Once again, a major coup is set to take place: with the NOOTS state treaty, Germany finally wants to push ahead with the digitisation of its administration. ‘A real boost,’ says Bitkom President Dr Ralf Wintergerst. In future, government agencies will be able to communicate with each other, data will only have to be entered once, and applications will be processed faster and with fewer errors. The idea sounds like a liberating move for citizens and authorities alike – less paper, less frustration and less bureaucracy.

But as modern as the vision is, the problem is as old as ever: without money, it all remains theory. Digitalisation is expensive – and it’s a long-term investment. It costs billions for secure IT infrastructures, standardised interfaces, data protection, training and maintenance. Anyone who has ever experienced how sluggish the technical equipment of many authorities is knows that a small retrofit course is not enough. If the federal and state governments really want to ‘network better’, they must do one thing above all else – invest together.

The state treaty only creates the legal basis. But without concrete financing commitments, it remains a nice promise on paper. Wintergerst’s statement that the federal and state governments must ‘pull together’ sounds good, but it will only become reality when the budgetary resources are available. Until now, the implementation of existing digital strategies has been lacking in many places – too few staff, too little expertise, too little technical equipment.

Citizens want this change. According to a Bitkom survey, 71 per cent want authorities to exchange data with each other so that they do not have to constantly provide the same information. 82 per cent want authorities to automatically notify them of services. But these expectations can only be met if politicians and administrators are finally prepared to invest heavily.

The truth is uncomfortable, but inevitable: digitalisation does not come for free. The NOOTS state treaty can be a milestone – or the next example of big words with no effect. The decisive factor will be whether the federal and state governments have the courage to provide the necessary billions. Because without money, these ideas will not work. [DCM]