2020 Puts Cloud Computing in Government to the Test

State and local public-sector agencies have long been making a move toward “cloud first” and now “cloud smart” strategies. COVID-19 gave them the change to prove whether those investments paid off.

Gov Tech’s Gender Gap: Getting More Women in Government IT

Women make up only about one-quarter of the tech workforce, and even less are in gov tech leadership roles. Creating an inclusive environment and developing talent pipelines are key to changing that.

Departments

NYC Navigates COVID-19 While Working Toward Long-term Goals

Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, explains how she pivoted to address the pandemic while maintaining and modernizing the massive city’s systems.

Maryland Stands Up Online Grants Application in Just 8 Hours

With the groundwork for its online permitting portal already in place, when the Maryland Department of Commerce needed to quickly distribute funding for small businesses in the pandemic, IT stepped up to the plate.

Could National Unrest Derail the Future of Facial Recognition?

As civil liberty groups have lobbied for police reforms nationwide, an increasingly hostile regulatory landscape is emerging for facial recognition technology. It throws into question whether there is a path forward for its use by state and local governments.

Will COVID-19 Cause Long-Term Tech Changes for Courts?

Tech experts who work with county court systems have implemented a number of changes to help the justice system continue to function in the time of COVID-19, and some of those changes may become permanent.

Point of View

2020 Vision on the Cloud: Tech Rises to the Occasion

The changes wrought by the pandemic have underscored the need for creative, flexible leaders who expect the same from their technology. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that as-a-service technologies have met this moment.

News

Ruggedized Tablet Offers Reliable Internet Access to Inmates

Plus, NETGEAR cloud-managed multi-gig WAX610 access points provide secure access for multiple devices simultaneously, and the Logitech Swytch simplifies videoconferencing from any laptop without adaptors.

Camera Small Enough for a Beetle Offers Peek at Insect Life

Plus, the amount of equity-based investments made in the space sector, Google Maps integrates bike share information after a year-long pilot in New York City, and app downloads in the U.S. versus China this year.

Columns

Shifting Safely to Online Learning Means Investing in Cyber

As schools embark on a year of virtual or hybrid learning, hackers are seeking to exploit weaknesses in systems largely unprepared to fend off attacks. States must take the lead by updating technology and training users.

How Local CIOs Can Help Narrow the Digital Divide Amid COVID

By making connections between groups in need of digital assistance and local nonprofits, city and county CIOs are well-poised to help overcome the realities of digital inequity exposed by the pandemic.