In Parts One and Two of this series, we examined the severe escalation of nation state cybersecurity threats towards state & local governments, the key factors that render public sector agencies increasingly vulnerable to such threats, and the critical role that cloud adoption can play in defending information security.
While the business case for improved cybersecurity from migration to the cloud is singularly compelling on its own, it is equally important that government agencies consider the other key efficiencies that cloud adoption provides—particularly in conjunction with a compatible Software as a Service (SaaS) implementation. In doing so, we can better visualize the full organization-wide impact of a prospective SaaS implementation, thus making a stronger business case for your agency’s cloud adoption beyond the cybersecurity threat protection alone that has historically struggled to gain sufficient budget allocation.
Considering a prospective cloud adoption from a wider SaaS perspective empowers state & local agencies to quantify organizational wins realized far beyond the conventional IT procurement scope of infrastructure platform replacement. Through this wider lens, cloud adoption can be more accurately appraised as both, A) cost effective data security infrastructure and, B) an innovation engine that can be leveraged in strategic fashion to improve access to data and insights, streamline operational workflows, and fast-track the delivery of digital centric citizen services.
To better understand how an agency specific SaaS implementation can help to make a more impactful organization-wide business case for cloud adoption, let’s examine a common implementation scenario: a SaaS Permitting & Licensing System (PLS) for a local/municipal government agency.
As true enterprise scale software solutions, modern Permitting & Licensing Systems are sufficiently robust to enable the automation of both internal workflows and citizen services across a diverse range of activities including building, planning, engineering, permitting, inspections, code enforcement, and more. The relatively deep footprint and organizational scope of these systems makes them exceptionally well suited to leverage the full capabilities of an accompanying cloud platform. As a result, quantifying the agency benefits from a considered PLS implementation can also help to identify many of the concurrent benefits derived from the underlying cloud implementation—whether the cloud implementation is organization wide or limited to the scope of your permitting & licensing system alone.
Compatible implementation benefits from cloud adoption supporting a SaaS PLS
- This implementation scenario creates an information architecture designed to accommodate robust encryption and security while simultaneously supporting the delivery of data-driven process automation—to serve both internal workflows and external citizen services. Most importantly, the architecture is optimized for organization wide accessibility helping to break down the silos that often prevent improved efficiencies, scalability, and timely information exchange.
- With an enhanced and accessible information architecture in place, elegant Business Intelligence tools can be properly leveraged to empower organizational insights, operational dashboards, and predictive trend analysis crucial to long range vision planning.
- Given the feature rich nature of a mature SaaS Permitting & Licensing System that supports numerous mechanisms for licensing and service revenues, a prudently planned PLS implementation in conjunction with a supportive cloud backbone can help agencies to fast-track the delivery of automated citizen services increasing revenues derived from the full spectrum of connected devices. Further, if the preferred PLS system is a mature COTS solution, prospective agencies can easily preview existing functionality to establish existing workflow compatibility with desired internal processes and external user experiences. This empowers an agency to progress beyond an apples/oranges comparison to a more internal process specific evaluation, demonstrating anticipated functions, efficiency workflows, citizen touchpoints, and resultant revenue streams in a comparable live environment setting.
- In addition to creating a more compelling business case for your immediate cloud adoption, tying your cloud infrastructure to an agency specific SaaS implementation creates a powerful innovation platform that can be used as a sustainable framework for long-term innovation and IT roadmap planning. With the must have requirements of information security compliance, data accessibility, and workflow automation well in hand, a prudently planned SaaS implementation can serve as a further springboard to deliver enhanced services for a diverse range of mobile devices, data-driven workflows, or emerging technologies like AI or IoT.
- Designing your initial cloud migration strategy for a smaller scope agency specific SaaS implementation first, enables you to create an initial working model and proof of concept for wider organizational adoption. Key findings gleaned from this initial implementation will prove invaluable to inform the rollout strategy for a larger footprint incorporating multiple agencies, essential services, and citizen access points.
- Finally, an agency specific SaaS implementation with an associated scale cloud migration enables state or local governments to more accurately assess the anticipated impacts of cloud adoption on an organization-wide scale. Test driving cloud adoption like this with a smaller scale deployment is hugely beneficial in informing subsequent planning, budget, and hiring strategies associated with a much broader and comprehensive cloud adoption strategy. In particular, the process streamlining achieved from enhanced workflow automation and cloud driven security oversight & compliance will inevitably signal organizational opportunities to transition skilled workers from more administrative centric duties into knowledge roles better leveraging this improved information architecture for operational improvements and strategic aims.
Next up, in the final segment of this series, we’ll examine how the Computronix suite of COTS+ solutions leverage cloud technology to provide a secure innovation platform for state and local agencies pursuing a mutually compatible agenda of digital service transformation in conjunction with stringent cybersecurity compliance.
Looking for more information? Subscribe to our CX blog below to stay in the loop on the latest news, best practices and emerging trends in government technology.
