1. Navigating the New
Government Network
TheTopFivePrioritiesforPublicSectorITLeaders
MICHAEL HARRIS | KINE TIC STR ATEGIES
2. In an era of slashed budgets and skyrocketing citizen expectations,
state and local governments are counting on network-delivered solutions
to bridge the gap between high expectations and limited resources. Cloud
services, big data analytics and e-Government applications offer powerful
opportunities to enhance productivity, reduce costs, accelerate innovation and
improve service delivery. Recognizing this new network reality, government
IT professionals say improving network performance offers the greatest
opportunity to deliver overall benefits to their organization and end users.1
Public sector IT leaders are learning that today’s dynamic mix of users, devices
and applications shatters classic network traffic assumptions. Historically,
local and wide area network (LAN and WAN) designs have been based on a
local-centric 80/20 rule for traffic flow. That is, 80 percent of traffic remained
local within the LAN and only 20 percent traveled beyond to the WAN. This
tenet has been turned upside down in recent years and 80 percent of an
organization’s traffic is now likely to flow across the WAN.2
Given this radical
transformation, it comes as no surprise that government IT leaders rank
managing bandwidth growth as one of their top challenges.3
The trend is
aligned with technology concerns across the public and private sectors as half
of network engineers expect bandwidth demand at their organizations to grow
by more than 50 percent in 2016.4
To stay ahead of the curve, state and local governments are upgrading their
WANs and Internet connectivity with secure, fiber-rich networks. These new
government networks create value by eliminating barriers of time and distance,
enabling workers to securely access applications and connect with each other
as if they were on the same floor—even when they are on the other side of
town or across the state. This is a sea change from the days of simply linking
“local” workers and applications within a single office location. Additionally,
network-delivered e-Government and mobile government (m-Government)
initiatives better connect citizens with essential services and information.
Likewise, the Internet of Things (IoT) leverages the new network to reduce
costs and improve service delivery.
Improving network
performance offers the
greatest opportunity
for government IT
professionals to benefit
their organization
2 | Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders
3. Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders | 3
E-Government Efficiencies
It is no secret that state and local governments are under pressure to improve
service delivery to their citizens with e-Government and m-Government
solutions. More than nine in ten citizens say improving digital services would
positively impact their view of government.5
In a 2016 survey 82 percent of public
sector leaders pointed to improving the citizen experience as a top priority and
60 percent are planning to add more online citizen services this year.6
The Texas Department of Information Resources manages the state’s
Texas.gov web portal. The multilingual e-Government resource now offers
more than one thousand state services online, including tax payment,
driver’s-license and vehicle-registration renewals, professional and
occupational license processing, vital records transactions and eFiling for
court documents. Texas.gov has transformed citizen service delivery in the
Lone Star State. Since its inception the site has processed more than 250
million online government transactions valued at over $33 billion.
The State of New York unified its 4,000-plus technology professionals within
the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) to better meet the needs of
government agencies and citizens. In an early signpost of success, New York
ITS implemented a cloud-based email and business productivity application
platform that is estimated to save taxpayers $3 million annually in license fees,
hardware, maintenance, energy and personnel costs.
IoT solutions are transforming the way the city of Chicago manages its
infrastructure and delivers services. When trash cans are full at public
locations, sensors automatically send an alert for a sanitation service call.
Sensors installed at city beaches on Lake Michigan collect and share data on
the water temperature and wave height. GPS data sent from city buses helps
pinpoint traffic congestion in the Windy City. Researchers project these kinds
of “smart city” applications—including those for water system management—
could deliver up to $12 billion in annual municipal cost savings.7
82%
of public sector leaders
see improving the
citizen experience
as a top priority
online government
transactions
valued at over $33 billion.
250
million
The State of Texas has
processed more than
4. 4 | Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders
The Top Five Priorities
In a 2016 survey by IT research and consulting leader Gartner, government
CIOs estimate that “80% of business processes will be impacted by digital
within five years. They expect 62% of business processes to be affected in
two years, and a full 44% are now undergoing digital change.” In this dynamic
environment, the top five technology investment priorities shared by North
American government CIOs in 2016 include cloud, infrastructure and data
center; security; business intelligence and analytics; legacy modernization;
plus networking, voice and data communications.8
1Cloud: Cloud-based solutions offer opportunities to accelerate application
development and achieve cost savings on hardware, software and maintenance.
