risks. This is problematic for public sector agencies with highly regulated and complex IT environments.

Fragmented and overly complicated digital workplaces lead employees to seek ways to work more efficiently or conveniently. This can take the form of unauthorised hardware, software, or cloud-based services.

Studies show that an estimated 50–70 per cent of employees use some form of IT systems that are not sanctioned.

In other words, Shadow IT often inadvertently circumvents rigid corporate or governance IT structures.

To combat tool sprawl, the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore) adopts a centralised, shared infrastructure to reduce duplication and prevent fragmentation while developing the Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS).

To help public agencies like GovTech Singapore achieve this goal, TeamViewer enables them to consolidate, simplify, and secure digital operations by bringing solutions together under one platform. This allows organisations to move to a “one vendor, one solution” framework.

Improving operational efficiency

TeamViewer’s digital employee experience (DEX) solution is particularly effective in eliminating bottlenecks and allowing agencies to proactively identify and fix IT issues before they become disruptive or impact service delivery.

It also enables IT teams to maintain stronger security standards through features such as single sign-on (SSO), two-factor authentication (2FA), and centralised policy management.

Research shows that tackling recurring tech issues costs IT professionals more than 52 hours annually in troubleshooting the same issues time and again. And the problems are compounded by an increasingly hybrid workforce.

IT support teams are tackling more endpoints, users and environments than ever before. As part of this, they onboard employees, resolve tickets and manage remote infrastructure.

TeamViewer DEX provides real-time visibility and automated fixes that resolve issues proactively.

With Singapore implementing hybrid work arrangements for public sector employees, under the tripartite guidelines for flexible work, public sector organisations can use DEX to address IT issues early and automate common fixes before they slow down employees (with avoidable glitches) or affect workplace productivity.

TeamViewer DEX also monitors endpoint health and security, ensuring employees have reliable access to the tools they need without disruption.

When issues do occur, IT teams can provide secure remote support with full session visibility and logging, maintaining both productivity and accountability across the organisation.

DEX means IT teams can move faster and reduce manual workloads, allowing agencies to focus on their core priorities: implement citizen-centric policies and give employees reliable, high-performing tools that work exactly as needed.

With cloud and on-prem deployment options, government departments can meet data residency requirements while maintaining visibility across devices and systems. This means top-tier security protocols and optimal operational efficiency across all their digital infrastructure remain aligned with the objectives as laid out by government policies laid out by GovTech Singapore.

TeamViewer maintains security and governance while reducing manual oversight through centralised policies and auditability.

TeamViewer DEX automates the patching, software management, and device lifecycle insights, so that agencies can keep devices secure, updated, and compliant without relying on constant manual intervention.

AI should be under human control

While artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool, it should always operate under human oversight and have clear governance.

TeamViewer sees AI as something that supports employees and IT teams, not something that eliminates them.

TeamViewer DEX uses AI to simplify documentation, automate repetitive processes, generate reports, and create remediation scripts more efficiently.

However, these actions operate within policies and guardrails defined by the organisation, ensuring AI-driven activities remain transparent, controlled, and aligned with governance requirements.

The goal is to provide teams with the tools to work faster and more effectively while guaranteeing the right checks, approvals, and oversight.

TeamViewer DEX also helps agencies measure digital effectiveness through direct employee feedback, not just technical metrics.

It regularly gathers employee sentiment feedback to understand whether IT teams are resolving issues effectively and whether digital tools are improving the public officers’ experience.

By combining technical insights with employee sentiments, organisations gain a clearer picture of how digital experiences impact productivity and service delivery. This reduces digital friction by continuously improving the day-to-day experience of public officers.

It also allows IT teams to move beyond reactive support and proactively optimise the digital workplace based on real usage patterns and feedback.

As a result, public officers operate in a more stable, responsive, and predictable environment, building trust in the tools they rely on every day.

Combining technology with human oversight

Just as governments aim to deliver citizen-centric policies, TeamViewer focuses on delivering customer-centric solutions.

Automation reduces the number of repetitive tasks, while remote access and support mean IT teams can still step in quickly when human intervention is needed.

The public sector is susceptible to sophisticated cyber-attacks. These incidents can have an impact on public safety and public trust.

This is why the Singapore government and others around the world have established processes and oversight mechanisms to track IT systems and their usage.

The solution’s robust auditability and visibility provide agencies the ability to maintain continuous compliance and endpoint governance at scale by combining secure remote access controls with proactive endpoint management.

You can track and document every action, session, and remediation. This is valuable for organisations to maintain visibility, accountability, and compliance while delivering a smoother digital experience for employees.

With TeamViewer, IT teams can control who accesses devices, what they can do during a session, and when they are allowed to connect.

TeamViewer works closely with public sector organisations to ensure technology aligns with their priorities around security, transparency, compliance, and operational efficiency.

With resources like the TeamViewer Trust Center and our AI security documentation, organisations can understand how our solutions work, how data is protected, and how we approach privacy, governance, and compliance standards.

Staying ahead of security concerns

Staying ahead of evolving security concerns remains a key focus across the platform.

This consistency is key to enabling high-touch, citizen-centric services like Singpass and MyInfo because when technology is reliable and continuously improving, public officers can focus fully on engaging with citizens –not working around IT limitations.

We understand that most employees don’t want to troubleshoot technology issues; they want the tools they use to just work.

That is exactly where TeamViewer DEX supports a shift-left approach. Shift-left is a software development and project management strategy that moves testing, quality assurance, and security checks to earlier stages in the development cycle.

This aligns with the Singapore government’s own shift-left strategy.

It uses proactive, non-intrusive automations — based on policies and parameters defined by IT teams — to resolve common issues like application crashes before employees need to raise a support ticket.

The result is that frontline public officers can stay focused on their responsibilities without needing additional technical expertise, while IT teams can spend more time on higher-value initiatives.

As we say, the goal is to “fix it before they feel it.”

---------------
The author is President of TeamViewer for the Asia-Pacific region, responsible for Southeast Asia, Greater China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand (APAC).