Amazon Web Services’ new Government Lens “is a collection of customer-proven design principles, scenarios and technology agnostic best practices designed to encourage the unique context and requirements of governments,” according to a blog post from Pete Herlihy, technical product manager and open source lead for the AWS Government Transformation Team.
The new offering is intended to be used by government professionals in technology roles, including chief technology officers, CISOs, designers and compliance officers.
Government Lens is part of the AWS Well-Architected Framework, which has been around since 2015 and helps AWS customers boost their cloud architecture and reduce technical risks.
Government Lens, drawing on expertise from people who have worked in government, bridges “the divide between technologist and policy teams,” according to Herlihy.
The technical guidance offered via Government Lens takes into account legal, legislative and other issues that governments must work with, according to the blog, with the goal of delivering “meaningful outcomes on AWS.” Guidance covers such topics as artificial intelligence, verifiable credentials and the use of open source software.
One section of Government Lens, titled “Enabling service outcomes for government,” provides best practices for grants management, public safety, budgeting and other areas, according to the blog.
“The Government Lens recognizes that every government operates in a unique cultural and historical context, which means different expectations, needs, mandates and even a different perspective about the role of government in that society,” Herlihy wrote. “Anyone who is responsible for delivering services in government must understand the special local context they serve and consider what is appropriate from this Lens to apply.”
This recent move follows the launch a couple of months ago of the company’s first “AWS GovTech Accelerator.” When Amazon announced the program, it said it hoped to focus on such issues as community engagement, crime deterrence and recidivism reduction.
