It was great to see a few of you in person last week at the State of Technology California Industry Forum. If you were as fired up as me about budget numbers, we could be good friends. This month I’m diving into a theme I have been hearing a lot about on the road, some interesting survey data to back it and the trending editorial around this topic.

Quick note: Ask me anything! Next month, I’m going to answer all your gov and ed-tech questions. Send me an email and I’ll answer your question in next month’s newsletter.

☁️ 1 Big Thing: Cloud Is Trending

This month was filled with client briefings, both in person and virtual. Beyond the usual hot topics of AI, workforce and cybersecurity, there’s one topic that has captured the attention of industry lately: cloud computing.

Why cloud?

As the digital transformation wave sweeps across state and local governments, the adoption, pace and breadth of cloud technologies is once again a trending topic.

Nearly a decade of talking about cloud has brought us to this: It’s time to unpack cloud’s potential and the crucial role it’s playing in shaping the future of government technology.

The public sector’s take:

The public sector has largely embraced cloud. From infrastructure to SaaS, cloud is increasingly baked into procurements. Perhaps, with many organizations focused on transformational IT projects, it is not surprising for cloud to bubble up once again. 🤔

What does the data say?

  • Our latest surveys out of local government indicate that over 75 percent of responding cities and counties have 10 percent or more of their environment in the cloud today.

There is a lot of room for growth …

  • Nearly 40 percent of the same respondents indicated that 50 percent of their environment could move to the cloud.

Digital Cities and Counties Surveys (2023). Presented by the Center for Digital Government.

Most-read stories related to cloud across all government titles from H1 2023 (brought to you by Industry Navigator’s intent data)

  1. Where Are States on the Path to Upgrading ERP Systems?
    March 2023
  2. Is There Hope for Modernizing State DMVs?
    March 2023
  3. Vermont CIO Acknowledges Audit Findings, Agency Progress
    May 2023

🔥 TL;DR: When it comes to cloud, things are just heating up.

That’s a wrap for August. Connect with me on LinkedIn and don’t forget to send me your questions!