AWS Helps Maryland Transform Health and Human Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 tested the foresight of Maryland’s IT leadership when the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) went all-in with cloud services. Facing the threat of a pandemic, Maryland aced the test — shifting seamlessly to a remote work model while continuing to deliver essential services to the state’s most vulnerable residents.

It all happened during the implementation phase of Maryland’s Total Human-services Integrated NetworK (MD THINK), the first platform of its kind among U.S. state agencies using the cloud to modernize vital services. Hundreds of state employees and contractors were deep in the initiative when the pandemic struck in 2020.

“What’s remarkable is that all the people supporting this effort were dealing with the pandemic themselves,” says Kelley DuBois, the Amazon Web Services (AWS) account manager helping Maryland DHS transition to the cloud. “They had kids at home and were trying to get their work done. They couldn’t go into the office. They may have had loved ones who contracted COVID.”

Their skill and dedication helped Maryland preserve MD THINK’s ambitious timelines and deliver aid to those who needed it most.

Sustaining the momentum

Launched in 2017, MD THINK represented a comprehensive reinvention of IT services delivery for Maryland DHS. Over the next five years, the agency would move from a legacy three-tiered data center model to a modern, secure, cloud-based architecture. But workloads were not simply lifted and shifted.

“They were completely re-architected, moved to the cloud, tested, and deployed in phases to reach the entire population of the state,” DuBois says.

MD THINK is modernizing the state’s delivery of critical resources to vulnerable people — adolescents, adults, refugees, and those requiring long-term care — by giving agencies a holistic view of benefits recipients. Additionally, leaders can analyze data to design better assistance programs. To do this, Maryland DHS worked with AWS and expert advisors from other partners to build a cloud-based data repository and application-sharing platform. Prior to MD THINK, social program data was stored in systems owned by several agencies, which made cross-program collaboration challenging.

MD THINK delivers a consistent, mobile-friendly user experience to DHS employees in the field while giving DHS technologists modern tools for launching web-based applications. Resources include a data warehouse, document store, analytics and reporting, and data management for third-party databases and tools.

Why go with AWS when there are so many other cloud vendors?

“AWS was in the field much earlier than the other cloud providers, so the tools they offer are more reliable and scalable,” says Subramanian Muniasamy, Chief Technology Officer at Maryland DHS.

Moreover, a project of this scope requires a stable platform to reduce the risk of downtime. “That’s the main reason we thought AWS was the right size for this kind of complex program,” Muniasamy adds.

Early in 2020, the MD THINK teams were bringing dozens of applications online. Vital services were prototyped in specific counties, using Scaled Agile and DevOps methodologies to accelerate timelines. “Without DevOps and Agile, a project with this much visibility and complexity would have taken 15 to 20 years,” Muniasamy says.

Cloud-native tools for containerization and microservices give MD THINK development teams the freedom to spin up modern, secure apps that work on any mobile device. AWS tools also support compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, IRS 1075, MARS-E, FISMA, and NIST.

These advantages helped MD THINK maintain its momentum during the pandemic with only minimal disruptions to project timelines.

Transforming a global health crisis into an opportunity

In March 2020, MD THINK’s child welfare application had been deployed in two of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions, representing about 10 percent of its statewide caseload. “COVID-19 presented an opportunity,” Muniasamy says, because the MD THINK-enabled counties had all the laptops, mobile devices, and software required to serve their constituents during the pandemic. Caseworkers’ tablets had mobile access, enabling them to enter field notes and case information in real time, reducing paperwork and streamlining client interactions.

“It was like a Eureka moment for all the other county directors,” he adds. They realized MD THINK provided effective, efficient tools for responding to COVID-19, and then they wanted their applications implemented quickly too. Cloud resources from AWS with the leadership’s clear vision and focus to the goal made that possible.

Pivoting thousands of employees to remote work

Muniasamy’s immediate COVID-19 challenge was shifting thousands of workers to remote capability in just a few days. “We were scrambling,” Muniasamy recalls. “How fast and furious could you be with 6,500 to 7,000 employees?”

Many employees lacked laptops or home desktop computers. The state bought computers for those who needed them, but that was only one part of the solution.

The other part of the solution came via Amazon WorkSpaces, which emulates Windows and Linux on remote computers — extending the state’s IT systems and applications into everybody’s homes. This was coupled with stronger coordination and streamlined operations on the ground, which led to a smooth transition of work from office space to remote with no impact to pace of the delivery.

Scaling to meet the public’s needs

Soon after mandatory pandemic-related lockdowns hit Maryland’s population, there was an influx in constituents requesting state assistance. “We saw a five- to six-fold increase in the number of people applying for benefits in April and May of 2020,” Muniasamy recalls. “With AWS, we could quickly scale up our capacity to support this sudden increase in demand.”

Scaling runs in both directions, thanks to the cloud’s pay-as-you-go model. When Marylanders’ requests for aid recede, AWS fees for bandwidth, processing, and storage will also correspondingly decrease. “There’s no need to pay unnecessarily for services not in active use,” Muniasamy adds.

Simplifying and unifying while protecting vital data

MD THINK provides a uniform technology platform for all HHS activities. This breaks down silos among disparate public service agencies. Plus, workers in the field are more productive because their mobile devices instantly connect them to data and applications.

Muniasamy’s team acknowledges that all this flexibility poses profound security challenges. AWS tools, along with other enhanced security products, help protect sensitive data like personal information and health records. “When it comes to security, there’s absolutely no compromise,” he says. Audits and security-patching protocols help MD THINK meet all state and federal compliance requirements.

Building a forward-looking architecture

Muniasamy likens MD THINK to a new airport terminal. Maryland DHS built digital infrastructure for a technology hub that can easily add more tenant applications — just as an airport would open new concourses and gates to serve new airlines.

After MD THINK initial priorities are delivered Muniasamy likens MD THINK to a new airport terminal. Maryland DHS built digital infrastructure for a technology hub that can easily add more tenant applications — just as an airport would open new concourses and gates to serve new airlines.

After MD THINK initial priorities are delivered in 2022, Maryland will be poised to onboard applications from other state agencies like the Departments of Labor, Education, and Natural Resources. “We hope to expand beyond health and human services,” he concludes. “That is our goal.”