Public sector

Disconnected systems across departments

Many public sector organisations rely on standalone platforms for finance, HR, social care, education and housing. This fragmentation makes it difficult to share data, coordinate services, or provide a unified experience to citizens.

Legacy platforms with limited integration capabilities

Older systems remain critical for day-to-day operations, yet were never built to interact with modern cloud-based platforms. Attempting to connect them without clear strategy leads to technical complexity and growing maintenance burdens.

Data duplication and inconsistent records

Without integration, different departments often maintain their own versions of the same data from citizen records to financial transactions,leading to inefficiencies, errors and compliance risks.

Meeting data privacy, retention and residency requirements

Public organisations face strict obligations under regulations like GDPR, FOI and sector-specific laws. Integration solutions must ensure that personal and sensitive data is handled, stored and accessed in line with these rules, often within specific jurisdictions.

Difficulty sharing data across agencies and partners

Public services increasingly depend on collaboration between councils, healthcare providers, emergency services and third-party contractors. Without secure and structured integrations, data sharing becomes manual, delayed, or non-compliant.

Underinvestment in integration strategy

Digital transformation projects often focus on front-end service delivery, while the integrations between systems are treated as secondary. This results in visible improvements on the surface, but fragile operations behind the scenes.

Poor visibility and auditability of data flows

Without clear integration and governance frameworks, it becomes difficult to track where data moves, who accesses it and how it changes, creating issues with transparency, accountability and regulatory compliance.

Limited internal capacity to manage complex integrations

Many public organisations lack the internal resources or expertise to manage complex integration projects across departments and systems, especially those involving legacy technology or compliance-sensitive environments.

Assuming off-the-shelf integration tools will meet compliance needs

Not all integration platforms account for public sector-specific requirements like data residency, lawful disclosure, or retention rules. Simply implementing generic solutions without tailoring them to regulatory obligations can result in non-compliance.

Underestimating political and administrative complexity

Integration projects in the public sector are often affected by changing leadership, shifting priorities, or cross-department politics. Projects that don’t include governance structures to manage these dynamics risk stalling or being deprioritised.

Ignoring informal data flows between departments

Many organisations rely on unofficial data sharing via spreadsheets, email, or manual reporting outside formal systems. Neglecting to map and integrate these informal practices leaves gaps that undermine the benefits of integration.

Assuming all departments work the same way

A frequent oversight is treating integration as a technical alignment, without recognising that each department may have different processes, data standards, or reporting obligations. Failing to account for this diversity creates solutions that don’t reflect operational realities.

Overlooking the importance of auditability

Public sector integrations must provide a clear trail of how data moves, changes and is accessed. Projects that don’t build auditability into their design risk failing transparency mandates and facing scrutiny during inspections or investigations.

Failing to engage end-users and service teams

Many integration projects focus on IT systems without involving the frontline teams who deliver services to the public. This results in integrations that meet technical objectives but fail to improve or even disrupt daily operations.

Neglecting inter-agency collaboration needs

Public services increasingly depend on sharing data across agencies, councils, or national bodies. Integrations designed in isolation, without considering external data-sharing requirements, create bottlenecks and duplicate efforts.

Leaving information security as an afterthought

Public sector organisations handle sensitive personal and operational data. Integrations that don’t embed security controls from the outset expose agencies to breaches, reputational harm and regulatory penalties.