Cyber security, cloud, managing vendors, improving digital performance and balancing the budget are top of mind for government Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

The ongoing transformation to a digital Australia will also drive increased investment in generative AI technologies in 2024, particularly tools for software development and code generation but needs to be developed with caution.

Kinetic IT is a leading Australian IT provider, delivering tailored solutions to federal, state and territory government customers including the Department of Defence, Australian Taxation Office, Victoria Police, Western Australian Police Force, WA Department of Justice, WA Department of Education and Qantas. As a national onshore provider, Kinetic IT is at the forefront of these technologies helping CIOs to overcome IT challenges while keeping control of their IT budget.

Kinetic IT Group Executive for Government, Education & Critical Infrastructure Wayne Berriman said the company’s specialists were guiding customers through a rapidly changing technology landscape across Australia. From creating significant cost and resource efficiencies in schools from the Kimberley to Albany, integrating policing systems to increase the speed of identification of suspects to fight crime, and using AI technology to share and build knowledge faster across our service desk staff. The level of technological advancement seen in the last few years across our customers has significantly increased.

“Decision-making at the top level must be data-driven and informed – how many devices do you have on your network? Are your IT practices adequately protecting your data and systems? Understanding what your IT environment looks like ensures your IT decisions and investments endure over time.

“We know cyber security and cloud solutions are dominating IT buying decisions, and public sector CIOs know they’ll need to invest further – choosing a local provider with a range of domain capabilities can provide strong business outcomes,” he said.

Craig Roberts, Manager, Information Security at Wannon Water in Victoria, said what began as an initial engagement with Kinetic IT for cyber security services soon created greater operational opportunities for the water sector agency.

“Kinetic IT’s cyber security solution PROTECT+ and its 24×7 monitoring and Security Operations Centre services have provided us insights, detection, and threat response capabilities that we just didn’t have the resources to do on our own, and they have become a pivotal part of our cyber defence toolkit. We have also come to value and rely on Kinetic IT’s sound advice and consulting on cyber issues and projects.

“We find Kinetic IT to be reliable, dependable, and honest, and we highly value the cyber security advice and services they provide us.”

With the recently released Australian Cyber Security Strategy elevating the protection of critical infrastructure to the highest level, Wayne said it is essential to engage Australian providers with sovereign capabilities.

“CIOs are acutely aware of the need to safeguard sensitive data and ensure compliance with regulations governing data residency and privacy,” Wayne said. “As CIOs navigate the vendor landscape, they must seek partners who can provide solutions that address both data sovereignty requirements and budget constraints. Partnering with IT providers who offer robust security measures, data residency guarantees, and flexible pricing models can enable CIOs to meet their objectives.”

Meeting the challenge of new and emerging technologies adds another layer to the CIO’s already complex job: Budget management. Balancing the need for innovation and technology investments with cost optimisation is a delicate yet essential task.

Kinetic IT is an expert in this area, with a proven-track record for delivering solutions that align to customer expectations on both cost and organisational requirements. During a particular cloud migration project for a state government customer. Kinetic IT leveraged its extensive experience with AWS and Azure to develop a cloud cost evaluation and optimisation approach that assist in effective control of their cloud spending.

Wayne said that Kinetic IT’s approach ensured public sector customers were well placed to adapt to new technologies such as generative AI.

“From the outset, we build your IT environment in partnership with internal teams to make sure the infrastructure in place delivers in alignment to your business goals or strategies, ITIL best practices and so the ecosystem can adapt with new challenges such as generative AI.

“Our customers have skilfully navigated artificial intelligence’s rapid uptake in the workplace through faster delivery of policies and processes provided by Kinetic IT, as well as leveraging their already well-protected IT environments, leading to greater outcomes for the Australian citizens our customers serve.”

Find out more about Kinetic IT’s government technology solutions and successes.