Mike Boyle, TCC Director of Business Development
Most people would agree that 2020 was a tough year. The pandemic forced businesses to change many of the ways they conducted their daily operations. The same is definitely true for government agencies that had to rapidly adjust to a changing business climate.
I came across an article on the GCN website that summed up the top five trends affecting government agencies in 2021. https://gcn.com/articles/2021/02/12/5-tech-trends.aspx
- “Automation moves out of the back office and into citizen-facing applications.”
The article states that the pandemic forced government employees to work remotely, which kept employees safe, and is also driving an increase in the use of automation not only for back-office tasks, but also for citizen-facing applications.
2. “AI (not just machine learning) establishes a true foothold in government.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI) gives automation the decision making ability required to keep up with increasing volumes of data utilized by government agencies. During the pandemic government agencies built the infrastructure required to utilize AI for automating and machine learning. The article states “Government adoption of AI is vital to both maintaining the nation’s geopolitical position and augmenting human-based processes in the wake of multiplying data volumes.”
3. “Remote-access technologies become the hottest security tech for the government.”
The article states that the pandemic forced IT professionals to get remote employees connected and back to business as quickly as possible. “In 2021, they’ll have to go back and secure the many applications and networks spun up in the cloud over the last year. The attack surface widened dramatically in a very short time, and ransomware evolved to take advantage of the opportunity. This year, agencies must implement zero trust for remote users and then apply those settings to on-site employees, as opposed to the other way around.”
4. “Government’s data analytics capabilities will mature and move toward predictive analytics.”
Government agencies can now utilize the infrastructure built during the pandemic to increase the use of predictive analytics into their workflows. The article cites the following examples of the use of predictive analytics: “The Department of Agriculture, for instance, has turned to predictive analytics to help farm, forest and ranch managers make sustainable decisions. Additionally, predictive analytics are helping the Department of Defense anticipate when machine parts need to be replaced, which helps vehicles maintain a higher level of uptime.”
5. “CMMC will drive continuous monitoring.”
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is recognized as the security standard for many government agencies, including the Department of Defense. The article states “Continuous monitoring requires a mindset shift as much as a technological one, and it allows for a greater understanding of any given contractor’s data, systems and network footprints. Additionally, continuous monitoring gives agencies the ability to establish a baseline on a company-by-company basis.”
As the article notes, the transformation of government IT services that began in 2020 will continue in 2021 and beyond.
To learn more about TCC and our work with government agencies please visit our website www.e-tcc.com.
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