State government facilities were driven to restrict the Covid-19 pandemic, underlining the ability of state data generation (IT) leaders to provide facilities to more than 16 million public workers and millions of state residents. Here are 4 michael G classes. Leahy, Maryland Secretary of Information Technology and Georgia Chief Technology Officer Steve Nichols, PhD.
1. IT managers create a cybersecurity environment
For Leahy of Maryland, IT is all about software and hardware, it’s about helping state workers make more important decisions. It ensures that state workers get cybersecurity education to stumble upon phishing and other malicious tactics. This investment paid off when Maryland Department of Labor workers found out. a great plan to defraud the Covid-19 unemployment insurance program. Rapid action has stored more than $1 billion in taxpayers.
Other cultural adjustments come with adaptation to the paintings of the house (FMH), not only as a condition of transitoryness but as a new normality. According to Nichols in Georgia, his paintings also come with managing employees’ mental adjustment, not just their IT needs. Meanwhile, Nichols has reorganized GTA processes to take remote security into account, upgrade systems when other people and their machines are not in the office, and comply with applicable laws.
2. La continuous improvement is the way to prepare
Long-term allocation control disagrees with the brief tenure of top IT managers at the state level. Nichols, who has worked for nearly two decades, has been able to put into effect vital assignments that have placed Georgia in a more important position for Atlanta, as state capital and large metropolitan area, has a set of desires and demanding situations for state agencies concentrated in one place. He led the privatization of Georgia’s IT infrastructure in 2009 and oversees the ongoing modernization of the state PC The National Association of State Information Directors (NASCIO) has named Nichols’ 2017 Innovator of the Year for his leadership.
Maryland is at the forefront of selling a new framework for corporations to keep their records in distributed blockchain databases or electronic networks, giving companies credit by reducing administrative and regulatory costs. Leahy leads these inventions for state government, proactive measures for the state’s monetary scenario and personal computer security. A NASCIO examined the screens that states that had already begun modernization efforts, such as cloud integration, were better off for the pandemic.
3. Quick reaction when you can’t, you are waiting for everything
While planning is important, it doesn’t go far. Nichols notes that his team reviewed the H1N1 PC reaction document they developed for the 2010 pandemic, but did not anticipate the need for the WFH or the record traffic to government websites. State. Almost overnight, traffic to the Georgia Department of Public Health increased from a few thousand to more than five million visits. Responding to an 11,000% increase required immediate expansion, the provision of servers and protocols for secure remote Internet connections. Essential activities included the creation of a Covid-19 hotline to assist citizens who may have been exposed and / or symptoms appeared and a Covid panel to provide updates on cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and intensive care admissions. Traffic to the Georgia Department of Labor has increased from thousands to millions of visits to process unemployment claims and tens of thousands of phone calls. The Georgia Technology Authority provides statistics on its 77 Georgian public websites, offering policymakers and the public a real-time view of how citizens are accessing social services.
4. Having partners in position before the pandemic
From the governor’s announcement to the closure, Nichols only had one day to supply government personnel to the WFH. He relied heavily on Microsoft and Google partners to help him manage his IT needs. The overall load was about 7,000 active connections, but this figure amounted to 68,000. personnel who needed remote access at the same time, prompting an avalanche of laptops. GTA and its partners acted temporarily to classify 1,000 laptops for the Ministry of Public Health and strengthen the service.
GTA has worked with Microsoft to set up chatbots (artificial intelligence (AI) software that answers unusual questions) for Georgia’s leading Covid management queries. Chatbots answered millions of questions for Georgians and expanded the state’s reaction to the pandemic. At least 38 states, have implemented chatbots to answer Covid’s questions and complaints. Partners also helped Georgia implement Covid’s control assessment/planning applications, touch search and disease tracking solutions.
A trusted partnership program also includes preparation to limit vulnerable providers. Leahy notes that Maryland will not purchase software or hardware from accredited vendors. He points out that corporations such as Lenovo and Lexmark face a higher point given their ties to the People’s Republic of China and compromised security reports.
Reflecting on Georgia’s procedure to limit Kapersky, ZTE and Huawei, Nichols notes that state IAMs are the key player between state and federal policy, ensuring that security measures are implemented while fair, open and competitive procedures are in place for tenders and tenders. wants to be proactive, critical and thorough, he says. For example, Nichols discovered that one of the state’s surveillance cameras had a Huawei chipset that would then be removed. It recommends that IT managers be aware of those discussions and broaden evaluation standards.
See the Forbes CIO Network for valuable stories and resources that highlight the need for strong and reliable leadership, partners, and chains of origin.
As an American in Denmark, I use international, multidisciplinary, evidence-based approaches to analyze generation policy. Please Strand Consult; Co-founder of ChinaTechThreat;
As an American in Denmark, I use international, multidisciplinary, evidence-based approaches to analyze generation policy. Please Strand Consult; Co-founder of ChinaTechThreat; PhD, economics researcher and visiting researcher, electronic systems, Aalborg University.