In the first part of this article, I described why today’s government IT teams need to embrace agility in their technology and solution investments. The need to adapt more quickly to constituent needs and upgrade offerings on an as-needed basis means that the way technology investments are evaluated needs to change.
Make the Correct Investments
There are several key areas that can make a big difference in terms of agility and service delivery, including:
- Broadband Delivery
Government organizations are expected to deliver exceptional performance, reliability and scalability across wired and wireless networks, for all citizens and employees. By investing in networking equipment that supports today’s advanced cloud architectures while giving technicians real-time visibility and insight into the network’s operations and end-user experiences, reliable, high-performance public and private broadband services can be delivered at scale and within budget. Emphasizing technology that identifies traffic and directs the optimal path to its desired destination will improve the end-user experience.
- Artificial Intelligence
Incorporating artificial intelligence (AI)-driven networking solutions enhances the efficiency of government IT teams when provisioning new equipment or repairing issues, while lowering expenses. AI can understand potential outages or problems, identify causes and provide assistance during repairs. AI can move IT network troubleshooting and repair from reactive to proactive, resolving issues before they become problems.
- Security
Cybersecurity threats are on the rise, and government organizations — regardless of size — are often prime targets. Ensuring that systems and data are secure is essential for maintaining public trust and protecting reputation. Threat-aware networks that detect and mitigate attacks before they can do damage help government IT teams respond as needed regardless of a threat’s severity. Security should be built into infrastructures from the ground up, not as an afterthought. Security measures should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest threats and vulnerabilities.
Potential Pitfall: Usability
One potential pitfall to avoid is failing to prioritize usability. While security and management tools are critical, it’s also essential to ensure that solutions are user-friendly and intuitive. Government employees need to be able to use the technology to perform their duties without being slowed down or frustrated by clunky interfaces or complex processes. The same goes for end users looking to conduct transactions with agencies. It is necessary to constantly review the user experience and make changes to improve services or add new ones as needs change.
Scalability, Not Complexity
One of the key tenets of agility in government is building for scalability. The needs of organizations can change rapidly, and infrastructures need to adapt. This means building solutions that are designed to scale, enabling additional capacity or functionality to be added on demand, quickly and cost-effectively. At the same time, it is important to avoid the pitfall of becoming overly complex. Designing a network to be agile and scalable is important, but if it’s done so in a way that creates additional overhead and expense, it can slow down the ability to adapt to changing needs — and may cause delays in new service offerings, negatively impacting the end-user experience.
Guarantee the User Experience
Managing technology for a state or local government requires the ability to keep up with rapidly changing needs, and agility is just as critical as a focus on efficiency and expenses. Government network infrastructure should integrate visibility with the latest in AI, automation and security to serve and protect citizens and employees alike, from client to cloud. Governments that address the ever-evolving needs of the future by retaining a strong focus on the experience delivered will continue to be the most successful.
Todd Nicholson is the Director of Vertical Marketing at Juniper Networks. He leads vertical go-to-market strategy in Juniper’s target industry verticals. Key responsibilities include market development, sales enablement, demand generation and vertical product solutions. Todd has an extensive 25+ year tech industry background working in executive-level sales, marketing, and product management roles for small emerging startups and large enterprise IT industry leaders, including IBM, EMC, and Gartner.
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