While nearly all state and local government (SLG) CIOs and IT managers recognize that cloud services will have a big impact on their ability to improve citizen services and provide public safety services over the next five years, many of them are still moving cautiously on cloud service implementations.
That’s a major conclusion from a new study from MeriTalk State and Local, which interviewed state CIOs and collected quantitative data from an online survey of more than 150 SLG IT managers about cloud adoption strategies and preparedness. The study was underwritten by Amazon Web Services.
The top-line findings show firm conviction that cloud services will have a big impact over the next five years on SLG’s ability to:
- Improve citizen services (94 percent);
- Provide public safety services (89 percent); and
- Conduct elections (83 percent).
Even with potential improvements to those vital services on the line, however, many SLG CIOs and IT managers are still showing a degree of caution in moving ahead with cloud service deployments. Asked to describe their approach to cloud services:
- 26 percent called themselves “cloud innovators” who are aggressively moving systems to the cloud;
- Most (52 percent) said they are “cloud conservative”; and
- 17 percent reported in as “cloud newbies.”
A host of factors are at work shaping SLG leaders’ approach to cloud adoption, including state IT policies and practical hurdles such as security, workforce, and procurement challenges.
Click here to find them all in MeriTalk State and Local’s “Ready, Set, Innovate: Cross-Country Cloud Preparedness.”
