Digital Transformation and leadership: Simplifying processes in times of change

Text and Photo: Chris Graeme

Effective public administration starts with clarity, purpose and responsibility according to C-Level Director Simon Abikzer, Director of Governance, Risk and and Compliance of CyVault, a Canadian company that operates in the US, Canada, Europe and Africa.

Simon was talking on the subjects of rethinking bureaucracy and thorough digital efficiency, cybersecurity and inclusive innovation

The cybersecurity and digital compliance guru was a guest speaker at last week’s Leadership Summit 2025 which took place at the Casino in Estoril, near Lisbon on October 25 who gave some pointers and advice for Portugal in reducing its bureaucracy.

Simon Abikzer says having an efficient public administration really starts with clarity of processes, purposes, and responsibility.

“The truth is that bureaucracy was designed to manage risk and fairness, but over time rules that were designed to protect the system often end up slowing them down”, he said.

One answer is to digitalise, but Simon says that the problem with that is that making a paper form online doesn’t make things more efficient, but just uploads complexity to cloud.

“Real efficiency begins when we rethink how decisions are made and who becomes accountable for those decisions. By digitising workflows we create systems that are visible and traceable, and more importantly, auditable.”

Simon says that what emerges is a culture of meritocracy that prioritises clarity and leaves complexity behind.

This is particularly important in the healthcare sector where compliance is particularly important and should’t be an “option” because it offers a competitive edge which governments can and should adopt.

Simon gives the example of Estonia which had a digital transformation that wasn’t just treated as an IT upgrade but was a full redesign on how the State functioned.

Instead of modernising services one by one, (as Portugal has been doing), Estonia took a coordinated approach with all industries working together on a shared platform to align industry and have a common policy on cybersecurity and infrastructure.

“Ministries working together is something quite rare today and that’s why Estonia is recognised globally, not for flashy technologies, but in how its has rethought how government really operates”, he says.

And working as a team is an essential part of this business but the question is how can governments can deploy these tools effectively in a cybersecurity world where the risks are high and often there’s no compliancy.

Simon says that it is important to understand the cybersecurity is often an afterthought, meaning that companies and administrations develop solutions and put in place improvements, but they don’t take into account cybersecurity from the start of its development.

He gives the example of building a smart hospital and then not putting locks on the doors. “That’s exactly what happens when a government launches a digital tool or an improvement without taking into account protection or cybersecurity and which is why at CyVault they design systems that are resilient from day1.

These have systems where compliance monitoring and risk management run automatically in the background.

But what about Portugal where the companies network is made up by 96% small, medium or micro-companies which have neither the budgets nor the knowledge?

Simon says that the company is based in Quebec where the companies landscape is also very similar to Portugal.

“We faced the same problem in the Quebec market. The problem is not that companies are resistant to change, they are very willing to change. The issue is that the tools are not accessible, there are a lot of requirements, and they don’t have the necessary guidance to put those tools in place,” he explains.

Companies, he says, also often don’t have a cybersecurity officer in place that would guide them in implementing and using these tools.

Another issue is that they also expected to meet the same standards as a government department or bank, but that’s not something that is realistic for a company with a team of 10 people that might not have a single IT employee.

The answer is government-backed programmes to help SMEs get access to funding, experts and most importantly put them in contact with with varied suppliers and vendors.

Another issue is integration. For example, in Portugal if you go to a public hospital you have a data base. If you go to a private hospital, you have another data base but have no integration.

“The reform starts here because you shouldn’t have to go to two different doctors and have two different systems of access, two different exams, and two different costs. You need a centralised mobile platform with a system that centralizes appointments, medical records, lab results, and even personal education all in one place, preferably co-designed by patients, doctors and researchers so that everyone who needs to have access, gets access and as quickly as possible”, concludes Simon Abikzer, CRC of CyVault.

About CyVault:

Protecting a company or organization from internal and external threats has emerged as the number one challenge. Each day, the threat evolves and morphs that makes it nearly impossible to stay ahead of cyberthreats.

At CyVault™ is an innovative company that ensures company cybersecurity through one, unified platform and managed service.
CyVault™ has emerged as a global, cyber defence leader offering the most advanced comprehensive protection for companies and organisations of any size. Its innovation focuses on Critical Infrastructure (OT), Information Technology (IT), Internet of Things (IoT) and the Cloud safeguarding against existing and emerging threats.