State and Local Governments Strengthen Services with Data Center Optimization

State and local governments can take their citizen services to the next level by optimizing their data centers. While many may look to the cloud, others can discover efficiencies through recapitalization of on-premises data center technology.

Data centers are the backbone of any agency’s IT infrastructure, providing storage, processing and networking capabilities for various applications. State and local governments may rely on outdated, inefficient and costly data centers that are not able to meet the growing demands of the digital era.

The pandemic years exposed the shortcomings of some legacy data center operations:

Outdated hardware and software could not scale to demand as large numbers of people sought to access government services. Older software and hardware solutions could not connect to new systems or use new data sets due to a lack of interoperability. Legacy applications often could not stop security breaches or detect fraudulent activity.

Outdated data centers also were not able to capitalize on innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) or virtualization to extend the reach of government employees.

Modernizing data centers is not a one-time project but a continuous process that requires careful planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation.

To begin a modernization journey, state and local governments should assess the state of their current data center infrastructure and identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. They can then define goals and objectives for data center optimization.

Having established goals, IT officials should develop a strategy and a roadmap, considering budget, risks, stakeholders and, of course, citizen services. Implementing the plan will require adopting best practices for project management and change management, and agencies should follow up with evaluations to measure performance outcomes.

State and local governments can seek guidance and assistance from managed service providers and experts that specialize in data center modernization. By modernizing their data centers, government agencies can enhance their service delivery, security and efficiency and ultimately achieve their mission and vision for their citizens and communities.

Story by Mickey McCarter, the managing editor of StateTech.