State and local government leaders encounter new buzzwords and tech jargon every day. In The Lightning Round, a new webinar series from Government Technology, we’re explaining these emerging concepts and demystifying gov tech one buzzword at a time. In this episode, we’re looking at SASE security, which stands for "secure access service edge." What does it mean for state and local governments? How should agency leaders implement a...

When bad actors are looking to commit cybercrimes, they follow the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, that path often leads them to local governments. Cities, counties and municipalities have seen a surge in ransomware attacks, but strengthening their cybersecurity systems can be a challenges with limited budgets and IT security resources. A shared cybersecurity model helps under-resourced localities leverage their collective knowledge,...

To keep up with the growing demand for seamless digital services, state and local governments have turned to modern tools like cloud technology and artificial intelligence. With so many options available for modernization, how can agencies know which tools can best address their challenges? Journey analytics is a process that leverages data to map the constituent journey and pinpoint friction that hinders positive experiences. Utilizing data...

Public infrastructure connects communities and supply chains, creating networks that support the daily business of governments and constituents. The bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law last year allocates billions of dollars for infrastructure projects, with a specific focus on making infrastructure more resilient and more equitable. State and local governments can use modern tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure...

Information security teams are responsible for detecting, analyzing and defending against malign influence and outside interference from foreign bad actors. But most of their current analytic frameworks are either oversimplified or overcomplicated. To keep up with the evolving threat of influence operations, security teams must monitor emerging tactics and develop effective countermeasures. The Diamond Model for Influence Operations is a meth...

When governments and their constituents develop their community’s sustainability goals, they focus on green solutions to conserve energy and curb carbon emissions. Digital modernization efforts provide paths for agencies to achieve those same sustainability outcomes while also improving efficiency, service delivery and providing the platform to ensure the community continues on its evolution to sustainment. It’s true: The same too...

Successful state and local government organizations understand the best road to IT modernization starts with cloud adoption. They’ve reinvented themselves as digital enterprises built on modern applications and multiple clouds. But as the pace picks up, skills gaps within the cloud workforce are increasing. This issue is top of mind for government IT leaders. That’s why both Cloud Services and Workforce Management have been on NAS...

The demand for integrated, easy-to-access government services has never been higher. While state and local governments have strived to meet this growing demand, agency silos continue to make the goal of a common and intuitive digital government experience difficult to achieve. State and local CIOs can help their organizations overcome service delivery limitations through cloud-based enterprise platforms. An enterprise approach standardizes th...

The way students learn has changed forever, and with that comes new opportunities for different learning styles and goals. Choosing the Cloud Learning Platform empowers students to engage with an evolutionary online learning experience that cuts through unnecessary fees and unrelated courses. This model offers bachelor’s degrees and certification programs by getting straight to the point. Students have access to the benefits of a tradit...

Moving to the cloud is a vital part of becoming an agile, modern, digital organization. But cloud doesn’t just improve efficiencies and enable smarter hybrid work environments – it’s also a key part of improving data security. With the rise of ransomware and other cyber threats, state and local government agencies are working hard to strengthen their security and data protection strategies. Cloud platforms offer a higher lev...