Building smarter governments in 2026

Governments across the globe are entering 2026 with an all-too-familiar reality: high accountability, low authority, and mounting expectations from citizens.

Public sector CIOs are asked to deliver world-class services in line with private-sector benchmarks while dealing with outdated systems, constrained budgets, and increasingly complex mandates. The question is no longer whether governments need to modernize, but how quickly – and strategically – they can make it happen.

According to Deloitte’s Government Trends 2025, nine key forces are reshaping the public sector, from the rise of mission-driven efficiencies to reimagined funding models. These insights echo what we at OpenText see every day: the urgent need for governments to adopt smarter, more integrated approaches to modernization that balance compliance, cost control, and citizen experience.

The mandates driving change

US federal agencies and their global counterparts face a growing list of executive orders and memoranda that dictate standards around cybersecurity, customer experience, privacy, digital accessibility, and AI readiness. Each initiative typically requires its own budget, integration project, and oversight. The result? Lengthy to-do lists, often longer at year’s end than at the start.

But this fragmented, one-project-at-a-time approach is no longer sustainable. Government leaders are beginning to embrace platform-based strategies—leveraging cloud-based information management to meet multiple mandates simultaneously. With the right foundation, agencies can strengthen cybersecurity, digitize citizen records, modernize applications, and create AI-ready data structures with far smoother integrations and lower cost.

From compliance to citizen-centricity

Executive Order 14058, Transforming Federal Customer Experience, has placed a spotlight on delivering personalized, responsive services. Citizens now expect real-time updates on license renewals, grant applications, or benefits disbursement, mirroring the digital journeys they experience in the private sector.

Governments that adopt smarter information management strategies can deliver on this mandate.

• By unifying structured and unstructured data across systems, agencies can: 
• Provide personalized self-service portals with timely, tailored updates. 
• Push critical alerts (like emergency weather instructions) across channels. 
• Deploy AI-powered chatbots that resolve common queries instantly.

The result is a total citizen experience where transparency, speed, and trust are built into the service fabric. 

Securing the public mission 

There are heightened cyber risks governments face, with malicious access to public systems potentially impacting entire nations. The zero trust security model, now in its fourth year of broad adoption, provides a proven framework. But security must extend beyond the perimeter: it requires embedding compliance, encryption, and access controls into every workflow.

By aligning modernization with cybersecurity and privacy mandates, agencies can transform compliance into a force multiplier for efficiency and trust.

The path forward: Smarter information, smarter governments

Deloitte’s research shows that governments worldwide are experimenting with new funding models, ecosystem partnerships, and citizen-centric approaches to overcome systemic constraints. Agencies that treat information as a strategic asset – GenAI-ready, secure, and connected – are the ones best positioned to thrive.

Instead of incremental fixes, governments should prioritize scalable, platform-based solutions that: 

• Integrate seamlessly with existing systems. 
• Empower AI at scale while maintaining compliance. 
• Deliver measurable outcomes across multiple mandates simultaneously.

By doing so, governments can shift from being reactive caretakers of outdated systems to proactive shapers of the citizen experience, achieving transformation not in spite of constraints, but because of them.

A final thought…

2026 is the year where constraints can become catalysts. Public sector leaders who embrace cloud-based information management and AI-ready strategies will not only meet compliance checklists but also redefine the relationship between government and citizens.

Smarter information is the foundation and smarter governments are the outcome.

Are you ready to take action?

Is your agency ready to turn constraints into transformation? Explore how OpenText can help you modernize securely, scale AI responsibly, and deliver a total citizen experience. Learn more about OpenText Government Solutions.