Our state government IT systems are over-reliant on technology that represent Model T's in an age of electric cars and self-landing rockets. As a result, the delivery of state services today isn't much different than it was decades ago. Accessing them often requires navigating multiple agency websites and filling out forms, over and over.
What if you could go to one government web portal and access everything you need? Much like you can shop for goods from grocery stores and online private companies today?
That's what connected government is all about.
The benefits will be transformative.
For state residents the most visible change will be easier, more equitable access to state services through a resident portal. Instead of making your way through a maze of agency websites to access services, residents will be able to sign onto a single government website using one set of secure credentials and access any service they need.
Behind the scenes, however, the benefits will be far broader, including:
- The ability for the state to more quickly scale services to meet demand during emergencies.
- Rapid start-up of new cloud-based applications and technologies to address emerging issues. This will enable the state to stay ahead of the curve instead of constantly playing catch-up.
- An improved flow of information to inform decisions.
- Saying good-bye to antiquated legacy systems. State applications will be constantly upgraded, avoiding the pitfalls of purchasing expensive proprietary hardware and software that becomes difficult to upgrade or replace.
Achieving the vision of a connected government will require moving data into the cloud where it can be securely shared by agencies. Currently, antiquated IT systems have become digital moats around state agencies, making it difficult for them to easily share information - and for the state to modernize.
WaTech is playing a leading role in this transformation by:
- Providing the leadership and IT backbone needed to migrate agency systems to the cloud.
- Overseeing the implementation of a training program to prepared the state workforce for cloud adoption.
- Creating a brokerage service that provides leading cloud solutions agencies can choose from.
This vision is WaTech's top priority and we're leading the way to make it happen. To find out more see WaTech's IT Strategic Plan for 2023-25.