It’s not uncommon for government communications teams to find themselves with a mixed bag of tools when managing the wide range of tasks to which they are assigned. This is often a result of “shadow IT” – solutions that fly under the radar of IT scrutiny, standard procurement processes and in-depth vendor vetting. 

A combination of tools such as; Mailchimp, Survey Monkey and Eventbrite are common. Easy account setup and pricing that doesn’t attract the attention of procurement or security impact assessments make these appealing options. However, the security risks associated with having disparate sets of data (data silo) across multiple platforms and international jurisdictions are under more scrutiny than ever.

Data protection is now the number one security focus across all levels of government. Furthermore, recent security breaches at Mailchimp highlight the vulnerability of high-profile vendors and the exposure of government agencies to vendors who are not obligated to abide by the Australian Privacy Principles. 

There are usually two approaches to resolving the underlying issues – consolidation and/or integration. 

Integration with a centralised data management system does have its appeal but can be fraught with technical issues with lengthy timelines tying up internal resources. Although this approach somehow mitigates the data silo issue, it is only part of the solution. 

Consolidation presents its own challenges – is there any one vendor that can provide the full range of services to reduce the reliance on multiple service providers? Does any given solution meet the security requirements that Australian government agencies demand? And most importantly, is there buy-in from the end users? 

Ultimately the solution you need will depend on what you are trying to bring together, and let’s be realistic – it is unlikely that any one solution will do it all or at least do it all well. Organisations engage Swift Digital, for example, to consolidate their email, stakeholder engagement, event management, surveys and SMS. We don’t pretend to be a replacement for a CRM or web CMS. 

Solution Selection Tips Early user buy-in 

The key to the long-term success of any solution is just how easy and practical it is for the end user. Understanding how it all works early in the process can save a lot of headaches down the road. 

Don’t get caught out by featuritis – going for the solution that has the most extended list of whistles and bells. 

Over the years, Swift Digital has helped many organisations implement large and complex solutions only to find that they lack the internal resources and expertise to use them. Get a demonstration early in the process involving the people that will be at the coal face in the end. 

IT vetting or pre-approval 

Get your IT/ Security involved in parallel with or ahead of the product assessment phase. There is no point in spending time and resources assessing a solution only to find that they get eliminated by IT. As IT assessments can be lengthy, starting early in the piece is vital. A thorough assessment will include the vendor’s infrastructure, penetration tests, policy assessments and a wide range of security questions to ensure there is minimal risk to your customer data. 

Look to your peers 

Solutions that have been deployed by other departments or agencies within your cluster can pave the way for faster approvals since the heavy lifting has already been done. If the vendor already has a history of working with government agencies, this will naturally pave the way for others to follow and dramatically shortens the procurement timeline. 

Look close to home 

In recent years the requirement for Australian data storage has evolved from a nice to have to a deal breaker. In fact, one of the first questions the Swift Digital sales team are asked, if not the very first, is, “where is the data stored?” 

Localisation of data ensures that you are covered by Australian laws and privacy provisions – not those in Delaware or New York. It’s no longer sufficient to hand off the responsibility of data privacy to jurisdictions outside of Australia. 

Services such as MailChimp are not subject to the Privacy Act 1988, and you will not be able to seek redress under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) but will need to seek redress under the laws of the USA.

Consider the long-term cost of ownership 

What does training and support look like? Does it come at an additional cost? What are the limitations? When the “stuff” hits the fan, and you absolutely need immediate help, can you talk to someone? A recent call from a Swift Digital user on a Sunday afternoon who had locked herself out of her Swift account highlights the importance of access to support. With a last-minute announcement regarding a change in public transport over the weekend, the user needed to regain access to issue an urgent notice. Having access to out-of-hours support meant the Swift Digital user was back on track in minutes. 

Here at Swift Digital, we specialise in servicing the needs of Australian government departments and agencies at all levels, from the RBA to local councils and everything in between. 

Security aside, if I pinpoint just one thing that sets a successful software solution apart from the rest, it would have to be access to support. Software platforms are constantly evolving to meet an ever-changing digital environment, so you need to be able to get help when you need it. 

Communication teams are often small- even in big departments- so your chosen solution stack needs to improve efficiencies – not be an extra technical burden. 

Download Swift Digital’s data and security platform checklist to run security health checks on your organisation, third-party platforms, and vendors.