By Chairul Saleh, Assistant Deputy for Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia 

Digitalisation in public services is now indispensable for modern governance, ensuring more effective and citizen-centred service delivery. Governments are encouraged to adopt technology in both policy implementation and public services to promote greater transparency, accountability, and inclusivity.

Indonesia has made notable progress in leveraging digital technology to enhance public services. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, became a catalyst for accelerating digital transformation across sectors such as health, education, and manpower. It underscored the inevitability of digital solutions in sustaining essential services when mobility is restricted.

The benefits of digital public services are significant:

1. Greater efficiency and cost savings: Available around the clock, digital services eliminate the need for office visits, long queues, or time off work for simple transactions. A report from McKinsey (2020) found that digitising services could halve administrative processing time, cut expenses by over 50%, and reduce manual case handling by 60% through automation. This marks a shift from cumbersome, in-person procedures to a more streamlined, accessible, and citizen-focused model—making public services as seamless as online shopping.
2. Evidence-based and user-centric policies: Data from digital platforms can be analysed in real time to better identify root problems and societal needs. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from PeduliLindungi (now SatuSehat) helped identify infection hotspots and guide restrictions, while insights from the Kartu Prakerja programme revealed skills gaps across regions and sectors. Such evidence enables more accurate policymaking and ensures that services remain relevant and responsive to citizens.
3. More inclusive public services: Digital public services in Indonesia are highly relevant to the population’s needs and characteristics. With 221 million—79.5% of the population—most of whom are Gen Z (34.4%) and Millennials (30.6%), digital services greatly expand access and play a crucial role in promoting inclusivity.

Obstacles in Digitalising Public Services

While digitalisation promises more efficient and citizen-centred governance, governments face significant challenges in transforming public services.

Fragmented Digital Ecosystem

A major hurdle is the fragmented approach to application development. Many government agencies develop their own digital solutions independently, without proper coordination or integration. According to the Ministry of State Apparatus Utilisation and Bureaucratic Reform, there were approximately 27,000 government-owned applications across Indonesia in 2025, spread across ministries, state institutions, and local authorities.

This proliferation undermines the original objectives of digital transformation—simplifying bureaucracy and improving budget efficiency. The siloed approach complicates scaling, prevents economies of scale, stretches technical and financial resources, and confuses citizens, ultimately discouraging the adoption of digital government services.

Infrastructure and Connectivity Challenges

Indonesia’s archipelagic geography and uneven IT infrastructure pose further constraints. National internet coverage remains limited: only 38% of regencies have 4G broadband coverage, and mobile internet speeds remain relatively low. Additionally, the cloud ecosystem and data centre capacity are underdeveloped, with only 1 MW per million people. Indonesia ranked 56th in the Global Cloud Ecosystem Index 2020, scoring lowest in the security and assurance pillar. These limitations hinder the widespread deployment and reliability of digital public services.

Human Resource and Local Capacity Gaps

A critical factor in digital transformation is human resource capacity. The United Nations’ E-Government Development Index (EGDI) emphasises the Human Capital Index, which assesses both e-government literacy and broader human resource capabilities, including years of schooling. Indonesia faces challenges in developing sufficient skilled personnel to manage, implement, and maintain digital services effectively, which constrains the overall impact of digitalisation initiatives.  Equally important is the gap in understanding local needs and the realities of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as the systematic collection of ground-level data. Without this information, initiatives risk remaining supply-driven rather than responsive to actual demand.   Here, digital platforms can play a crucial role: by leveraging their reach and ability to generate actionable insights, they can help fill these knowledge and capacity gaps, enabling more inclusive, demand-driven, and effective services.

Advancing Digital Transformation: Policies, Programmes, and Partnerships

Policy and Regulatory Measures

Between 2020 and 2024, Indonesia advanced its digital infrastructure through key initiatives included in the National Medium-Term Development Plan, such as the Palapa Ring Project, 4G BTS Construction, and SATRIA-1 (National Satellite). These projects connect islands and remote regions, including 3T areas (Tertinggal, Terdepan, Terluar), bringing internet access to thousands of villages.

