Is your city ready for the cloud?
February 28, 2022 by Meredith Trimble
According to the National League of Cities (NLC), “Cities, towns and villages across the U.S. are moving from on-premises technology deployments to cloud computing solutions.” This is not surprising, as jurisdictions across the country are proving cloud-enabled solutions create new efficiencies, improve equity, enhance security, and strengthen government’s ability to find and deliver solutions to community issues.
There’s certainly opportunity in the cloud, but is your city ready for it? The new Cloud Computing Readiness Checklist from NLC and Tyler explains the necessary elements for transitioning to the cloud and offers a 10-step checklist to ensure cloud adoption success.
Before making a transition to cloud-based solutions, NLC recommends the following necessary elements:
- Buy-in at all levels
From executive leaders all the way down to frontline staff members, there must be support for a transition to the cloud at every level.
- Clear “why” for cloud transition
There must be a clear goal for the cloud transition. City leaders must illuminate the possibilities of the cloud by detailing how it can make current workflows better for city staff members and the public. City leaders must engage city staff to learn how the current system is not meeting needs. They should also talk with end users of cloud-enabled solutions to hear how they would like new solutions to work.
- Understanding of current IT systems
To move to the cloud most efficiently, cities must have a deep understanding of their current hardware and software. City information technology professionals need to know what is being used, how it is being used, and how well it is working to begin to define how cloud solutions could benefit the organization.
- Explicit plan for moving to the cloud
Cities can lift and shift on-premises solutions to the cloud. The real benefits in cloud computing, however, come from optimizing and rearchitecting solutions to operate more efficiently and less expensively in the cloud environment.
If the benefits of a move to the cloud remain hard to imagine or articulate, it’s useful to develop a problem statement or business case for cloud-based solutions. Mapping current IT infrastructure and conducting an inventory of current software is also important to understand where gaps or legacy systems may be impeding efficiency, creativity, security, or insight.
Leveraging the cloud for short- and long-term successes can transform the way cities work internally and with the public.