AWS Public Sector Blog
Author: Ruthbea Yesner
Ruthbea Yesner is the vice president of government insights at IDC. In this practice, Ms. Yesner manages the US federal government, education, and the worldwide smart cities and communities global practices. Ms. Yesner's research discusses the strategies and execution of relevant technologies and best practice areas, such as governance, innovation, partnerships and business models, essential for government and education transformation. Ms. Yesner's research includes analytics, artificial intelligence, open data and data exchanges, digital twins, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and mobile solutions in the areas of economic development and civic engagement, urban planning and administration, smart campus, transportation, and energy and infrastructure. Ms. Yesner has had several roles at IDC over the past 15 years. Ms. Yesner helped launch the IDC end-user research vertical group as the director of vertical views following five years as a consulting director for large-scale international projects that provided strategic and tactical marketing services, including market opportunity assessments, competitive analysis, and cost/benefit analysis. In 2016, Ms. Yesner was presented with the James Peacock 2015 Memorial Award for excellence in her contributions to IDC research and IDC clients. Ms. Yesner holds a BA from Wesleyan University, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston College with an MBA and MSW joint degree.
Building digital capabilities to withstand future challenges, from cyberattacks to severe weather events
Recent events, from public sector cyberattacks and severe weather events to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, have revealed that many educational institutions, as well as regional and local governments, are not fully prepared to respond to these incidents. At the same time, large-scale disruptive events illustrate how important it is for public sector organizations to respond rapidly to keep essential services running as well as quickly pivot to offer new services. In an IDC survey of 2,000 U.S. residents in September 2020, 31% said they would like to continue virtual government services as a replacement for in-person interactions, while another IDC survey of U.S. teachers revealed that 38% expect a growth in hybrid or remote learning to be a lasting change.