Category: Government

Cloud technology is transforming the way organizations use data to make decisions, provide services to communities, and collaborate across departments and business processes. However, some public sector organizations are challenged by procurement. To help demystify the cloud procurement process, here are answers to three questions public sector procurement officials frequently ask about buying cloud.

The Poudre River Library District is a public library system in Larimer County, Colorado that serves approximately 177,000 patrons. When their integrated library system (ILS) vendor notified the Library District that the system could no longer run on their aging on-premises hardware, they were at a crossroads. After pricing out multiple options, the Library District opted to manage their own ILS migration to AWS. With an IT staff of four, the Library District completed a successful migration in six months with help from their AWS account team.

To gain operational efficiencies and reduce workload burdens on employees, some state finance and tax agencies are leveraging robotic process automation (RPA) on AWS. RPA is a software tool that integrates with almost any system or application and performs manual, repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Tax agencies can use AI and ML to support the sheer size and scale of data they manage and to access and analyze all types of data with ease, including voice, video, and streaming data. Find out three ways AI and ML are creating measurable outcomes for tax agencies.

Natural disasters are devastating, often resulting in loss of life, massive property damage, and damage to the critical infrastructure that powers emergency services. This can prompt public sector organizations to consider building more resilient infrastructure. Such was the case for the 911 system in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, an agency that dispatches for 21 public safety agencies including law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services, and averages over 325 calls for service per day. After a major flood in 2016 knocked out their 911 system, they worked with AWS Partner TailorBuilt Solutions, LLC. to use AWS to become resilient against disaster, reducing service interruptions and improving response times.

The recent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy update contains important cloud computing language that aligns with the AWS approach to building CJIS compliant solutions. Learn more about the CJIS Security Policy changes and how AWS supports these new policies.

In September 2022, the State of Arizona Department of Homeland Security (AZDOHS) launched a new program to bolster the cybersecurity of Arizona’s most vulnerable cities, counties, and K12 school districts. The Arizona Statewide Cyber Readiness Grant Program enables local entities to reduce their cyberattack surface by accessing technical assistance and software licenses across five functional areas. The Cyber Grant Task Force selected two software providers from the AWS Marketplace hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Tanium and CrowdStrike to assist cities, counties, and schools with improving their cybersecurity posture.

Friday, November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States. AWS thanks and honors active duty military and veterans today, and works to show our appreciation and commitment to the military community, veterans, and their spouses through our work year-round. From supporting veteran service organizations and nonprofits to providing training to active-duty and reservist service members, government civilians, transitioning veterans, and military spouses, AWS is dedicated to serving the military and veteran community. Learn more about the progress we’ve made on our ongoing efforts to support the military community throughout the year.

At re:Invent 2022, discover how AWS empowers organizations across the public sector in the AWS Public Sector Leadership Session, on Tuesday November 29, from 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Dr. Peggy Whitson, astronaut and director of human space flight at Axiom Space, and Matthew C. Fraser, chief technology officer (CTO) of New York City, will join Max Peterson, vice president of worldwide public sector at AWS, on the re:Invent stage. Learn how these pioneers are paving new paths with AWS and discover how you can push boundaries and drive your mission forward for constituents.

Whether on land, in air, or at sea, having connectivity and access to information in the field is critical for the US Department of Defense (DoD). Satellite communications systems provide the DoD with critical capabilities—from delivering satellite imagery to enabling communications—that support military users operating around the globe. Now, as part of a new DoD research and development effort, AWS and Amazon’s Project Kuiper will help shape the future of global, ubiquitous, and secure internet connectivity throughout the space domain for the United States and its allies.

At this year’s annual re:Invent event from November 28 to December 2 in Las Vegas, you can dive deep on new innovations in the cloud, connect with public sector peers, and discover new solutions to your challenges with AWS. This year, there are more public sector specific content and opportunities for hands-on learning than ever before. Discover what public sector customers have to look forward to at re:Invent 2022, and register your spot today.