The adoption of digital government in the United States of America has happened because smart technology and cloud storage is becoming easier to implement. The adoption of digital government allows governments to serve their citizens better. Previously, we discussed change drivers encouraging the Government of Canada to transition toward a more digital government. This time, we are going to focus on several states within the United States of America.
The US-based Center for Digital Government conducts a Digital States Survey every even-numbered year. This survey evaluates the digital technology practices of each state. States are awarded letter grades ranging from C to A, with A being the best possible grade. In 2020, Georgia and Utah were among the highest-graded states. These states already had a strong digital infrastructure in place when the Covid-19 pandemic began. As a result, they could smoothly adapt to the challenges the pandemic posed.
Why are States Adopting Digital Government?
As the leading Drawing Management Company, we at DCM Inc. understand the benefits of going digital. We also know a thing or two about taking old and outdated facility drawing messes to convert them into an organized digital database in echo, our drawing management software. More and more businesses in the private sector are choosing to lose the paper and go digital. As this happens, world governments are realizing there are a lot of change drivers pushing this trend. We covered Canada’s plan to shift to digital government in Change Drivers: Factors Driving a Shift Towards Digital Government in Canada.
To summarize, these change drivers are:
- More people have Internet access today than ever before.
- Clients are used to reliable and responsive digital services from the private sector, like online banking and online shopping.
- Different services being able to share data with each other can create a smooth experience for clients.
- Workplaces are becoming increasingly digital, improving workflow for employees.
- Technology is still evolving in ways that will continue to affect the market into the future.
These change drivers aren’t unique to just Canada. Let’s look at how different states in the USA are adopting digital government in response to these change drivers:
Investment in the Cloud Allows for Utility, Versatility, and Scalability in Digital Governments
Investing in the cloud helped state governments adapt to a post-pandemic world. In Arizona, cloud investment prepared the state for its employees’ transition to remote work. Cloud-based tools allowed for remote collaboration and virtual meetings. Arizona’s Statewide Cloud First program reached $40 million in cloud spending. Arizona Chief Information Officer J. R. Sloan said, “The single largest transformational initiative for the past few years has been in relation to our cloud-first initiative and cloud migration.”
In Arizona, 75 out of 90 identified data center facilities were closed. They were consolidated in a single facility in the city of Phoenix. This allowed for any operations and workloads to be moved to the cloud. Cloud technology also allowed Arizona’s unemployment insurance to handle volumes of 2 million applicants in the wake of the pandemic, much more than the previous 15,000 applicants.
Rhode Island has also moved towards becoming a more cloud-based government. They have adopted cloud-based infrastructure for the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, unemployment systems, some health and human services, and much of the state’s data. Utah has had a cloud strategy in place since 2009 and coordinates with Amazon Web Services and Google as part of their cloud migration strategy.
Digital Government Can Provide Better Citizen-Centric Services
State governments have been leveraging the cloud to bring better citizen-centric services to their citizens. Utah streamlined nearly a thousand different apps and services into a single platform called UtahID. As a result, there was a smoother client experience for the state’s citizens. Georgia also launched digital service GovHub in 2019. This was part of an effort to streamline multiple digital services into a single service platform while improving security.
Americans want services and programs that provide the best, client-centred experience. They want responsive digital services designed to cater to users’ needs. By leveraging cloud technology and going digital, state governments can provide their citizens with services like these.
Digitally-Enabled Workplaces Elevate State Governments
States can use digital government to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Arizona stopped using around thirty different email systems. Moving to G Suite provided for a common email, calendar, and collaborative digital space. This move to a single cloud-based collaboration platform saved the state about $750,000 by getting rid of duplicate collaborative tools for its employees.
In late 2018, Utah launched a telework initiative involving over 130 state employees working from home. This happened a year and a half before the pandemic began. The state saw productivity gains and other benefits. This led to investments in remote work that prepared the state workforce for its eventual 70% shift to remote work in March 2020.
Digital Governments Must Protect Data Privacy and Security
At DCM Inc., we know that data privacy is important to our clients. Likewise, state governments know they need to protect the data privacy of their citizens.
Arizona state has increased cybersecurity funding by 150%. Rhode Island invested in a cybersecurity model that prioritized multiple stakeholders, including the National Guard, FBI, and private sector companies. In May 2019, Rhode Island state launched the USA’s first ever statewide cybercrime hotline. In 2018, Georgia launched its first cybercrime unit, the Georgia Cyber Center. It was an investment of over $100 million in partnership with private sector companies.
At DCM Inc. We Understand the Value of Going Digital
State governments around America are going digital and embracing cloud technology. At DCM Inc. we are proud to provide our clients with a one-stop, all-in-one solution for facility drawing management with echo, our acclaimed engineering drawing management software. We work tirelessly to create the ideal drawing management strategy for our clients in America, Canada, and beyond. Our team would be happy to discuss how we could best serve your facility’s needs. Book a discovery call today for more information about echo from DCM Inc.