In a recent survey 83 percent of U.S. state government CIOs report their organization
has moved some applications to the cloud and is considering others. The top
government cloud application categories include office productivity software,
e-mail and collaboration, disaster recovery, storage, and security services.9
State
and local government IT agendas are also influenced by the federal “Cloud First”
initiative. This policy requires agencies to leverage cloud computing to maximize
IT capacity utilization, improve flexibility and responsiveness, and minimize costs.
Cloud solutions are forecast to account for 8.5 percent of the federal government’s
total IT spending in 2016, up from 5 percent in 2015.10
FIGURE 2: State Government Applications Migrating to the Cloud
1. Office productivity software
2. E-mail and collaboration
3. Disaster recovery
4. Storage
5. Security services/monitoring
6. Geographic information systems
7. Electronic records
8. Enterprise resource planning
9. Program/business applications
10. Open data
Source: NASCIO, Grant Thornton and CompTIA
FIGURE 1
Top Government Technology
Investment Priorities for 2016
1 Cloud, infrastructure
and data center
2 Security
3 Business intelligence
and analytics
4 Legacy modernization
5 Networking, voice and
data communications
Graphic created by Time Warner
Cable based on Gartner research:
2016 CIO Agenda: A Government
Perspective, February 2016 (Figure 4)
97%
95%
83%
79%
75%
72%
63%
63%
63%
61%
5. Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders | 5
2 Security: Managing security threats—such as viruses, worms, hacker
attacks and information interception—protects the availability,
usability and integrity of an organization’s network and data. Government IT
professionals rank cybersecurity as their number-one challenge.11
The issue
is particularly important for state and local governments that receive federal
funding for essential services. Accepting federal money often means complying
with federal security standards, such as those in the Federal Information
Security Management Act (FISMA), Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic
and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). Only 19 percent of state and local government
IT professionals say they have very high confidence in their organization’s
ability to prevent a cyber-attack. More than six out of ten IT leaders report that
a lack of skilled cybersecurity personnel is a major challenge.12
3 Business Intelligence and Analytics: “Big data”—from social media,
email and website usage to citizen service transactions and public safety
information—can be analyzed to gain valuable intelligence. More than seven
in ten government CIOs say that big data analytics have a positive impact on
productivity and efficiency. Additionally, two out of three believe big data has a
positive impact on the rate of innovation.13
4 Legacy Modernization: Outdated technologies, applications and
infrastructure can hamper state and local government operations. Nine
out of ten public sector IT professionals report that their organizations’ end-
users were negatively affected by a performance or availability issue with
business-critical technology in the past 12 months. Not surprisingly, over two
thirds of government IT executives say adopting significant new technologies is
important to their long-term success.14
5Networking, Voice and Data Communications: As more communications
applications go digital and IP, network performance is critical. A key
challenge is that less than 15 percent of government IT decision-makers report
that their network infrastructure is fully able to support simple, scalable and
agile solutions.15
Smart networking investments are essential.
9outof10
public sector
organizations were
negatively affected
by a performance
or availability issue
with business-critical
technology in the past
12 months.
6. 6 | Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders
The Importance of WAN
Performance
The new government network’s mission-critical applications significantly
raise the bar on WAN performance requirements. When service thresholds
are not met, productivity suffers. There are three key factors that drive WAN
performance: bandwidth, latency and availability. An ideal WAN delivers
maximum bandwidth and availability with minimal latency, jitter and packet loss.
Because of the demands of new applications, 44 percent of government IT
professionals report they are currently working on a network upgrade or have
one planned within the next six months.16
While high-availability networks are
important for organizations throughout the information economy, the need is
particularly acute for state and local governments required to comply with
federal healthcare regulations.
The Case of Hidalgo County
In just 20 years the population of Hidalgo County, Texas, doubled to 800,000
people, making it one of the largest counties in the Lone Star State. While
demand for public services has soared, county revenues have not. Leveraging
fiber-rich network connections to improve innovation and productivity have
proved essential in helping the county maintain existing services and offer vital
new ones despite a tight budget framework. Hidalgo County turned to Time
Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC) for a fiber-rich Ethernet LAN (ELAN)
to connect 43 locations throughout its expansive 1,500-square-mile region.
“The [ELAN] solution has been instrumental in being able to continue to
provide the services that we have, do it better, and expand,” explained Renán
Ramirez, CIO, Hidalgo County.
Whether at police stations, courthouses, government offices, Women, Infant
and Children (WIC) clinics, mechanic shops or warehouses, Ramirez says faster
connectivity speeds the workflow for county employees and the citizens they serve.
44%of government IT
organizations are
currently working on
a network upgrade or
have one planned within
the next six months.
