Public-sector agencies — particularly those at the state and local levels — can benefit from new AI-powered data analysis that helps to store and manage vast amounts of data in secure, cost-effective and accessible ways, but to do so they must keep a few important things in mind.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SECURITY
It's nearly impossible to comprehend the volume of data that state and local government entities handle. This data includes sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, addresses, voting records, school registrations, and financial data from contractors and agencies. As data collection grows, unstructured data — such as scientific research from civil engineers or environmental workers, sensor output or surveillance footage — adds to the challenge.
The sensitive nature of this information makes security paramount. Government agencies, more than any other type of organization, are trusted by the public to protect their data. Securing this information, however, becomes even more difficult when stored in a public cloud.
Public cloud environments limit the control agencies have over their data’s location, the security surrounding it and its fate in the event of a cyber attack. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, local governments must adopt storage strategies that offer total control and better protection.
DATA ANALYSIS AND ACCESSIBILITY
For years, data-driven performance management has been central to state and local government operations, helping officials make more informed decisions and assess program effectiveness. The rise of AI-driven analytics elevates this process by offering quicker and deeper insights from available data. When the right data is collected, stored and analyzed, AI can provide powerful tools to set effective policies and measure outcomes.
AI’s ability to rapidly parse through massive amounts of data allows agencies to free up a precious resource: time. In a fraction of the time it would take human analysts, AI can process immense volumes of data and draw valuable conclusions, thereby helping state and local government agencies work more efficiently.
But AI relies on data on which to be trained, meaning agencies are having to retain more of their unique data — and that data must be accessible and secure. An on-premises private cloud solution allows state and local agencies to build massive data lakes at a low cost for easy access, ready for AI analysis and model training at any time. This approach enables governments to build storage solutions that are not only secure but also high-performing, cost-effective and ready to fuel AI-driven insights.
LONG-TERM COST EFFICIENCY
The balance between cost and performance is critical, particularly for state and local governments that must adhere to strict budgets. Rising public cloud storage costs are becoming untenable for many government agencies, which cannot increase budgets as these costs grow. Determining public cloud expenses in advance is often challenging due to fluctuating application and data usage, coupled with high access and egress fees that can easily double monthly storage bills.
Public cloud pricing can also be volatile due to changing market trends or unpredictable usage spikes. Government agencies, which must manage an ever-growing amount of data, cannot afford to be at the mercy of these market fluctuations. A private cloud, with predictable and manageable costs, especially as data needs to be stored and accessed for longer periods of time, offers a more sustainable solution for long-term data storage and management.
BUILDING A FUTURE-READY DATA STRATEGY FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY
The potential for AI to transform how state and local governments operate is immense. However, this transformation can only occur if the data these governments hold is stored efficiently and securely over the long term. As the volume of data grows, piecemeal solutions are no longer viable. Agencies must implement storage strategies that can adapt to their evolving needs, which means considering a private or hybrid cloud environment to manage costs and data accessibility as they retain more data for AI initiatives.
State and local governments serve their constituents on the frontlines, making it crucial not only to protect the data entrusted to them, but also to use it in ways that drive meaningful outcomes. With the right data management approach, governments can harness AI to unlock new insights, improve public services and operate with greater efficiency — all while staying within budget.
Tom Hawkes is vice president of the Americas at Quantum.
