Head in the Cloud? So are Some States…almost!

The Sacramento GovUp last week was no different than all the other GovUp‘s GovLoop has hosted; full of great ideas, an eager movement forward and an opportunity to network with people at all levels of government.

Scott Gregory, California’s newest Geographic Information Officer, brought many great ideas to the table that are both aggressive and exciting for the the State of California, but specifically for the Geographic Information System (GIS) community. While the state has already made a move toward an all government cloud, this is the first (for me) to hear of the plans being made with the goal of all GIS data collected from any level of government to be housed in one database for all to study and learn from. [Collaboration Bonus Points!]

With this lofty (but attainable) goal the State of California is looking beyond software as a service when what they have sought out is platform as a service. With this, citizens, governments and businesses can build, manage and function more efficiently and effectively together. No more overlapping of data creation, time implemented and/or efforts taken to collect and disseminate the information appropriately; soon tasks can be collaborated upon and collected together to streamline processes and ultimately save the State money.

I personally think it is great to hear about States heading in this direction! Wyoming and California seem to be laying the groundwork for a more transparent, collaborative and citizen engaged government…what are your thoughts?

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Thank you to our 2012 Partner and GovUp Sponsor, Esri, for their support of GovLoop. Their passion and dedication to the GIS community is contagious! If you don’t already know, find out now What GIS is, Who uses it and What GIS can do, today!