In the beginning was the digital divide, the digital divide that exists between those who have access to the internet and those who do not have it, with the corollary of exclusion from the benefits and opportunities that derive from it from an economic, cultural and infrastructural point of view . Then came the Pnrr bringing with it the ambitious projection of making the country, by 2026, a connected, complete and aware digital republic. The resources to bring Italy into the leading group in Europe – including projects that “intersect” other specific missions that the various ministries are working on – amount to 49.2 billion euros (for broadband, 5G, new technologies and computerization of public administration services) while 27% of the “Italy tomorrow” plan is worth 40.29 billion between individual interventions in the health (telemedicine), infrastructure, tourism, justice (telematic process) sectors.
The direction of operations is entrusted to the Department of Digital Transformation, under whose leadership Palazzo Chigi has been placed since the end of November Angelo Borrelliformer head of the Civil Protection in the most complex and dramatic phase of the Covid emergency and one of the architects of the organizational success of the G8 summit in L’Aquila in 2009. Within the same structure, the role of the office for technological guidance will be decisive (driven by Paul Donzelli) and the annex that will deal with all the processes related to innovation, cybersecurity and the international projection of the Italian system. In the meantime, a crucial objective has already been achieved: it is the establishment of the national strategic pole (one of the milestones envisaged by the Pnrr), the highly reliable cloud infrastructure that will host the critical and strategic data and services of the Italian public administrations . Tim, Leonardo, Cdp (through the subsidiary Cdp Equity) and Sogei took part in the transaction (worth 2.7 billion). In Acilia, Pomezia, Rozzano and Santo Stefano Ticino, in Lazio and Lombardy, there are the plants that represent the backbone of the strategic hub for archiving the critical data of public offices. This means that within this year over 280 central public administrations and healthcare facilities will be able to apply for funding to complete the migration of their data and critical and strategic services to the hub, as envisaged in the Pnrr which makes over 900 million euros available. The goal is to obtain, by 2026, the migration to the cloud of 12,464 entities (the minimum target is 75%) with the effect of securing public data through an investment of 1.9 billion euros. In short, it is what the strategic lines of the “cloud Italy” model envisage where the security standards will be guaranteed by the National Agency for Cyber-Security, the body led by Roberto Baldoni And Nunzia Ciardi and technologically supported by an agreement signed by Leonardo and Microsoft. Acn itself “inherited” last October also the expertise in verifying access credentials for individuals who provide cloud services previously carried out by Agid. Data acquisition – as envisaged in the implementing protocols – involves a classification of information based on the type of content entered. Each document will therefore be classified, depending on the case, as “strategic” (data and services whose compromise may have an impact on national security); «critical» (data and services whose compromise could cause damage to the maintenance of functions relevant to society, health, safety and the economic and social well-being of the country); «ordinary» (data and services whose compromise does not cause the interruption of State services or, in any case, damage to the economic and social well-being of the country).
The strategy envisages five indices: equipping at least 70 percent of the population with a digital identity and basic digital skills (with a specific communication-awareness plan aimed at citizens); the adoption of the cloud for 75% of the PA; 80% of online public services (the “strong dish” is the digital registry, already active since November 2021 and enhanced and updated a few weeks ago); broadband connection for 100% of families. In short, “a streamlined, transparent Public Administration, a friend of citizens and businesses – he said Alessio Butti (Fdi) undersecretary with responsibility for technological innovation during a hearing in the Chambers – with the aim of modernizing the country, reducing territorial gaps and improving the performance of efficiency and safety of public services”. To achieve all of this, the Palazzo Chigi budget, published three days ago, provides for 2023 as the Department’s financial endowment of 209.2 million just for ordinary operating and management expenses. For investments, 2 million are ready for the development of PagoPa (about 332 million transactions were carried out in 2022, with an economic value of over 61 billion euros) and 100 thousand euros for a platform relating to digital signatures dedicated to citizens with disability.
Furthermore, «3-I» was set up just a month ago, a joint stock company with entirely public capital and participation, which will have the task of developing, maintaining and managing the software solutions and IT services of Inps, Inail and Istat, of the Presidency of the Council and the ministries of Labor and the Public Administration. The shareholding structure of the company, which will take charge of operational services in the coming months, will be 49% held by INPS, the relative majority shareholder, followed by Inail for 30% and by Istat for 21%. The creation of a NewCo dedicated to the development of software to support the digital transformation of the Public Administration is a milestone envisaged by the Pnrr with the aim of supporting the development and management of ICT applications that support central administration processes and consolidate technological skills which today are fragmented among different institutional actors.
Digital transformation, the casket of Italy “armored” in four poles