The best way to future-proof your government agency

History has shown — and recent events have proven — there’s almost nothing more certain than uncertainty.

This is an uneasy reality when you’re responsible for delivering government services to citizens. If you can’t predict what’s coming next, how do you plan for the future? If you charge too aggressively in one direction with no escape route, you risk choosing incorrectly and finding yourself unable to course-correct. On the other hand, if you wait too long for problems to present themselves, you might be too late to adapt to the expectations of today’s digital-first constituents and employees.

So how do you fortify your agency against change? By putting your people, processes and priorities in a position of true agility.

Take your agency’s mission, vision and values — the things you stand for and the importance you put on meeting expectations of the people you serve — and place them as the unchanging center of agile operations that can pivot as needs evolve. Then, structure your operations so that if you need to make a major, immediate change in the way you work, you can do so. This strategy enables your agency to stay true to its purpose and pivot quickly to whatever your staff and citizens require.

The best way to do that? Content services in the cloud.

Understanding the risks of stagnation

When content services is managed on-premises, its power is throttled. In fact, hosting content services on-premises can put your entire agency at risk.

At worst, this could look like a total loss of data and system configuration due to natural or physical disaster. If a car crashes into your server room or a tornado destroys the building, your systems and everything stored within them could be gone in an instant.

More commonly, however, the risks posed by on-premises delivery are less obvious. They are so unremarkable you might think that’s just the way things are everywhere.

Let’s test it out: Do any of these challenges sound familiar?

Challenge: "Our systems feel outdated."
Risk: Because they require users to manually keep up to date with new versions, features and patches, on-premises solutions are often running a few steps behind. This means , increased security risk and degrading ROI for your investment.

Challenge: “It takes forever for IT to fix or implement anything.”
Risk: Because your IT team must make these updates manually, they’re overloaded, and your systems are undersupported. There isn’t enough human power to keep up with the fluid demands of the agency and the diversity of technology. Plus, with tech workers in high demand, this unsustainable, unnecessary workload might have your IT employees looking for work elsewhere.

Challenge: “Expectations change so quickly, and we can’t keep up.”
Risk: Because market conditions and tech capabilities shift so frequently and unpredictably, quickly changing direction is nearly impossible. That means your agency will fall short of the expectations of 21st-century citizens and the staff who serve them, negatively impacting both citizen and employee experience.

Challenge: “If something happened to our servers, it would take a lot of time and effort for us to recover.”
Risk: On-premises hosting usually equates to inadequate disaster recovery protocols, controls, documentation and resources. This increases your risk of data loss and disruption of operations. It also makes disaster recovery and operational continuity a terrifying prospect.

Challenge: “It’s tough to know if our sensitive data is actually secure.”
Risk: Because on-premises solutions require you to manually stay ahead of ever-changing cybersecurity threats, privacy regulations and access control, you’re at major risk of data breaches and fines.

Challenge: “Our staff still relies on paper files.”
Risk: Tying workflow and productivity to physical locations means telework, hybrid and flex models — the preferences of today’s talent pool — are off the table. In response, high-quality employees and candidates may consider other, more flexible job opportunities. Further, your staff who work in the field will waste considerable time, effort and resources if they need to return to the office to drop off or pick up reports. Slowed criminal investigations and regulatory inspections jeopardize the public safety of citizens and communities.

Here’s some good news: You don’t have to continue working this way.

Each of these challenges can be mitigated or eliminated by migrating content services to the cloud.

At their core, these challenges likely stem from a lack of agility. An on-premises solution doesn’t provide the flexibility, scalability or resiliency needed for an environment that can quickly change, which means the people supporting it often can’t address problems in real time. As a result, you can’t meet expectations at the expected speed. You’re stuck.

Hosting content services in the cloud is now the smartest choice for government agencies at all levels to keep pace in the digital transformation era.

How moving content and processes off-premises can transform government

Want to accelerate your agency’s modernization and digital government journey? In the cloud, a content services solution is a natural conduit for technological progress. The cloud provides increased access to systems and information from anywhere and gives your agency the flexibility and agility to move ahead.

Content services in the Hyland Cloud means your information is stored securely and reliably, with near 99.99% uptime and backup redundancy for disaster recovery. It means more engaged, empowered employees and more responsive citizen experience.

Agencies operating in the Hyland Cloud get the quickest, easiest access to upgrades, new features and compliance initiatives. You always get the best of what our solutions have to offer — making the Hyland Cloud the key to maximizing your investment in content services.

Our cloud solution also yields considerable capital benefits. According to a Forrester report, migrating to the Hyland Cloud:

• Delivers 293% return on investment
• Saves $504,000 in capital expenditure
• Represents $2.79 million in net present value over just three years
• Pays for itself in less than six months

Government demands never slow down

You might think, “Now that work is returning to a more recognizable rhythm, it’s safe to put a cloud migration initiative on our five-year plan.” But technology and society never stop evolving, and the future is unpredictable. That’s why the time to migrate is now.

Cloud migration will facilitate your management of post-pandemic changes and new ways of working and connecting remotely. No matter what comes next, a content services platform in the cloud can accommodate your ideal reaction to any circumstance.

It’s time to face the future with agility and confidence. It’s time for the Hyland Cloud.