Tech changes, talent endures: what 20 years in government taught me

During a panel in Colombo last month, I was asked a seemingly simple question: if I were to become a CIO in another country with a large budget, what would I do first?  

My answer was to invest in talent, rather than new applications or technology.  

That answer draws on 20 years of experience across four government institutions, from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and Jakarta provincial government to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, and now the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.  

These roles have shown me how technology can change the way the government works. But building digital systems does not automatically improve services.  

Technology needs people who understand problems, collaborate across institutional boundaries, and see services from the public's perspective.  

Ultimately, digital transformation is measured by whether services become more accessible, inclusive, and trusted.

Citizens should not need to understand government structures  

My experience across these institutions has reinforced one principle: citizens should not need to understand government bureaucracy to access public services.

At the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, my work covered cybersecurity, personal data protection and e-government.  

At Jakarta Smart City, digital transformation became more closely connected to everyday life through the JAKI super-app.  

Later, at the Data and Information Technology Centre (Pusdatin), I worked on Rumah Pendidikan, an integrated platform bringing together various education services under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. 

Despite different contexts, these initiatives address a common challenge.  

Citizens should not need to know which department holds their data, who manages an application or which systems operate behind the scenes.  

They simply want to access services easily, securely, and with confidence. 

Achieving this requires more than connecting applications or databases. Systems must communicate, institutional processes must align, and responsibilities must be clearly defined.  

Integration does not mean merging every system into one giant application.  

Existing systems can continue to operate if supported by trusted digital identities, sound data governance, interoperability, cybersecurity, privacy protection, and clear accountability.  

At JAKI, citizens' accounts provide a link between services.  

Similarly, the belajar.id account helps users access services within the Rumah Pendidikan ecosystem without having to start from scratch each time.  

This is how I interpret "Government Without Borders", the theme of the Colombo panel.

Boundaries between institutions remain necessary to preserve authority and accountability.  

We need to reduce the boundaries citizens experience when accessing services. 

Interoperability, therefore, is not merely a technical matter. It requires governance and collaboration to ensure that integration genuinely improves the public's experience.  

Digital by default, but not digital only  

Integrated services are not necessarily inclusive. Connectivity, access to devices and digital readiness vary across Indonesia, and service design must reflect these differences.

At Rumah Pendidikan, for example, some teaching resources and learning content in Ruang GTK, the teacher learning application, and Ruang Murid, the student learning application, can be saved for offline access when internet connectivity is limited. 

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education's Integrated Service Unit (ULT) follows a similar principle.  

Members of the public can ask questions or submit complaints in person, through a call centre, WhatsApp, email, or online services. 

These alternative channels matter because not everyone has the same devices, internet access, or digital skills.  

Relying on a single digital channel risks excluding the very people who need assistance.  

The success of digitalisation cannot therefore be measured simply by whether an online service exists.  

The government must ensure that people facing barriers to access can still receive the services they need. 

Putting this into practice requires government to understand users' circumstances, provide suitable alternatives, and continually assess whether services are accessible to different groups. 

Technology changes, talent endures  

Returning to the question in Colombo, why did I choose to invest in talent?

Technology evolves quickly. Platforms change, architectures develop, and AI creates new possibilities.  

But the government's ability to benefit from these changes depends on people who understand problems, are willing to learn and can lead change.  

Digital talent needs more than technical expertise. Two capabilities are particularly important: communication and empathy.  

First, technology leaders must translate complex issues into language that senior leaders, employees, partners and the public can understand.  

Explaining what we are building is not enough. We must also explain why it matters, which problem it addresses, and how the change will be delivered.  

Good communication helps align stakeholders with different responsibilities and priorities. Without it, even a sound technical solution may struggle to gain support or be used as intended.  

Second, empathy means understanding users' experiences before deciding on a solution. I associate this with Theory U, which emphasises opening the mind, heart and will to change.  

A teacher with limited internet connectivity, a pupil, a parent, a headteacher, a local government authority, and a member of the public submitting a complaint will have different needs.

Understanding these perspectives helps us identify problems that might otherwise remain invisible.

Communication and empathy are not simply additional skills for technology leaders.  

They help ensure that decisions remain grounded in the needs of the people who will use the services. 

From announcing to listening  

Since becoming Head of the Bureau of Communication and Public Relations, I have seen another dimension of digital transformation: how government understands public responses to its services and policies.

Media analytics and AI allow government to analyse public conversations, questions, complaints and sentiment at scale. These tools can reveal patterns and help identify issues requiring attention.  

However, data does not always explain the context behind a complaint.  

Figures and sentiment  indicate that a problem exists, but understanding why it occurred requires communication and empathy.  

Public communication need to go beyond announcing government initiatives, but also provide a mechanism for listening to citizens and feeding their views back to programme and service managers.  

This creates a cycle of improvement, where citizens share their experiences, government examines the problems, and feedback informs better services and policies.  

The same principle applies to AI. The first question should not be, 'Where can we use AI?' but rather, 'What problem are we trying to solve?'  

When decisions affect people's rights, access to services, or opportunities, human responsibility must remain clear.  

AI can support decision-making, but its use must not obscure who is accountable for the outcome.  

Automate the task, but do not automate accountability.  

Measuring what really matters  

Twenty years across technology, digital services, and public communication have changed how I measure digital transformation. 

The number of applications built, technological sophistication, and international recognition can indicate progress.  

But they do not necessarily demonstrate that government is serving the public better.  

Rumah Pendidikan's recognition in the e-Government category of the 2026 WSIS Prizes, alongside my recognition as a World CIO 200 Winner for 2026, has provided an opportunity to share Indonesia's public-sector experience with technology leaders from different countries and industries. 

These exchanges have highlighted shared challenges between government and industry: using AI responsibly, maintaining digital security and trust, developing talent, and ensuring that innovation delivers tangible benefits. 

Recognition, however, does not bring transformation to an end.  

Ensuring that services remain inclusive, systems work together, and technology is used responsibly requires continuous effort as public needs evolve. 

Digital transformation is not primarily about how much technology government successfully builds, but how well it understands the people it serves. 

-------------------------------------------- 

The author is Head of the Bureau of Communication and Public Relations at Indonesia's Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. He previously served as Head of the Data and Information Technology Centre at the same ministry and led Jakarta Smart City. He holds a DPhil in Cyber Security from the University of Oxford.