Regulations have strengthened data security and system integrity, including:

• Law No. 27/2022 – Personal Data Protection
• Presidential Regulation No. 82/2022 – Protection of Vital Information Infrastructure
• Presidential Regulation No. 82/2023 – Acceleration of Digital Transformation and Integration of National Digital Services

These policies aim to consolidate fragmented data servers, protect strategic systems, enhance interoperability, and prioritise user-centric e-government applications serving up to 200,000 users.

To support digital literacy, the government focuses on three strategic imperatives: formal education interventions, workforce empowerment, and lifelong learning programmes. Collaborations with EdTech firms, technology companies, and SOEs help assess digital talent needs, develop curricula, implement training, and offer upskilling, reskilling, and internship opportunities.

National Platforms and Programmes

Kartu Prakerja Programme

The Kartu Prakerja Programme is a nationwide initiative for skilling, reskilling, and lifelong learning. Delivered through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) digital ecosystem, it brings together 259 training providers, 6 digital platforms, 5 payment partners, 4 job platforms, 10 assessors, 12 monitoring experts, and 12 industry verifiers.

This unique collaborative model has enabled broad and inclusive participation, with digital platforms playing a central role in this collaborative model by providing a seamless, user-friendly interface that facilitates easy access to training opportunities. Alongside EdTech partners, which deliver scalable learning content, and payment platforms, which ensure secure disbursement, digital platforms act as the backbone that connects participants, providers, and government oversight into a cohesive system. This complementarity enables broad and inclusive participation, demonstrating that national challenges such as workforce upskilling cannot be addressed through government investment alone but require sustained, multi-actor collaboration.

With its easy, on-demand digital interface—designed to mirror an online shopping experience—the programme has reached 514 regencies and cities, benefiting over 18.9 million participants between 2020 and 2024.

SatuSehat App

The SatuSehat App, formerly PeduliLindungi, is a national health data exchange digital platform developed by Indonesian technology talent from the private sector. It provides public access to electronic medical records, improves health service efficiency, and serves as the official COVID-19 contact tracing app.

Launched in August 2021, the app became essential for public transport use, access to malls, factories, and sports venues, and for issuing vaccine cards and certificates. In doing so, it illustrates how a government-led digital platform can unify multiple services, connect citizens with health data, and enhance operational efficiency.

SIAPKerja

SIAPKerja, developed and managed by Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower, is a digital one-stop platform that demonstrates how government-led digital initiatives can translate policy goals into coordinated, citizen-centred services. By integrating jobseekers, employers, and training providers, SIAPKerja supports employment facilitation, skills development, and workforce certification. Through a single sign-on, users can access four connected services — Karirhub (job matching), Skillhub (training and reskilling), Sertihub (certification), and Bizhub (entrepreneurship support).

By digitalising labour market information and enabling real-time data use, SIAPKerja enhances the government’s ability to implement public policy and monitor labour market performance. It allows more accurate assessment of skills gaps and workforce participation, while advancing national priorities for inclusive employment, skills readiness, and social protection — improving both efficiency and accountability across public service delivery.

Conclusion

Indonesia’s experience highlights both the promise and complexity of digitalising public services. Initiatives such as Kartu Prakerja, SatuSehat, and SIAPKerja demonstrate how government-led digital platforms can translate policy priorities into accessible, citizen-centred services. Supported by clear regulatory frameworks and multi-stakeholder collaboration, these initiatives enhance efficiency, extend the reach of essential services, and strengthen public trust in government institutions.

However, challenges in infrastructure, interoperability, and human resource capacity reveal that digital transformation is not solely a technological effort, but an institutional one—requiring sustained investment in systems, people, and partnerships.

Looking ahead, Indonesia’s success will depend on its ability to consolidate fragmented systems, bridge capacity gaps, and scale effective digital platforms to advance inclusive, responsive, and citizen-focused governance. Ultimately, digital transformation thrives not only through government leadership, but also through the shared commitment of the private sector, civil society, and digital innovators in shaping solutions that meet the needs of all Indonesians.

The views and recommendations expressed in this article are solely of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views and position of the Tech for Good Institute.