Local government agencies have more touchpoints with the public than their state or federal counterparts, which means they have more opportunities to positively affect lives but also more opportunities to unintentionally create obstacles for engagement. While local governments agencies strive to modernize in a way that provides residents with unique and positive experiences, they are often hampered by challenges like understaffing and lean budgets that make it difficult to achieve the intended outcomes. To overcome these challenges, the City of Durango, Colorado modernized its public records m ..read more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently unveiled its revised Cybersecurity Framework Version 2.0 (CSF 2.0) that aims to tackle the evolving complexities of cybersecurity. This article provides an in-depth look at the significant updates within CSF 2.0, highlighting its broader relevance to entities ranging from public sector organizations to state and municipal government agencies.  Governance at the Forefront  The most notable addition to CSF 2.0 is the introduction of a comprehensive governance component. This underscores the perception of cybersecurity a ..read more

The cloud has played a pivotal role in federal IT modernization efforts for three decades, enabling agencies to update infrastructure and systems for scalability and flexibility. Now, as agencies look to build out the next generation of their IT infrastructure to support AI and meet the demand for high-quality customer experiences, the cloud is continuing to help agencies, like the CIA and FDIC, meet the long-held goal of secure information sharing.  During the recent Federal Executive Forum: IT Modernization in Government agency leaders and industry partners discussed their priorities an ..read more

Federal healthcare agencies have been working diligently over the last few years to modernize service delivery to improve patient outcomes and experiences. Before health agencies can modernize, they must first overcome challenges around data interoperability to improve the future of patient care. Government Technology Insider talked with Monica Rosser, Health Market Lead at Maximus, to discuss how agencies can navigate the challenges of public health to modernize successfully.   “We are at the intersection of a new model of care – in which customer experience with the patient as the ..read more

Open-source software (OSS) is a vital tool that the federal government uses to reduce the time and costs associated with software development while also driving innovation and efficiency. There tends to be a general assumption that open-source software must be inherently good if large groups of people are looking at it and contributing to it; However, there are individuals with minimal to no technical knowledge or understanding of code who are currently building software. As code continues to be reused, the responsibility of checking open-source code moves away from any one person in particula ..read more

Last year marked a significantly troubling year for cybersecurity amid an increasingly dangerous ransomware landscape. The emergence of new attackers brought about more sophisticated attack methods and an increased frequency of ransomware incidents. As a result, net global ransomware payments climbed to one billion dollars.  Now, as we reflect on the ransomware surge in 2023, we aim to better prepare for the challenges anticipated in 2024. Securin’s Ransomware Report: 2023 Year in Review, analyzing the 230,648 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) listed in the National Vulnerabilit ..read more

This year’s Rocky Mountain Cyberspace Symposium (RMCS) was unlike any other. From a 60-degree day in Colorado Springs in mid-February to the most active threat environment seen in years, attendees were fully engaged assimilating new experiences and new information. But at the end of the three-day meeting all attendees walked away committed to improving the security of cyberspace and most agreed that this process starts improving acquisition processes.   While this might seem like an oddly specific lesson to take away from one of the most complex symposia on the AFCEA schedule, Sonia ..read more

In a recent article appearing in Future Healthcare Today, our colleagues explored some of the challenges impacting federal healthcare agencies due to outdated legacy systems hindering data integration and workflow efficiency. With insights from pioneering white papers and industry experts like Krishna Sai, SVP of Engineering at SolarWinds, the focus was on the importance of embracing a unified health data platform to streamline workflows and optimize resource allocation. By fostering partnerships and adopting full-stack observability (FSO), agencies aim to operations, security ..read more

In an era where the digital landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, government agencies need the ability to transform data into actionable insights for greater efficiency and to improve citizen engagement.   Search has revolutionized the way agencies interact with data, helping decision makers extract value from the troves of data housed in disparate sources across the government. According to government and industry speakers at our recent Elastic Public Sector Summit, the goal is to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time.   According to Lori Wade ..read more

As state governments pursue digital transformation, many agencies have made significant progress toward modernizing the technology supporting their operations. Two components of digital transformation they must address as part of this process are digitization and automation. While many people believe these terms and activities are synonymous, they are two phases in the modernization continuum. Understanding the differences between them enables agencies to implement each effectively and reap the full benefits of their investments.  Download the White Paper While these two processes overlap ..read more