From Agency IT to Whole-of-Government Platforms: A Modular Approach to Digital Transformation

The Rise of Centralised Digital Infrastructure

Governments worldwide are facing increasing demands for efficient and scalable digital services. Instead of each agency developing its own IT systems, many countries are now embracing whole-of-government digital infrastructure strategies. These strategies utilize reusable and interoperable software components—known as "building blocks"—to create shared platforms. This approach reduces duplication, enhances citizen experience, and accelerates deployment.

This article delves into the case for this modular, centralised approach. It examines key initiatives like India Stack and GovStack, contrasting them with decentralised models. We argue that a shared infrastructure model, grounded in government-wide strategy and policy, is essential for effective digital transformation.

Why Centralised Approaches Are Gaining Ground

Centralised digital infrastructure enables governments to create reusable services such as digital identity, payment gateways, and credential wallets. These services can be developed once and deployed across multiple sectors. This not only cuts costs but also ensures consistency. Furthermore, it supports interoperability among ministries, departments, and agencies, simplifying the scaling of services on a national level.

For instance, India Stack serves as a pioneering model of national digital infrastructure. It provides open APIs and modular components—such as Aadhaar (digital ID), e-KYC, e-Sign, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—that are utilized across various sectors to deliver seamless digital services. Instead of duplicating IT systems, different ministries integrate shared building blocks to provide their services.

Similarly, the GovStack initiative focuses on developing standardised, open-source "building blocks" for governments to create interoperable platforms. These building blocks—such as identity, payments, messaging, and digital credential wallets—can be assembled flexibly. This allows countries to adopt, adapt, and expand digital platforms in a cost-effective manner.

What Are Building Blocks?

Building blocks (BBs) are modular, reusable software components. They can function independently or be combined into more complex systems. BBs possess several key characteristics:

• Interoperable: Designed to work seamlessly with other blocks.

• Composable: Can be assembled flexibly to meet specific needs.

• Scalable: Built for high-volume national use.

• Accessible: Exposed through standard APIs.

  
  

Examples of building blocks include:

• Virtualisation Infrastructure: This includes compute, storage, and network resources, creating flexible capacity that can be dynamically allocated. This approach avoids the need for each agency to purchase and manage its own hardware.

• Digital Credential Wallets: These secure containers store and verify digital credentials, such as qualifications or government-issued IDs. Individuals can access these wallets to prove their identity or attributes.

• Consent and Access Management Blocks: These ensure that data sharing adheres to policy and privacy settings.

  
  

By leveraging these building blocks, governments can concentrate on service delivery and policy outcomes, rather than on bespoke IT builds.

Modular Platforms vs. Siloed Systems

A decentralised model, where each agency builds and manages its own IT systems, often leads to duplication, incompatibility, and inefficiency. Data silos emerge, requiring citizens to resubmit the same information to multiple departments. This increases cybersecurity risks and complicates upgrades or integrations.

Conversely, a centralised platform model addresses many of these challenges. A national digital infrastructure can provide shared capabilities that are maintained at scale, ensuring consistent security, governance, and monitoring. It also facilitates the launch of cross-agency services, such as a unified citizen portal or a national digital ID.

Case Study: India Stack

India Stack exemplifies how shared digital infrastructure can revolutionise public service delivery. Its components include:

• Aadhaar: A biometric-based digital identity system.

• e-KYC: A know-your-customer verification service.

• UPI: The Unified Payments Interface for real-time transactions.

• DigiLocker: A digital document storage solution.

  
  

Together, these components enable government and private services to authenticate users, exchange verified documents, and facilitate instant payments—all through interoperable, reusable APIs.

India Stack has significantly enhanced digital inclusion, expanded financial access, and reduced the cost of service delivery. Its approach offers valuable insights for governments aiming for scale, security, and innovation.

GovStack: Supporting Global Adoption

GovStack builds on the principles established by India Stack and provides a blueprint for other countries. It offers open standards and community-driven governance to assist governments in deploying secure, interoperable platforms. Its core principles include:

• Building Block Methodology: Clear design rules for combining software components.

• Technical Specifications: For services like payments, identity, messaging, and digital credentials.

• Vendor-Neutral Architecture: This fosters a competitive ecosystem.

  
  

GovStack aims to help governments avoid vendor lock-in and costly duplication by promoting open, standardised, and interoperable software that can be reused across sectors.

The Role of Virtualisation and Cloud-Native Infrastructure

Modern digital platforms rely heavily on virtualised infrastructure, encompassing compute, storage, and networking resources that can be dynamically allocated. Instead of physically provisioning hardware for each department, governments can create virtual environments using shared cloud-based data centres.

• Compute is virtualised using hypervisors or container orchestration.

• Storage is abstracted and replicated for resilience.

• Networks are software-defined and segmented for enhanced security.

  
  

This virtualisation layer enables rapid scaling and flexible deployment of digital services. By using APIs, digital teams can provision infrastructure in minutes, significantly reducing time to launch and simplifying upgrades.

Reusable Services: The Example of Digital Credential Wallets

Digital credential wallets illustrate how building blocks can facilitate new services. These wallets store and manage verifiable credentials, such as licenses, certificates, or qualifications. Citizens can use them to prove their identity or rights without needing to carry physical documents.

GovStack’s Wallet Building Block is designed to support decentralised, verifiable digital information. Its specifications allow for:

• Interoperability with other building blocks.

• Multiple wallet formats, including mobile and web.

• Secure exchange of credentials through standard APIs.

  
  

This functionality is particularly beneficial in sectors like education, healthcare, and labor, where trusted credentials are essential across agencies.

Challenges and Risks of Centralisation

While centralising infrastructure offers numerous benefits, it is not without risks:

• Over-Centralisation: This can reduce agility or lead to bottlenecks.

• Implementation Gaps: Differences between ministries can create friction.

• Governance Issues: Ensuring transparency and accountability is crucial.

  
  

To mitigate these challenges, governments should adopt a modular centralisation approach. This involves using shared building blocks while allowing flexibility at the application layer. Strong policy, governance, and funding frameworks are also essential for success.

Rethinking Digital Transformation as a Shared Endeavour

The future of digital government lies in modular, shared infrastructure. National platforms that utilise standardised building blocks, like those developed through India Stack and GovStack, enable faster innovation, improved security, and more integrated citizen services.

Instead of allowing each agency to build its own systems, governments should view digital infrastructure as a strategic national asset. With the right architecture, they can reduce duplication, streamline operations, and better serve the needs of citizens.

www.GeorgeJamesConsulting.com