Goverment CIO Outlook: Specials Magazine

‘Doing the right thing’ is what defines Placecube. A product line developed in response to the Digital Declaration in the UK, Placecube recognised the government sector’s need for a more open platform to facilitate easier data access and supplier collaboration with councils and each other. Building an open digital platform was just the foundation. Placecube helps councils to build and tailor digital services using no-code and low-code tools. Working Together to Solve Problems Digital Place is Placecube’s overarching product. Digital Place for Local Public Services serves as a citizen engagement platform that supports public service organisations in providing services online, such as registering a birth, booking a waste collection or paying for services. Digital Place for Communities brings dispersed public sector professionals together, including waste managers and colleagues in social care and health, to share best practices. It also connects voluntary organisations leading key initiatives, such as violence against women, where multi-agency collectives work together to tackle shared issues. Placecube’s approach aims to make more of the public purse. It lets public sector organisations share developments. When one organisation develops a new capability, it is added to the core platform and delivered to every client at no additional cost. “We believe in a collective approach to digital transformation. Together, we’ll make more progress for less cost than we will on our own,” says Jason Fahy, founder. Built with Purpose Placecube built its product on Liferay, a leading open source digital experience platform, and extended it with low-code and no-code tools and public-sector-specific applications. Reusable ‘cubes’ cover content management, government digital service patterns, case management and integrations with line-of-business systems. This allows Placecube to deliver digital services that residents find more convenient than traditional channels. Public sector heritage matters to Placecube. Many team members began in the public sector and have a clear view of what works and what does not. The Local Digital Declaration aligned well with their ideology and shaped Placecube’s offerings. The aim is to be the preferred supplier within public services, and to help the sector gain best value through sharing. The digital transformation challenge is massive, and no single organisation can deliver at the pace the sector needs. Greater openness and collaboration will enable organisations to share what they develop and transform the domain. Building Trust through Modular Transformation A specific client engagement in early 2025 highlights Placecube’s superior capabilities. The client had an in-house application that served them well for several years, but losing skill and knowledge made maintenance and upgrades difficult. They chose to relaunch the service using Digital Place. As an existing Digital Place customer, they paid no additional subscription fees for adding the new service. Placecube co-designed and developed the system, which went live on April 1st, 2025. With the low-code case-management tool now part of the core product, other customers are evaluating other services, such as registrations and licensing, for moving to Digital Place. Placecube’s modular approach and ease of integration make it easy for organisations to adopt the platform, even if they are already invested in a particular technology. No-code, low-code lets users develop services that suit local needs, from tailoring online forms to creating new case types. Full-code delivery is available for more complex developments. The preference is to build common requirements once and make them available to all customers. Collaborative Design Ensuring Relevant Solutions Three channels guide the Digital Place roadmap, including advancements from Liferay platform updates, Placecube’s own product improvements and client requirements. Planned updates include staying in line with the latest version of Liferay, maintaining accessibility and security standards and responding to demands for new features. Although it is web-based, some customers request App Store availability, and Placecube has introduced a solution to publish the product on major app stores. In addition, AI is already embedded for content creation, and the next focus is on completing end-to-end transactions using existing automation tools and AI. The broader vision for Placecube emphasises co-design, with platform evolution driven by client objectives. This collaborative approach ensures communities receive solutions tailored to their requirements. Plans to enter other countries are in motion, highlighting the adaptability and global potential of the reuse-based model. Placecube continues to catalyse digital transformation for the public sector through its open digital platform. By combining flexibility, security and scalability, it empowers governments to deliver efficient, citizen-centric services. Proven in the UK and expanding globally, Placecube positions communities for sustainable digital progress.