The Obama administration has made a consistent push to increase innovation and to increase the adoption of startups and non-traditional technologies. The word “innovation” may conjure headlines on remote sensing devices or drone technologies, but technology’s impact on government is also affected through platforms, devices and tools that solve simple yet critical procedural issues (while also packing that “wow” factor).
Here are seven kinds of technologies that are leaving a lasting change on the government.
“API First” Interoperability
Connecting and monitoring the performance of legacy systems, open data solutions, and cloud platforms through the use of APIs is on the rise. API Metrics is an example of this type of service which also provides integrations into popular services like Slack.
Cloud Security Access Brokers
As the government slowly shifts things to the cloud, having secure policy enforcement points placed between the government and cloud service providers is critical. SkyHigh Networks delivers a control point for cloud services, providing visibility into usage and risks while meeting compliance requirements and enforcing data security policies.
Customer Experience Tools
Government must provide the same quality of customer service that citizens encounter in the private sector to improve engagement and meet citizens’ expectations. One company offering this type of service is Cyara Solutions, which provides customer experience testing, discovery, and monitoring.
Mobility for Distributed Workforces
Today’s public expects to be able to access information anytime, anywhere. And government employees and military personnel are no different. When mobility can be used securely, government can see great productivity gains. Created by three U.S. Navy veterans, Crossdeck offers mobile tools for this specialized workforce.
Memory Augmentation and Decision Making Tools
Expecting IT and security professionals to easily identify or recall sub-sets of security data can keep agencies from seeing the big picture. Companies such as Breach Intelligence offer on-screen “overlays” that display data relevant to what you’re working on to enable better decision making.
Data Access and Conversion Solutions
Data is critical in driving decisions, yet the government still has a majority of it trapped in static and paper forms. Fortunately there are new technologies, such as Captricity, whch offers handwriting recognition technology to unlock access to large quantities of files.
Collaboration Tool Sets
Traditional stovepiped agencies and offices no longer work for a 21st century government, and conventional office management products haven’t kept up. Today’s workforce needs tools such as Shibumi, to enable collaboration and communication in new, fluid ways that match the way they work.
