Is Your Agency Digitally Prepared to Deliver on Its Mission?

Wray Varley, Vice President of Government Sales, Digital Realty

The public sector is feeling the pressure to modernize. According to Gartner, most governments have accelerated their digital programs due to the pandemic but are still simply optimizing existing services and programs. They report that 55% of digital government programs are not successfully scaling the digital impact across their organizations, and few are radically transforming public services with digital.¹

However, a mature digital evolution goes beyond the optimization of current services. Gartner has identified several upcoming government technology trends²:

• By the end of 2023, 50% of government organizations will establish formal accountability structures for data sharing, including data structure, quality, and timeliness standards.
• By 2026, government total experience approaches will reduce process ambiguity by 90% while increasing satisfaction metrics for both customer experience and employee experience by 50%.
• By 2024, agencies using composable case management will implement new features 80% faster than peers.
• By 2024, 60% of government artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics investments will directly impact real-time operational decisions and outcomes.

All these initiatives demand a data-centric infrastructure that is secure, scalable, integrated, and connected to succeed. Unstructured, unmanaged data places the success of your agency’s mission at risk. It leaves your sensitive data vulnerable to exposure and unauthorized use. If your agency serves citizens directly, failure to properly manage your data can also put their individual privacy and personal security at risk. The last concern unmanaged data is that it can leave your agency blind to inefficiencies in your systems, security risks, or even successful, replicable systems in your operations. These digital blind spots and security vulnerabilities can create a direct barrier to modernization and innovation.

The challenge in combating these risks and prioritizing data is that agencies must balance stringent process and security mandates with the equally urgent need for an accelerated computing infrastructure capable of accessing real-time data and organizing enormous data volumes. How can your agency strike this balance and achieve a mission-ready data evolution?

Digital Realty: The largest data center provider you need to know about

As a government organization, you’re accountable to your citizens. You have unique requisites and must meet stringent regulatory and compliance requirements. Digital Realty provides the flexible, scalable data center solutions that meet your needs. You are not alone in this evolutionary process with Digital Realty as your digital transformation partner.

Digital Realty’s PlatformDIGITAL^® delivers public sector agencies the right infrastructure and expertise in the right location. With 300+ data centers in 50+ metros across 25+ countries, PlatformDIGITAL^® is the world's largest global data center platform. Each data center can provide customers with a secure, reliable, and accessible digital ecosystem, including the space, power, and cooling required to perform above and beyond uptime standards—making Digital Realty an industry-leading partner in data center performance.

Digital Realty’s secure, compliant infrastructure is ideal for the rigorous regulatory requirements demanded of the public service sector. At the same time, agencies can also rely on Digital Realty to provide the newest, most innovative solutions for achieving your IT modernization and optimization objectives:

• Data intelligence capable of processing and exchanging high data volumes at speed, from AI and the Internet of Things to blockchain, 5G, and beyond.
• Optimized colocation and interconnection solutions that can break down the silos that bottleneck your operations and take your agency off-mission.
• Scalable infrastructure allows agencies to buy what they need, whenever needed, wherever they want.
• An open, secure ecosystem approach prevents vendor lock-in while powering a meeting place that enhances collaboration and helps agencies, technology, and data come together to harness data's full power and value.
• ServiceFabric™ dashboard allows increased interconnectivity across sites and continents by leveraging an intuitive, simplified platform that supports a shift to a hybrid, data-centric architecture.
• Eco-forward investment and sustainability initiatives are designed to help you achieve your goals for environmental stewardship.

Data powers you, and Digital Realty powers data with reliable, mission-compliant data center solutions that support your unique organizational needs.

Mitigate risks while maintaining control with our shared responsibility model

Digital Realty’s facilities meet or exceed the NIST 800-53r5 Physical and Environmental Protection (PE) control family relevant to our services. Our facilities meet the FedRAMP and FISMA Low, Moderate, and High Physical and Environmental Control requirements.

Because data center infrastructure services don’t require FedRAMP or FISMA certification, these controls typically follow a hybrid model where Digital Realty and the customer share responsibility, i.e., Digital Realty maintains the physical and environmental control requirements of the facility, while the customer retains responsibility for ensuring the integrity and security of its own data and hardware assets within its suite.

This shared responsibility model helps mitigate security risks effectively while allowing customers to maintain control over their assets. The nature of the commercial data center environment—including the lack of features identifying a location as a U.S. government facility, little-to-no public contact, and low federal employee facility population—gives us confidence that we are well positioned to meet the required countermeasure standards.

Your mission is our highest priority
The stakes are too high for anything less. As your data center partner, Digital Realty is here to support and grow with your mission, security, and compliance standards.

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^{1 Gartner. (2022). Transitioning to Digital Government Roadmap.
2 Gartner. 2023 Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends: Government. Mickoleit, A. (n.d.).}