Three days at the Smart Country Convention 2026 in Berlin, many conversations with customers and partners, and one clear takeaway: The digitisation of public administration will only become apparent in everyday life when technology, government agencies and processes work together seamlessly. At the trade show, artificial intelligence, robotics and solutions for the public sector were on display. However, an important question remains: How can technical possibilities be translated into reliable digital administrative services?
For state and federal agencies, municipalities, and us as an IT partner, this involves more than just individual applications. Citizens and businesses expect user-friendly digital access, transparent processes and minimal effort when submitting applications. Such services require data, responsibilities, and systems to interact effectively across organisational boundaries.
At the Smart Country Convention, the interest in AI-supported solutions for public administration was clear to all visitors and our on-site team, consisting of Janis Just, Greta Rosengren and Sandra Schaack. AI can help to make information easier to find, structure enquiries and support employees with repetitive tasks, for example. However, whether this actually results in improved performance depends on the specific process and how it is implemented.
When it comes to applications and potential benefits in particular, it’s not just a matter of whether a system generates a response. It is also important that the information is up to date and easy to understand. It must also be clear whether results can be reviewed by experts. Furthermore, it must be possible to see when a competent authority makes a decision. Data protection, security and human accountability should therefore be part of the concept from the outset.
One insight from the Berlin discussions is that digitising public administration is most beneficial when it reduces media breaks and duplicate work. Simply using a digital form does not speed up a process if data has to be transferred manually subsequently, or if the agencies involved cannot communicate effectively with one another.
For government agencies to be digitally interconnected, they must therefore have a shared understanding of process steps, responsibilities, and interfaces. What information is already available? Who needs it in the next step? Where do follow-up questions or delays arise? Such questions are not merely technical. They require collaboration between line departments, IT, project managers and external partners.
This is particularly challenging in the public sector, where existing specialised procedures, varying areas of responsibility and established system landscapes cannot be replaced by a single new tool. This makes it all the more important to design digital administrative processes from the perspective of the people who will use and operate them.
It is clear that innovative solutions attract attention at a trade show. However, in day-to-day use, they must function reliably. For public IT projects, this means not reducing quality assurance to a final functional test.
When digitising cross-agency processes, it is important to verify that interfaces respond correctly when data is incomplete or contradictory, that access permissions are upheld, and that a process remains traceable across all systems involved. Other important factors include intuitive user guidance, digital accessibility, performance, and secure handling of errors. For AI-supported functions, additional considerations include the quality of results, transparency, and appropriate human oversight.
For government agencies and IT partners, coordinating a test strategy early on pays off. Business requirements become verifiable, integration risks become apparent sooner, and changes can be validated more effectively. Quality assurance thus supports the technical implementation and trust in government digital services.
The days in Berlin provided plenty of inspiration and valuable discussions with customers and partners. It was particularly motivating to see how concrete the discussions had become regarding ideas for simpler, better-connected public administration. At the same time, it became clear that the future of the public sector will not be determined by the most eye-catching technology, but by whether digital solutions improve processes for people and government agencies.
Through our Public Business Unit, we support this development for our customers and partners, ensuring the quality of the underlying software and processes. Where multiple systems, organisations and user groups converge, robust testing, clear requirements and consistent user-centred implementation are essential. This is how digital transformation can be a reliable source of progress for the public sector.
Are you working on digital administrative services or the integration of specialised procedures?
Talk to us about integrating quality assurance, interface testing and user-centred testing into your project from the outset.