Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on June 9 that the state will migrate executive branch data from outdated physical servers and multiple data centers to a cloud environment through Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Cognizant Government Solutions will take over day-to-day IT operations.

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) has partnered with GovRAMP to adopt a unified security framework for cloud service providers working with state agencies.

Virginia Beach, Va., City Public Schools (VBCPS) has entered into a three-year contract with Zum, a company specializing in modern student transportation, to deploy a cloud-based platform to improve the district’s school bus system.  

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) is partnering with Mark43, a public safety software company, to implement a cloud-based records management system (RMS).

The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department is partnering with Tyler Technologies to modernize the park reservation system. In a press release, state leaders and Tyler Technologies said the partnership is aimed at “enhancing customer service and streamlining digital services for its visitors.”

As more states are taking advantage of StateRAMP, officials from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) say that state CIOs no longer view cloud as a priority, but as an expectation.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that it will partner with Conduent to move the state’s child support payment system to the cloud.

State and local governments (SLGs) are taking a page from Federal Cloud First and Cloud Smart modernization initiatives to sunset legacy systems and migrate to the cloud. Modernization efforts have been a top priority for over a decade, with cloud first appearing on NASCIO’s State CIO Top Ten priorities list in 2010 and making the list ever since.

The pandemic created an instant and widespread need for better data sharing about infections and treatment, pushing states to revolutionize their healthcare IT and address new challenges with cutting-edge technology. For many states, the biggest key to success has been moving to the cloud.

While state government IT leaders say that cloud computing is a priority, the vast majority are still reliant on mainframe computing.