Hybrid cloud offers a wide range of capabilities – Photo: Disclosure

The turbulent global scenario with inflation and labor shortage has forced governments to enter the digital age once and for all. Government IT spending will top $589 billion by the end of this year, up 7.6% from 2022, according to Gartner.

To offer more and better services to citizens, much of this investment is focused on application modernization, with 57% of government CIOs planning to focus on this area.

“Upgrading is a process that enhances the performance and power of older systems rather than replacing them. This allows government agencies to increase flexibility and budgets for strategic projects, influencing innovation and the delivery of new digital services to citizens,” explains Thiago Araki, senior director of technology at Red Hat Latin America.

This involves replacing existing legacy workloads and moving them to a modern cloud platform, typically Kubernetes. A task that can seem daunting without the right set of tools.

“Investment in application modernization is expected to increase by supporting more software-as-a-service solution offerings, especially those based on open source. Open source allows you to innovate more efficiently over time and at a lower cost. Access to technology becomes much faster and more democratic, and bureaucracy in the government procurement process is also reduced,” emphasizes Paulo Bonucci, senior vice president and general manager of Red Hat Latin America.

The value of hybrid cloud

Open source tools enable governments to integrate new digital capabilities with a wide range of legacy platforms, gradually moving to new platforms that enable the rapid and efficient development and delivery of digital services and the sharing of information across silos. Among the various solutions that contribute to the modernization process, hybrid cloud is without a doubt central.

The cloud is no longer a technology solution used to reduce costs, but has become a strategic element enabling scalability and innovation in governments around the world. “Due to the volume of information stored and processed by governments, supporting the hybrid cloud is essential. Applications and operations can be moved securely, standards-compliant, and with the transparency that open source offers,” says Herman Soracco, vice president of sales and head of cloud business at Red Hat Latin America.

Integrating different application elements across different clouds allows you to use flexible enabling tools to connect services or applications in different environments, managing different APIs and protocols.

“By modernizing applications on a cloud-native platform, you can speed up application delivery, which is a critical factor for governments, while also managing the speed of adoption and scalability of technologies and increasing operational efficiency,” explains Paulo Sechin, director of sales at Red Hat Brazil.

With Red Hat Migration Tools, governments can plan to transform and modernize their applications with a comprehensive open hybrid cloud solution that includes Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®, Red Hat OpenShift® and Red Hat Ansible® Automation Platform.

“Having cutting-edge tools and disruptive solutions is critical for institutions, but it is only the first step towards a successful digital transformation. These investments must be accompanied by learning strategies and specialized training that allows the organization’s culture to expand at the same speed as innovation,” emphasizes Marilia Sturm, Head of Public Sector Sales at Red Hat Brasil.

Modernization culture

In Latin America, most governments have already recognized the need to modernize their IT to offer more flexible and efficient services to the public while improving their governance. Proof of this is that in 2022, of the 33 countries in the region, including the Caribbean, 58% (19) exceeded the global average level of digitalization, and six (Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and Peru) were located on very high level in the Electronic Government Development Index (EDGI).

“Our technologies offer governments and companies the flexibility and stability to drive digital transformation with the ability to scale and respond quickly to crises. In addition, we have an extensive ecosystem of partners who can modernize legacy systems and support customers on their digital journey, providing fundamental knowledge and services to safely accelerate this process,” reinforces Sandra Vaz, vice president of Red Hat’s partner ecosystem. Latin America.

Governments can continue to harness the benefits of digitalization by embracing open innovation and driving a cultural shift focused on agility, resilience and governance. “Those who do this will achieve greater results, such as improved tax laws, effective assistance to people in vulnerable situations, inclusive growth, safe communities, a net-zero emission economy and resilient and sustainable physical infrastructure,” concludes Alexandre Duarte. Vice President of Services, Red Hat Latin America.