AWS Public Sector Blog

Almost three quarters of government information technology (IT) professionals and decision-makers say their agency holds onto their data centers for too long, and overvalues those data centers according to MeriTalk’s recently published report and infographic “Infrastructure Psychology: Overvaluing Outdated Data Centers.”

Because many careers now include robotics, it’s important for schools to incorporate robotics and related education into their curriculums to train and empower the future workforce. Read on to learn about three AWS EdStart startups that are using AWS to teach robotics and supporting technologies in the classroom.

According to a survey of attendees at the AWS DC Public Sector Summit in 2019, 74% of government IT professionals believe their agencies hold onto data centers longer than they should. Monolithic methods of deployment impact speed, performance, and cost. With microservices, customers can break their monoliths into smaller business units, making it easier to migrate and manage systems in the cloud. This post outlines how customers can migrate from on-premises data centers to the cloud and break away from monolithic methods of deployment using microservices and containers.

The technological revolution allows cities to deliver citizen services more effectively. But sticking with the status quo and not modernizing IT systems can expose cities to cybercrimes including ransomware. A number of U.S. cities have been the targets of recent high-profile ransomware attacks such as Atlanta and Baltimore, with recovery costs running to hundreds of millions of dollars. At the 2019 CityLab Summit in Washington, D.C., the AWS Institute convened a roundtable with mayors, CIOs, and cybersecurity leaders from across the United States to share their experiences and lessons learned.

This year’s AWS Government Delegation Day at re:Invent in Las Vegas had a similar look and feel to last year’s inaugural program – but with a more global and expansive twist. The 2019 program welcomed a diverse crowd of international government executives from 40 countries, including from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada, and the Middle East. Over 300 government officials made the trip to Las Vegas for this customized talent development initiative focused on these key themes.

The Government of Canada (GC) signed a framework agreement with AWS to provide Commercially Available Cloud Services for workloads up to the level of Protected B/Medium Integrity/Medium Availability (PBMM). Having a contract vehicle with a Cloud Service Provider (CSP) is a significant step forward in modernizing digital government for Canadians, and will further the Government of Canada’s Cloud and digital strategy. This contract is in addition to the procurement vehicle for unclassified data announced in 2018.

Last week at AWS re:Invent, students from a local Las Vegas high school and students who traveled in from the United Kingdom (UK) participated in an AWS Field Trip to get inspired and excited to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers through a day of fun, hands-on engagements with technology.

Education Dive announced George Mason University (GMU), Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), and AWS Educate earned the Higher Ed “Partnership of the Year” award for collaborating to launch a two and four-year cloud degree pathway. Education Dive, a digital publication for the education industry, gives out the annual Dive Awards to the industry’s top innovators for their efforts to shape the future of education.

In 2019, Grand River Hospital turned to AWS to build the first AWS healthcare data lake in Canada. The data lake was built to house the hospital’s sensitive patient and administrative data while retiring its legacy hospital information systems, comprised of electronic patient record and other administrative systems. Grand River Hospital in Ontario, Canada is a 580-bed community hospital with a yearly operating budget of around $400 million CAD serving a community of 600,000-650,000 people.

What if someone in a hospital room or public train station suddenly falls due to a stroke or other health issue? An automated monitoring system like AWS DeepLens, a deep learning-enabled video camera for developers, could detect such falls and contact emergency services in a timely manner. Using AWS DeepLens, I created a solution.