Artificial intelligence and automation technologies have truly reached enterprise maturity. At least according to the Technology Leaders Agenda 2021 report, which showed CIOs across sectors were investing in AI and automation technologies to transform processes and how they deliver for colleagues, customers and citizens. We will hear how these technologies are being utilised in government - from NHS providers to Whitehall departments - to save costs and provide betters services for the public.

Cloud technologies have underpinned the new tech stack platforms for government and businesses large and small. They have enabled public sector organisations to deliver new digital services at scale, but organisations are still facing the challenges of migrating away from ageing platforms and creaking legacy estates. We will hear from public sector technology leaders and hyperscale innovators about the opportunities provided by hyperscale computing, and the corresponding benefits in agility, improving customer experience and being on the innovation cycle of tech pioneers that cloud computing has enabled.

From ransomware attacks targeting the NHS to state-sponsored campaigns threatening critical national infrastructure and data security in key government institutions, the evolving cyber threat is one of the greatest concerns for public sector technology leaders. We will hear from CISOs and security experts about the threat profile targeting UK bodies, and how government is working with the security industry and partners in the private sector to take a preventative approach to cyber security in the UK.

Cash-strapped local councils are under increasing pressure to deliver slick digital services for citizens, whose expectations have been raised by the digital natives and disruptors like Amazon and Uber. We will hear from technology leaders and chief digital officers working in local government across the UK, many delivering services for hundreds of thousands of citizens, to discuss the tech transformation initiatives, digital services and tech partnerships which are transforming how local services are delivered to businesses and citizens.

You could wake up one morning... and find that one element of your critical infrastructure no longer works." So said Ireland's minister of state for public procurement and eGovernment Ossyian Smith recently, as he relived the ransomware attack on the country's healthcare system. While preventative measures are vital, public sector organisations must also be prepared for the worst. This panel will discuss cybersecurity incident response strategies how to implement Managed Threat Response (MTR).

Given the scale of its annual IT purchases, the UK government has rightly acknowledged its responsibility to be a pioneer in sustainable ICT procurement. But there is much work to be done to cut government IT emissions - which by one estimate make up as much as 38% of the country's IT-related emissions - and ensure its supply chains are free of exploitation and injustice. This discussion will assess progress so far and identify the emerging challenges on the horizon, such as supply chain visibility and social sustainability.  

The experience of workers across the public sector has varied profoundly during the pandemic - the majority of civil servants worked from home while healthcare workers remained at the coalface. But, for all organisations, the pandemic has revealed the extent to which remote and flexible working are possible. In this panel, public sector technology leaders will share how their departments envisions the future of work for its employees and how they are laying the technological foundations. The discussion will pay particular focus to technology teams, and what lessons can be drawn from the experience of working in lockdown to make more these teams more agile, more inclusive, and better connected to their colleagues.