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Public sector CIOs are asked to deliver world-class services in line with private-sector benchmarks while dealing with outdated systems, constrained budgets, and increasingly complex mandates.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 ...