Tag: state and local government

The IMAGINE 2022 conference presented by AWS is fast approaching, but there’s still time to register your spot. On Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle, Washington, the IMAGINE 2022 conference will bring together education, state, and local leaders for a full day of learning about the latest innovations and best practices in the cloud to help transform communities. Join other mission-driven leaders for a full day of learning at this in-person event that combines thought leadership sessions, fireside chats, and networking opportunities designed to leave you with inspiration, new connections, and tangible ideas to take back to your organization or institution.

In 2020, the City of Fort St. John in British Columbia began searching for innovative solutions to make life more simple for its young population. City staff wanted to better serve residents in ways that would suit their busy, digitally connected lifestyles. So the city worked with Cocoflo, a smart cities technology company, to implement a digital solution that could make municipal information and services more accessible through their SmartLiving portal—powered by AWS.

This blog post explores the options US public sector customers and their business partners should evaluate when selecting an AWS partition. We discuss the differences between AWS GovCloud (US) and the AWS standard partition and how to decide which partition may be the best match for your organization’s security, compliance, and availability needs.

To prevent citizens from falling behind on their mortgages, the federal government awarded states $10 billion from the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), delivered under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This funding required sign-off from the US Department of the Treasury to access and the funds needed to be distributed quickly. AWS customer ProLink Solutions supported states with rapidly designing and deploying new programs and workflows, which helped states acquire these funds and quickly deliver them to citizens in need.

Nursing shortages are not a new phenomenon, but the pandemic has exacerbated the problem. The situation has forced hospitals to think creatively about their staffing models and has also brought clinical teams, operators, and IT departments together in an effort to seek new ways to use technology. One healthcare system is using robotics powered by cloud technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to help nurses spend more time with patients.

In my time working for the UK government’s Digital Marketplace as the service manager, I saw first-hand the benefits of open source in government. Combined with transparent processes, using open source solutions helped streamline digital project execution, build trust with constituents and the global community, and save time and money. Now, as the senior manager of government services (GovServices) at AWS, and as a teacher for the AWS Institute Executive Education Program, I want to share best practices for government leaders looking to use open source solutions.

To drive innovation and optimise operations in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, UK public sector organizations need to transfer data quickly and safely, in accordance with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)’s guidance on how to configure, deploy, and use cloud services securely. The NCSC provides security guidance for protecting government systems, planning for cyber incidents, and more. In this post, we cover how you can configure AWS services—like AWS DataSync, AWS Storage Gateway, and AWS Transfer Family—to align your data transfer solution with the NCSC’s cloud security principles, as understanding these configurations is important to protect data and meet requirements for local force accreditation.

Governments are increasingly adopting digital ID systems to improve inclusion and accessibility to public services. Based on the experiences shared by governments and by AWS experts who have worked to implement digital ID around the world, six lessons emerge about how to create the right strategic mindset for digital ID creation and implementation.

Public transit can efficiently connect people and places, often saving riders time and money while reducing traffic congestion. To help make taking public transit more simple, Amazon Alexa launched a transit capability where customers can conveniently ask Alexa for directions with transit or status updates for transit lines from over 450 public transportation agencies. Now rolled out across the US, the feature makes it simpler than ever for customers to use Alexa to optimize their daily commute or to explore a new neighborhood by bus or train.

State and local government (SLG) organizations need to reflect and refocus on cyber hygiene and continuous improvement of their security posture. Here are some best practices for SLG chief information security officers (CISOs) and IT professionals to consider in their cloud journey.