All too often, state and local governments are poorly prepared for system outages triggered by ransomware attacks or other disruptive events. Multiple data protection tools and management consoles make ransomware protection more complex and time-consuming than it should be. And multiple generations of systems across a patchwork of compute and storage platforms creates complexity and data sprawl that slows down recovery and increases vulnerabil...

Legacy systems – some decades old – have long been a challenge for state and local health and human services agencies (HHS). COVID-19 put a dramatic spotlight on the issue: outdated technology couldn’t keep pace with overwhelming demand for social safety net services, failing both citizens and agency staff when they needed help most. As a result of the pandemic, agencies adopted new cloud-based technologies like video collabo...

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic made it painfully clear that inequalities for women and communities of color must be addressed in every industry. Although technology and government aren’t the only sectors that need to revise the systemic barriers holding these workers back, the problem is apparent to all. One stark example: Women remain woefully underrepresented in the technology industry. Despite making up about half of the...

Too many cities and counties rely on networks that simply weren’t developed for today’s world. Chances are, your core network technologies date back to a time before widespread adoption of cloud and smartphones; before the emergence of intelligent lighting, smart garbage cans and ubiquitous video; and certainly before the pandemic-driven acceleration of remote work and digital government services. Join Government Technology on Sept...

State and local governments already were prime targets for ransomware and other cyber attacks before the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, the rapid adoption of remote work and virtual services has dramatically altered and expanded the risk landscape for public agencies. Global threat intelligence firm Group-IB estimates that ransomware attacks worldwide grew by more than 150% in 2020. Join Government Technology on Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. Pacific / 2 p....

The pandemic has led to unprecedented service delivery challenges for state and local governments, but it also has presented a once-in-a-generation funding opportunity for public sector organizations to make long-term technology investments. The American Rescue Plan (ARP), which was passed in March 2021, made $350 billion available to state, local and tribal governments through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. ARP also pro...

The pandemic has permanently altered the way government conducts business, including where it conducts business. Recent Center for Digital Government research found nearly three-quarters of state and local agencies anticipate hybrid work — where employees work from home at least on a part-time basis — will be their long-term model. But it will take innovation and creativity to make this workplace of the future successful. In a new...

Medicaid is among the largest, costliest and most important programs operated by state governments. Millions of Americans -- including low-income families, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities -- rely on Medicaid programs for health coverage. Total Medicaid spending, a cost that’s shared by the federal government and individual states, topped $600 billion in 2019. Clearly, using innovative technology to both improv...

Constituents trust their local governments to provide services that are responsive to their individual needs. Now, more than ever, constituents expect their government services to evolve and change - just like how their own lives have evolved and changed. This is especially true as governments embrace flexible working policies and remote work arrangements for their employees - and, in the process, innovate on traditional, in-person services. B...

Constituents trust their local governments to provide services that are responsive to their individual needs. Now, more than ever, constituents expect their government services to evolve and change - just like how their own lives have evolved and changed. This is especially true as governments embrace flexible working policies and remote work arrangements for their employees - and, in the process, innovate on traditional, in-person services. B...