Learn more about
this new government
network success story.
Read the full case history.
“A Fiber-rich Network
Enables Hidalgo County
to Meet Needs That
Are Growing Faster
than Revenues.”
7. Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders | 7
New Network Outcomes
Public sector leaders understand that new network infrastructure and
applications can deliver significant operational benefits.
Research from Gartner finds the top expected outcomes for local and regional
government CIOs include creating “more business through digital channels,”
“more revenue from better operations,” “cost reduction,” as well as “engaging
and empowering employees.”17
Partnering with the right WAN and Internet
connectivity ensures network scalability and data security, creating a
foundation for state and local government success.
National or
International
(n=43)
Defense and
Intelligence
(n=14)*
Local or
Regional
(n=64)
All Other
Industries
(n=820)
G O V E R N M E N T: A L L G E O G R A P H I E S
More business through digital channels 72% 29% 61% 46%
More revenues from better operations 63% 57% 66% 66%
Cost reduction 53% 79% 56% 36%
Engaging and empowering employees 47% 79% 48% 39%
Tighter partnerships 37% 29% 34% 37%
Creating new markets 16% 7% 17% 27%
Crossing industry boundaries 5% 0% 2% 9%
Expanding to new geographies 2% 0% 5% 13%
Changing the basis of competition 2% 7% 3% 23%
FIGURE 3: Top Three Business Outcomes That Government CIOs Expect Digital to Achieve
Note: “Other” government responses (n=10) included in All Other Industries. *Sample size is less than 30; results are directional.
Source: Gartner (February 2016)
Please choose the top three expected
outcomes and/or impacts that digital
represents for your enterprise.
66%66%
79%
72%
79%
8. 8 | Navigating the New Government Network: The Top Five Priorities for Public Sector IT Leaders
EXPERT INSIGHT
Leveraging more than 20 years of experience delivering mission-
critical communications for government agencies at the federal,
state and local levels, Matthew Foosaner is the Senior Director for
Enterprise Vertical Programs at Time Warner Cable Business Class.
Q: You work closely with many state and government technology leaders.
What are you seeing as their top priority?
FOOSANER: Most citizen-to-government transactions happen at the state
and local level. The technology consumers’ use every day is raising their
expectations. If they can use an app to find a ride 24/7, why can’t they do the
same for their government transactions? State and local leaders are investing
in network-delivered applications to reduce costs and increase citizen
satisfaction with government services.
Q: How can network service providers help address this challenge?
FOOSANER: You need a trusted partner. Our ability to provide reliable,
scalable, secure and cost-effective fiber-based network connectivity enables
state and local governments to meet their operational requirements. Through
infrastructure and platform-as-a-service solutions, we also help government
IT departments outsource data center responsibilities so they can focus their
efforts on application development and delivery to enhance citizen services.
Matthew Foosaner
Senior Director for
Enterprise Vertical Programs
at Time Warner Cable
Business Class
ENDNOTES
1 “IT Trends Report 2015: Business at
the Speed of IT, Public Sector Results,”
Solarwinds
2 The Cisco Learning Network Thread,
February 1, 2014
3 “Accelerating Government
Transformation with Network
Modernization,” Ciena and GovLoop,
August 2015
4 “The State of the Network Study 2015,”
Network Instruments
5 “Digital Government: Your Digital
Citizens are Ready, Willing and Waiting,”
Accenture, 2016
6 “Digital Government Engagement Trends
Report,” GovDelivery, January 2016
7 “The Future of Smart Cities:
Opportunities, Solutions and Players,”
Strategic Analytics, October 2015
8 “2016 CIO Agenda: A Government
Perspective,” Gartner, February 2016
9 “The Value Equation: Agility in Sourcing,
Software and Service,” NASCIO, Grant
Thornton and CompTIA, October 2015
10 IDC Government Insights, February 2016
11 “Accelerating Government
Transformation with Network
Modernization,” Ciena and GovLoop,
August 2015
12 “The State of Cybersecurity in Local,
State and Federal Government,”
Hewlett Packard Enterprise and
Ponemon Institute, October 2015
13 “CSC Global CIO Survey,” February 2015
14 “IT Trends Report 2015: Business at
the Speed of IT, Public Sector Results,”
Solarwinds
15 “The New IP Survey Report,”
Market Connections, June 2015
16 “Accelerating Government
Transformation with Network
Modernization,” Ciena and GovLoop,
August 2015
17 “2016 CIO Agenda: A Government
Perspective,” Gartner, February 2016
