The spread of COVID-19 has disrupted almost every part of our individual and professional lives. From global supply chain shortages to new ways of work at businesses, schools and government agencies, everyone has been affected.
At agencies, early strategies largely focused on scaling existing technologies, such as VPN capacity and in-office tools, while selectively introducing new solutions to address critical gaps, such as form intake and document management.
The challenge now is, most of these early strategies were devised with the assumptions that COVID-19-related disruptions would be short-lived, we would eventually return to normal, and the pre-COVID style of working would return.
This may not be a reasonable expectation.
Today, most government employees can telework securely. But now it’s time for government technology leaders to think about the investments and strategies they need to employ for the longer-term “new normal.”
Agencies are being pushed forward in multiple ways:
- They’re facing budget constraints due to the pandemic.
- They’re dealing with a sprawl of systems, technologies and content, leading to inefficiencies and security challenges.
- And citizen expectations are tilting in favor of digital services.
Every agency is adjusting to this new way of work. IT infrastructure, business processes and human capital are being tested like never before. And the challenge is that amongst all this, agencies must also rethink how to protect, control and govern data.
Data is flowing at higher speeds and volumes online and within internal systems. But while trying to protect citizen data, enforce privacy and maintain compliance, agencies can’t forget about innovation.
Now more than ever, agencies must improve citizen experiences by retiring paper-based processes in favor of digitization, automated forms and modern case management.
The solution? A secure, scalable cloud-based content collaboration platform.
With a cloud-based content collaboration platform, agencies can retire legacy infrastructure, reduce data center footprints, and modernize legacy apps.
Consolidating enterprise data and content into one integrated platform reduces risks, costs and complexity.
Box, a leader in secure cloud-based collaboration services, helps government agencies become more efficient by connecting public servants and constituents to their information, on any device from anywhere.
Let’s look at a couple of examples.
- The U.S. Agriculture Department’s (USDA) Farm Services Agency is modernizing the way 2,000 farm services centers across the country operate remotely. By focusing on the experience of farmers and producers in a digital-first environment and scaling cloud investments, USDA enabled its new digital processes to thousands of employees in a matter of weeks, ensuring long-lasting mission resiliency.
- Elsewhere, the D.C. Office of the Attorney General needed a digital way for citizens to apply for and receive adjudications for child support payments. In partnership with Box and other cloud solutions, the office deployed a digital child support application in a matter of weeks, allowing citizens to engage and get services digitally end to end. Those included case management, document submission and review, and call center support.
This article is an excerpt from GovLoop Academy’s recent course, “How to Digitize Mission Processes and Improve Customer Experience,” created in partnership with Box and Carahsoft. Access the full course here.
