Indiana Acknowledged as a Leader in Digital Government
The Government Experience Awards are for celebrating the achievements of and learning best practices from states, cities and counties that have gone beyond the web to radically improve upon the experience of government and push the boundaries of how services are delivered.
In the five years of the competition, Indiana has placed second (2017), third (2018), first (2019) and fourth (2021). The state was ineligible to compete in 2020 after winning the preceding year.
“As state and local governments navigated another year of uncertainty — compounded by shifts in constituent expectations and the emergence of new technologies — the experience of government has remained a significant focus for leaders,” said Dustin Haisler, Chief Innovation Officer for the Center of Digital Government. “This year, agencies demonstrated the importance of having an omnichannel strategy with an increased focus on enabling personalized experiences while balancing citizen and business privacy. We applaud the continued efforts state and local leaders have made to build constituent-centric digital experiences and look forward to seeing how these agencies adapt their digital services in the years to come.”
The State of Indiana was recently recognized as having one of the best overall digital experiences across all states by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) in the annual Government Experience Awards. The awards showcase and recognize the latest trends, best practices and ideas around the evolving experience of government.
Indiana uses a variety of methods to interact with citizens and businesses, trying to meet them where they live. The state website, IN.gov, has had nearly 200 million visits in the past 12 months. Indiana has 250 state websites and 600 online services that visitors can utilize, including IN.gov self-help solutions, such as FAQs, a chatbot and voice skills on Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
“We have made it a priority to provide and improve digital government services for more than a decade, but the pandemic greatly accelerated that push,” Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes said. “Digital services have the potential to improve the citizen experience and automate some business compliance processes. This recognition is a reflection of everyone’s efforts throughout the State of Indiana to keep our online experience up-to-date and continuing to move forward.”
Indiana’s cyber readiness continues to advance
The State of Indiana furthered its mission to strengthen its cybersecurity resiliency and response by recently hosting two cyber exercises
The National Guard has partnered with several agencies, health care providers, technology companies, water utility services providers, state and local government officials, and state and federal emergency and law enforcement agencies to conduct these important events.
The first was mentioned in last month’s IOT Connections: Keeping our state prepared for cyberattacks: "Operation Homeland Defender" was held at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center and the goal was to show the interdependency between a kinetic event and a cyber event by creating a training environment to allow Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity (IECC) members an opportunity to participate in a partnership exercise.
The second exercise was held in Fort Wayne, where the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) partnered with the State of Indiana and the City of Fort Wayne to test how state, federal, mutual aid, and local government would work together in a long-term cyberattack that eliminated the supply of water to the city, with a special emphasis on the secondary effects for the city’s hospitals.
“Cybersecurity impacts every aspect of our daily lives,” Chetrice Mosley-Romero, cybersecurity program director said. “As we’ve seen with recent cyber incidents – everything from pipelines to water utilities to schools and hospitals – a cyberattack can create substantial effects and damage to our community and our critical infrastructure, disrupting our daily lives and safety.”
Many of those who participated in both state exercises serve on the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity. As defined in Executive Order 17-11 from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, the IECC is a first-of-its-kind collaboration, whose work as an organization within state government, is responsible for guiding the state’s cybersecurity policy, It is comprised of 35 Council members and 250 advisory members, all of whom are subject matter experts represent a wide range of businesses, industries and professions, including education, finance, utilities and insurance, among many others.
The State of Indiana and its partners offer best practices, guides, toolkits, and resources to allow all organizations and critical infrastructures to mitigate, but also prepare for a cyberattack. For more information about the IECC or the State of Indiana’s Cyber Strategy, visit www.in.gov/cyber.
For more information about CISA’s cybersecurity services and resources, visit www.cisa.gov.
Digital government Summit reminder
The Indiana Virtual Digital Government Summit has been re-designed with a streamlined one-day program on November 2, 2021, with exciting new experiences included.
New this year: A Virtual Networking Reception will allow guests to navigate a virtual room with fellow attendees and connect by video or chat about the day’s events, and an Exhibit Challenge – where guests can earn a prize or make a donation to charity. Some topics discussed at this year’s event include:
- Navigating the Cyber Threat Landscape
- Digital Equity – The Great Imperative of Our Time
- The Future of the Government Experience
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- and more - View the entire program.
Attendance is complimentary for all state and local government employees in Indiana, and as an early registrant you will receive advance access to the virtual event hub and resources. Register now
Azure Cost Analysis workshop available this month
On October 14, 2021 from 10:00-11:00 a.m., Jon Chancellor from Microsoft will present a quick overview of the tools available in Microsoft Azure to help analyze and control costs of cloud subscriptions, specifically tailored for the State of Indiana's approach to cloud workloads.
The meeting will be delivered virtually through Teams.
Please reach out to Alex Sasser (asasser@iot.IN.gov) if you'd like to join the Teams meeting.
Microsoft Azure, commonly referred to as Azure, is a cloud computing service created by Microsoft for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers.
2021 Virtual GIS Days at the State coming this November
The annual Indiana GIS Day will be hosted on two mornings this November. Because of the resurgence of COVID, the GIS team will host these virtually.
- Tuesday, November 16, 2021 (morning)
- Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (morning)
The registration portal with more information will be launched soon, and here is a link to get added to the email list to ensure you receive an invite.
Behind the Tech: Patrick Culley
In 2005 the Indiana Office of Technology was created to provide cost-effective, secure, consistent, reliable enterprise-technology services to state government. IOT offers more than 120 technology products supported and serviced by expert staff with licenses or certifications in 62 technical areas. Behind the Tech is a spotlight on the staff that provides services for 30,000 state employees.
Patrick Culley is a Project Manager for the IOT PC Refresh Program. His primary duty is to ensure that state agencies’ old computers are replaced with new computers on a four-year cycle.
What does an average day look like for Culley?
He works with agencies to identify current hardware and software, selecting them for each computer and end user at the client's agency. He also orders hardware and manages the vendor to ensure the correct hardware is shipped and received, ensuring that agencies are correctly billed for all hardware costs.
He then plans deployments of new equipment and ensures that all data is securely transferred to the new computers, and reports project status to IOT management and client agencies, and so much more.
“I work with a fun team of people who stay positive and help support each other. We also get to see tangible results from our efforts once the new computers are in place at an agency,” Culley said.
What does Culley hope to take away from his work at IOT?
“Versatility, enthusiasm, and the ability to make a difference in the lives (and workloads!) of State employees by providing them with new computers,” he said. Culley is a bass guitarist for the J C Clements Band, a blues band based out of Nashville, IN. Before the pandemic struck, they spent weekends touring Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. This past January, the band competed in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN alongside acts from all over the world.