As the fourth industrial revolution rolls on, Australia’s public sector grows increasingly digital and collects more data than ever before.

Through government websites, apps, QR code check-ins and more, Australia’s public sector has never had more first-party data. It’s important that government bodies use this data to benefit citizens, while making sure to keep their private information secure.

Active Intelligence is the next generation of business intelligence, which utilises data to create in-the-moment awareness about every aspect of an organisation, delivering a state of continuous intelligence from real-time, up-to-date information designed to trigger immediate actions.

Moving forward, Active Intelligence will be critical for the success of organisations, particularly those within the public sector, who’ve had to rely on access to real-time information in order to navigate the pandemic.

In particular, the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) have both shown the importance of real-time information in delivering vital resources to Australians over the past two years.

Protecting Australians with real-time information

Since early 2020, the DoH has been using Qlik’s data visualisation and analytics solution to better understand the COVID-19 outbreak and related information, as well as support public communications.

Through Active Intelligence, the DoH has been able to provide curated data to keep the Australian public informed of the unfolding COVID-19 situation on a daily basis. Real-time analysis of disparate datasets has also enabled the DoH to take action based on the current climate, which is critical in a pandemic.

Real-time information has been of paramount importance throughout the pandemic. As we’ve seen through press conferences from both the Prime Minister and state premiers, real-time information has decided debates on how to protect Australians including when/where to lockdown and who to vaccinate.

However, it’s not just from a healthcare perspective that data shows its value.

Real-time intelligence connected people to jobs

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia, hundreds of thousands of citizens lost work in a matter of weeks. In response, the DESE built the Jobs Hub to connect Australians with available roles across the country, utilising real-time data to analyse trends and better fit individuals to roles suited for them.

Built on the Qlik Analytics Platform, Jobs Hub was developed by using over 3,000 data sources, and identifies trends in the labour market, gaining insights into jobs in demand in different areas and matching skillsets to vacant positions. The interactive dashboard provides key labour market statistics and unemployment rate maps, using real-time data to guide jobseekers toward relevant roles.

For both the DoH and DESE, Active Intelligence enabled them to improve the Australian citizen experience through one of our country’s toughest periods. From public health updates and decision making, to helping bridge the unemployment crisis, Active Intelligence has played a crucial role, providing continuous intelligence from real-time, up-to-date information to trigger informed action at every possible turn.

Reaching data’s potential while keeping it secure

While citizens hope their data is utilised to improve their lives—in the way the DoH and DESE have since the start of the pandemic—there is an inherent trust placed in any organisation which holds an individual’s data; people are trusting they will use it appropriately and keep it secure.

Whether data is stored on-premise or in the public cloud, ensuring it is handled, stored, and disposed of to ensure security and privacy is key to maintaining this trust.

Qlik Forts is a hybrid cloud service that runs in a virtual environment on-premises or on any cloud service. Crucially, it can run behind an organisation’s firewall, which means every file, connection and app being analysed never leaves the environment and stays local. As a result, all issues or limitations with data policy, security and governance usually associated with cloud analytics efforts are no longer a problem.

For the public sector to continue its efforts towards Active Intelligence, it must continue to utilise the data available to it, breaking down data siloes to see the full picture and make decisions based on real-time, accurate data. At the same time, it must ensure data is accessed and stored in a secure way that is compliant with all laws and regulations put in place to protect citizens.

By utilising the hybrid cloud through platforms such as Qlik Forts, the public sector can truly unlock Active Intelligence, continuing to use citizen data to improve the lives of citizens across the country.