In the past, government IT was mainly focused on providing secure connectivity to employees and citizens. However, as government services have continued to evolve, IT teams are now tasked with leveraging technology to enhance citizen experience and streamline operations. State and local governments are increasingly looking for ways to do this without increased spending. With stagnant or falling receipts and funds, and limits in place on staff, resources and budgets, it is more critical than ever before that initiatives provide an easy and visible return on investment.
With that in mind, several actions can be undertaken to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations and services and show a direct line between the investment and a positive result. These include instituting improved inventory management, better asset tracking, reviews of service levels and the implementation of location-based data services. Done correctly, these initiatives can help streamline operations, enhance public safety and improve the overall “government customer” user experience.
Given the speed with which technology advances are made and constituent needs evolve, any new government digitization investments in these areas should embrace the opportunity to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies. AI and ML can help speed the rollout of these new services, make them more effective, and help government employees to be more productive while spending less time on repeatable tasks.
Inventory Management
One of the quickest returns on investment can be improving how a state or local government manages inventory and assets. Government agencies have expensive equipment and sensitive gear that they need to track, maintain and keep secure. Traditionally, this process has been haphazard and manual or non-existent. With equipment scattered across numerous facilities, keeping track of what’s where can be challenging.
Modern inventory management and asset tracking solutions utilize the latest networking technologies, integrating Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, high-speed connections and monitors to track devices. Real-time information on the location and status of critical infrastructure equipment can be provided quickly, making it easier to find a piece of equipment and reducing the risk of theft, loss or damage. AI and ML tools could even improve these efforts in the future, helping employees to narrow down the most likely location of equipment.
Monitoring Service Delivery
Monitoring service delivery locations is a crucial area where the latest technologies can help a government achieve operational efficiencies.
Government agencies provide various critical services to citizens, and it is essential to ensure that service goals are met. With advanced networking technologies, agencies can monitor their service areas in real-time and identify areas that need improvement. Long wait times can be identified and reduced, and congested locations can be mitigated quickly, improving service delivery to citizens in near real-time.
Incorporating AI and ML technologies into these services can also aid in monitoring and ensuring service level delivery. For example, restrictions on wait times or the number of people in a line could be set up, and the AI could alert managers when that threshold is reached so that a new station can be opened to service waiting citizens. Just imagine how much faster and more efficient the Department of Motor Vehicles could be if such technologies were in place.
In my next post, I’ll tackle the burgeoning areas of location-based technologies and walk through other areas where the latest networking technologies can help make government operations more modern, efficient and effective.
Todd Nicholson is the Director of Vertical Marketing at Juniper Networks. He leads vertical go-to-market strategy in Juniper’s target industry verticals. Key responsibilities include market development, sales enablement, demand generation and vertical product solutions. Todd has an extensive 25+ year tech industry background working in executive-level sales, marketing, and product management roles for small emerging startups and large enterprise IT industry leaders, including IBM, EMC, and Gartner.
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