Opinion

To make this group of government workers more productive, they need access to consumer technologies, but with the right parameters, such as operational intelligence, to ensure success at every level.

As officials in Ohio continue to promote the idea of creating a centralized criminal-sentencing database for the state, stakeholders are now suggesting that new blockchain technology could be the answer.

Closed-circuit TVs are everywhere, but limited in what they can do. However, machine-learning software can convert them into proactive tools for a range of public uses, including traffic management and public safety.

The days when communities relied on sirens to warn about emergencies have passed. Advances in technology can provide officials with much more effective early warning tools that provide targeted information in real time.

All levels of government, as well as the private sector, face growing dangers from cyberthreats. That’s why there needs to be a centralized approach to cyberpolicies before a crisis occurs.

Our first issue of the new year looks at where government technology has been, where it’s going and offers perspective on the growing ecosystem of private industry that has formed around public-sector IT.

In urban neighborhoods, where Internet service and health care can be hard to access, a novel pilot project uses local barbershops and salons as wireless hubs and hypertension screening centers.

Last week, a group of Facebook representatives and state officials broke ground on Facebook's fiber Internet project in the state, part of a much larger infrastructure project stretching from Ohio to Virginia.

The state’s agencies have to now untangle not only what happened, but also communicate with the different offices and rank-and-file state workers about how to get back on track for citizens’ services.

It has the geeky name of Non-Volatile Memory Express or NVMe, but the technology is changing how data centers operate, boosting performance and efficiency and transforming the capabilities of government agencies.

Dual participation in public assistance programs, which include Medicaid and SNAP, has been a long-standing and costly problem that can now often be fixed by deploying today’s new technology.

As cities become denser, the old rationale of designing them around automobiles must give way to a new use of streets that includes walking and micro-mobile solutions. The result: greater efficiency, equity and safety.

The fear around job automation has grown as the technology that could one day take over improves. While many have argued that blue-collar jobs will be hit hardest, the research shows white collar jobs are also in danger.

In its first 25 years, the Internet grew dramatically and organically with the users seeming to follow the same positive principles the scientists did. In the decades that followed, however, other aspects began to show through.

The lack of physicians in rural areas could be offset by using telehealth delivered by community-based digital networks. That, in turn, can make non-urban areas more livable and sustainable for seniors.

If we are going to solve modern urban problems, we need to push the conversation on data ownership and work with local, state and federal policymakers as well as tech companies to incite change.

A patchwork of 50 discrete sets of privacy laws would not only cause confusion for businesses and consumers alike, but also hit small businesses and small government agencies like a ton of bricks.

In light of concrete evidence that there was indeed foreign interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, it falls to the states and localities to keep American democratic processes secure.