As government technology leaders aim to modernize their
operations, they're looking for tools that will pare down capital
refresh cycles and sunset old legacy systems. Additionally, they
often seek to better respond with agility to evolving citizen
expectations, protect privacy, and even help attract new talent.
While there's no silver bullet, many government entities are
moving toward Software as a Service (SaaS) to deliver the
solutions to these challenges. The one thing State agencies
typically do not talk about is the desire to manage a server
farm, or data center, or do upgrades, or develop security
practices, or all the other bits and pieces that come along with
keeping software up and running in a local environment.
The key drivers for State Agencies turning to SaaS
Solutions include:
-
Workforce - there are four times as many
government IT specialists aged 50 and over as compared to
those under 30. As seasoned IT staff retire, their deep
understanding of legacy systems goes with them. Agencies
are simultaneously under pressure to backfill with workers
skilled on the latest tools and applications.
-
Legacy Systems - Federal agencies spend
about 70
percent of their IT budgets supporting
legacy systems; state and local governments bear a similar
burden. As a result, agencies never have enough resources
to respond to increasing demands, as they devote needed time and
talent to supporting outdated implementations.
-
Need for Speed - Government faces an increasing
need for speed. As consumer expectations around technology
rise, agencies need to respond and pivot ever more rapidly in their goal to meet their citizens' needs and still comply to regulatory challenges.
Eliminating the need to constantly upgrade hardware, provides the flexibility to expand or contract systems at a
moments notice.
