The Promise of a Data-Empowered Public Sector

Public servants are ready to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalised services, but disconnected data is holding them back. New, trusted data and AI tools are changing that.

Unlocking the power of data in the public sector

Public servants are at the heart of our communities, working tirelessly to support citizens in their moments of need. Yet, their ability to deliver fast, personalised services often comes up against a frustrating obstacle: inaccessible and siloed data.

Citizens today expect the same seamless, intuitive interactions with government agencies that they experience with private-sector services. But meeting these expectations requires more than goodwill — it demands a fundamental shift in how data is accessed, shared, and actioned.

Data empowerment offers a way forward. By making data actionable, public servants can work smarter, respond faster, and provide services that are both efficient and human-centred. The challenge isn’t just about dealing with an overwhelming volume of data — it’s about transforming fragmented information into a unified resource that serves both citizens and the teams supporting them.

A system stuck in silos

Every day, public servants navigate a tangled web of disconnected systems.
Manual processes, outdated technology, and overwhelming backlogs make it nearly impossible to access the right data at the right time.

Imagine a service representative trying to resolve a citizen’s inquiry. The necessary data exists — but it’s scattered across multiple systems, requiring days, sometimes weeks, to pull together. The result? Delays, inefficiencies, and frustrated citizens.

Citizens themselves are ready for change. Research shows that 91% of respondents in Australia and New Zealand are willing to share their data with the government if it leads to better services.

Public servants want to meet these expectations, but the tools available to them often fall short. Without integrated, accessible data, the gap between citizen needs and government capabilities widens—undermining trust and service excellence.

Barriers to data empowerment

The public sector is ready for transformation, but several key challenges stand in the way:

• Siloed data: Legacy systems were designed for storage, not interoperability, making data integration and sharing complex.
• Privacy and security concerns: Rightly cautious data governance practices can inadvertently block progress.
• Skills gap: The rapid pace of technological change — especially with AI — has left many teams unprepared to make the most of new tools. 
• Cultural resistance: Moving from “the way things have always been done” to a data-driven approach requires a fundamental change in mindset and trust.

These barriers create tension between safeguarding data and making it actionable. To truly empower public servants, this tension must be resolved.

Bridging the gap with trusted data and AI tools

Despite these challenges, the opportunity for transformation is immense. The right tools can turn obstacles into progress, enabling public servants to move beyond fragmented data and create a single source of truth.

Unified data systems, like Data Cloud, allow teams to access real-time insights, making faster, smarter decisions that improve service outcomes.

New AI-powered tools like Agentforce are also reshaping the possibilities. As the agentic layer of the Salesforce platform, Agentforce allows governments to deploy autonomous AI agents that automate routine tasks, offer intelligent recommendations, and take action when appropriate — while seamlessly escalating complex cases to human representatives. This collaboration of humans with AI amplifies efficiency and service delivery.

Consider the early successes of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In just 12 weeks, QUT implemented AI solutions to streamline processes and reduce administrative burdens.

James Rail, Program Director at QUT, explains: “We didn’t do AI for the sake of doing AI. We did AI with purpose — to support our staff in being more efficient.”

By streamlining processes with AI, QUT cut inquiry wrap-up times by 50%, allowing advisors to focus on meaningful, student-centric interactions. By grounding its AI implementation in Data Cloud’s robust data controls and protections, QUT built a foundation for responsible innovation—one that ensures AI works for both students and staff.

Towards a data-empowered future

The promise of data empowerment is clear: faster, more equitable, and impactful services that meet rising citizen expectations while allowing public servants to focus on high-value, human-centred work.

But achieving this requires more than just adopting new technology — it means:

• Prioritising the most pressing challenges and identifying where data can drive the biggest impact.
• Aligning stakeholders and securing buy-in to ensure lasting transformation.
• Building a foundation of trust through secure, well-governed data strategies.

The public sector is at a turning point. It’s no longer about whether governments should embrace data and AI — it’s about how to do so responsibly, effectively, and at scale.

Our new white paper, Closing the Tech Gap: Putting Trusted Data in the Hands of the Public Sector, outlines the first steps to getting started. Discover how your organisation can lead the way in the data-driven era of government services.