During the COVID-19 pandemic, people discovered that many government infrastructures were still being run on antiquated technologies — to the extent that there was a concerted effort to find COBOL programmers. It’s understandable that many state and local governments are running on legacy solutions, but for many government organization, change needs to be made.

By adopting the cloud, state and local governments can become more secure, stable and agile — and more ready for the unique challenges that will be presented in the future. In particular, Microsoft Teams can help government organizations and contractors move their collaboration and communication to the cloud.

Why Should Government Organizations Adopt the Cloud?

There are many reasons why government organizations are hesitant to move to new technologies:

• It’s expensive and time-consuming (or at least perceived as such). Many government organizations don’t have funds earmarked for technology improvements, even if those improvements would save them money over time. But cloud-based solutions are less expensive than on-premises solutions and can save the government money — money that can be allocated to different things.
• It’s perceived as less safe or less stable. It’s true that a major system change can be disruptive, and many government employees have likely experienced disruptive technology cycles. But with the right support (such as a cloud SaaS solution), the disruption will be minimal, and the security benefits will be repeated long term.
• It’s a question of integration. Because many public and private organizations have built their own systems, which are now their own internal proprietary legacy solutions, there’s a concern about integration. But these solutions often represent tremendous security risks and need to be replaced regardless.

Cloud technologies aren’t just often inherently more secure and more affordable, they have another advantage, too: They’re scalable. And because they’re well-supported, changes can be initiated faster as needed.

When it comes to remote work, the cloud is practically essential. In the past, many government employees didn’t work from home; they worked from the office to improve upon security and responsiveness. But new initiatives have pushed even government organizations toward the realm of remote work and many government systems aren’t setup for it. Without the right setup, employees often resort to self-service IT, use systems that aren’t properly secured (such as personal email) and otherwise engage in higher-risk activities.

Government organizations are adopting the cloud, just at a slower rate than enterprises. And it makes sense; the government will always be naturally more cautious about adopting new technologies than enterprises, which have a larger predisposition toward risk. But cloud technologies are now proven technologies that are known to have extraordinary benefits; the time to make a shift, for most government organizations, is now.

How Can Microsoft Teams Help Government Agencies and Contractors?

MS Teams is one of the most critical applications for private business — so it only makes sense that Teams can help government agencies and contractors as well.

Foremost, MS Teams is a collaboration and communication package. Through MS Teams, agencies and contractors can more effectively communicate and coordinate. MS Teams exists on the cloud, so there aren’t additional concerns about accessibility — and it doesn’t have to be maintained internally, so it can save both time and money.

When employees work from home, they can connect seamlessly to those who are in the office. Government organizations are able to save money and increase the happiness and health of their employees by letting them work at home with flexibility.

Furthermore, MS Teams is extremely secure, with access and privacy governed by the well-funded Microsoft platform. That’s critical when it comes to information being traded by state and local governments. And it’s intuitive, because many employees will have already worked with the Microsoft ecosystem.

MS Teams integrates directly into the Office 365 platform, which is an exceptionally powerful cloud-based platform for any organization, including state and local governments. Office 365 is a full suite that’s designed to help manage and collaborate on documents. And governmental organizations can rest assured knowing that all their communications are held within the Teams government cloud, rather than staggered throughout a number of other programs.

Microsoft has dedicated support and policy for government enterprises and understands the challenges of remote work. With MS Teams, government organizations can acquire the stability and security of the cloud while also making sure that employees are able to connect from wherever they are. As government organizations move into the future, these aspects of doing business are going to be important — and it’s not likely to be feasible for them to create their own internal communication systems.

Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of Microsoft Teams for government employees, contractors and entities? Contact the experts today at Red River.