Challenges, risks and opportunities of using document automation solutions for public authorities
Citizens berate it. Politicians criticise it. Administrative staff groan under its weight. The press criticises its condition. What ist this about? Digitalisation, automation and simply modernisation of the public sector. But how have public authorities actually digitalised themselves and what could help to optimise the coexistence of paper documents and digital processes?
Following World War II and the civilisational rupture caused by National Socialism, the administrative apparatus in both German states underwent fundamental changes. A little-known fact is that as early as the 1950s, both the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) began computerising public institutions. Computing centres were established at universities such as Munich, Marburg, and Göttingen in the West, and Rostock, Potsdam, and Jena in the East. In 1956, the Federal Insurance Institute for Employees (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte, BfA) in Berlin began using a digital computer to assist with pension calculations. A year later, magnetic drum computers were deployed across the FRG to advance the implementation of dynamic old-age pensions.
With the reunification in 1990, automation processes in administration and the digitalisation of documents and communication channels gained particular momentum. Electronic records and online services were gradually introduced to optimise processes and facilitate access for people. Today, over 80 percent of people in Germany use digital administrative services. Would you like more information?
… work in the public sector in Germany. Most of them work in administration, schools or for the police.
… older than 50 years (in 2024).
… is spent on administrative costs.
... are invested in the digitalisation of public administration.
... currently offer any online services at all.
In the summer of 2024, the eGovernment Benchmark Report revealed that Germany ranks near the bottom in the European comparison for digitalisation and automation of public administration. The 66 out of 100 possible points is even 10 points below the European average and far behind Estonia (92 points), Finland (88 points), or neighbouring countries such as Luxembourg (92 points), Denmark (85 points), or the Netherlands (85 points). This indicates a need and potential for improvement - for instance, through future-oriented solutions like ICO.Match, a document recognition software for efficient processing of digitally submitted documents.
Whether it's tax authorities, the job centre, pension insurance providers or citizen services: whenever evidence from the past - such as pay slips or birth certificates - meets future requirements - such as correct pension payments or a new passport - there is a coexistence of paper and digital documents.
As this affects every person in a state, the volume of documents is enormous. To advance the digitalisation of administration in a truly future-oriented and efficient manner, highly performant document processing is required. The document recognition software ICO.Match outperforms various providers of previous IDP software (IDP stands for Intelligent Document Processing) through a unique combination of artificial intelligence and rule-based approaches with optimal data protection assurance.
In real-time, not only the appearance but also the contents of the entire photographed or scanned paper document are recognised: What document class is it? What layout and text information does it contain? What do the numbers in it mean? With such software, the administrative apparatus can generate actual data quality and not just a large number of random digitised documents. Taking this further, by connecting a software solution like ICO.Fraud, it could be possible to detect potential document fraud - for instance in social welfare offices.
