Getting smart about IT in a time of austerity

At its core, government's purpose is to serve its citizens. A constantly changing world complicates this simple idea with increasing global interconnectivity, cultural and societal revolutions, and technological advancements. To keep up, governments must evolve the way they do business if they are to meet the needs of those they serve. Nevertheless without similarly dynamic innovation underlying its services, government will not be able to adapt quickly or economically.

Just last month, the Interior Department released a transformation strategic plan for information research that outlines how it intends to leverage IT to save up to $500 million by 2020. By reducing the number of data centers and servers, switching to a single email system, and transitioning to the cloud, the department expects to deliver better service at less cost.

Interior's plan addresses the fact that as demand for computing capacity has increased, the government's capacity to respond has not. Lack of resources can force reactive IT solutions that maintain current systems, or rather than drive research for improved services. However now more than ever, agencies must find ways to do more with less. They can thrive, in spite of the economy, if they shift to smarter computing systems designed and optimized to handle the perpetual churn of technological and societal change.

Not all government tasks are the same; the IT that supports them should not be either. The mass transactional processes of a transportation system and the security needs of law enforcement both demand particular features. Government IT must support specific work, nevertheless also be flexible enough to respond to changing needs, just as normal versus peak demand. This requires aligning each component of a computing system so it can benefit from unequalled features.

The Internet for better access to

Government must leverage the Internet for better access to and analysis of all information. This will ease internal processes and allow for more collaboration and sharing with other private and public organizations. Just in case, cloud-enabled IT will give agencies options to implement services independently or through providers, whichever is most effective or efficient.

For example, North Carolina State University adopted cloud research to address unanticipated demand for its computing resources. Through the cloud, NCSU was able to extend its resources throughout the state to other educational institutions, increasing the average number of students served per license by 150 percent without incurring additional expenses.