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Gartner Expert
Ben Kaner
Sr Director Analyst
Ben Kaner is a Senior Director Analyst focusing on the public sector and government in particular.
Mr. Kaner has a long background in enterprise architecture and has always looked to the oncoming wave of change. He covers governance and risk handling in large government programs; the transition between traditional and agile delivery for digital government; optimizing engagement strategies and the use of data in human services for government and healthcare.
Previous experience
From joining IBM in 1988 - specializing in networking before the Web was born, Mr. Kaner became lead for the north of the U.K., leaving there for a startup in 1997. From there to HP in 2000 as a European lead in mobile e-services just as the smartphone revolution started. Then a lead Enterprise Architect in BT. He led work on e-Borders, complex mobile road charging, and Customs and border control, and global health, becoming CTO for BT Health in the late delivery phases of the multibillion dollar Connecting for Health program. From that, Head of Business Assurance for major government programs and finally heading Strategic Technology and Innovation for BT Government and Health covering global healthcare, central, devolved and local government, including the more security-minded government departments. Returning to his home in north east England, he fulfilled a joint partnership appointment between Engie and North Tyneside Council as Head of Digital Strategy for four years, before joining Gartner this year.
In doing so, Mr. Kaner has acquired a great respect for the challenges of both large scale central programs and detailed local initiatives that deal with citizens and their data, and all their differences in concerns, risks and routes to success.
Professional background
Engie/North Tyneside Council Partnership
Head of Digital Strategy
BT
Head of Innovation and Technology Strategy, BT GS Government; CTO, BT Health
Hewlett Packard
EMEA Bazaar Lead and Global Solutions Architect
Areas of coverage
Government Digital Transformation and Innovation
Government Technology Optimization and Modernization
Driving Cost Optimization Across the Enterprise (retired)
Education
M.A., Cantab, Cambridge University
Top Issues That I Help Clients Address
1Business value/Public value of digital in government, including gap analysis of investment plans
2Government digital/IT program delivery, including governance and control, addressing failure modes and risk handling
3Digital citizen engagement and use of human-centered design and system thinking - use of agile in an otherwise traditional environment, particularly in smart cities, human services and health
4Data power vs. data privacy: Use of open/shared data in government's trade-off policies in place that bridge the gap for smart cities, human services and healthcare
5Health and human services: Data privacy, social care, citizen engagement, smart city