Improved insights + collaboration = better government
Until recently, a provincial government in Canada was running a complex computer model that showed how different factors such as forest fires, floods, and beetle infestations affect the sustainability of the province’s forests. However, the model took six to eight weeks to run and cost $60,000 (CAD)—and therefore could only be completed once a year.
The ministry moved this model to Microsoft Azure and can now run its calculations in just 47 minutes at a cost of just over $200 (CAD). The saved time and money means that forest officials can update their model more frequently, factoring changing circumstances into their equations. By incorporating up-to-date information into their planning efforts, the ministry is now better positioned to create effective forest policies.
In the same way, today’s advanced technology can help governments at all levels dramatically improve their effectiveness. With the insights that big data analytics provides, governments can improve their collaborative decision-making, thereby increasing productivity, reducing costs, and better serving their constituents.
More effective legislation
Officials at the federal, state, and local levels of government can combine improved insights with collaboration to better understand trends, which, in turn, can lead to improved rules and regulations. For example, governments can use collaborative tools to encourage citizens to provide feedback. They can then apply advanced analytics to quickly evaluate these comments and introduce new rules that respond to constituents’ concerns.
Likewise, governments can monitor the reports required of permit holders to identify patterns that inform their decision-making. By analyzing the reports of oil drillers and trucks carrying toxic materials, for example, officials can better understand the conditions that lead to spills and then update their rules to lower the risks.
More productive workers
At the local level, governments can use advanced analytics and collaboration to improve the productivity of workers in the field. Using tools such as Microsoft Office 365 to communicate and work with other teams in the community, for example, field workers can stay up-to-date on developments and more easily prioritize their workloads. And by collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data from computerized sensors installed in equipment, workers can combine this information with machine learning to perform predictive maintenance on their vital assets. As a result, they will have the ability to fix infrastructure such as a bridges and water mains after they break—in some cases, even keeping infrastructure in operation longer before it needs to be replaced.
It’s been said, “Alone we are smart; together we are brilliant.” By adding advanced analytics into the equation, governments can improve their collaborative decision-making even further and ultimately accomplish much more. Interested in learning more? Request one of our available trials: Azure Government Trial, Office 365 Government Trial. Have a specific question regarding Azure for Government? Ask it here.
