Category: Government

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.

According to the United States Constitution, public access to judicial proceedings is a right covered by the First and Sixth Amendments. To make hearings visible to the public, even when in-person attendance is limited, state and local governments are beginning to mandate many court proceedings be live streamed, often with a very short window to do so. The cloud-native media and asset management platform Nomad, which is built on AWS, helps governments implement scalable live streaming capabilities quickly and simply.

Citizens want to report issues to their local governments in a fast and simple manner and not have to worry about identifying the right government agency or phone number—for instance, if a fire hydrant is broken, or a road sign has fallen over. In this blog post, learn how to set up a solution with AWS deep learning services that creates a fluid experience for reporting and addressing these issues.

In June 2022, AWS Partner Coursera launched the annual Global Skills Report, an in-depth look at the state of skills globally. The Global Skills Report draws data from 100 million learners in more than 100 countries who have used Coursera, a global online learning platform, to develop a new skill during the past year. Building on the findings from the Global Skills Report, the following are four skills trends that workforce development leaders, like those in state and local government and education, should keep in mind as they strive to build an inclusive and competitive workforce.