https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Subscribe to GovPro
    • Manage GovPro Subscription
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
acc.com

Smart Cities & Technology


Commentary

Expert: Lean IT staffs drive the need for innovation in government (with related video)

Expert: Lean IT staffs drive the need for innovation in government (with related video)

Accellion's Patrick Conte discusses innovation in government IT products. He says that lean IT staffs drive the need for innovation in government.
  • Written by mikekeat
  • 22nd October 2014

Editor’s note: as part of its series on paths to innovation in government products and processes, Government Product News checked in with Patrick Conte, senior vice president and general manager of worldwide field operations at Accellion.

Accellion provides mobile solutions to enterprises to enable increased business productivity while ensuring security and compliance. The firm offers private cloud solutions for secure file sharing. Its kiteworks by Accellion is a mobile-first product with three-tier private cloud architecture. The product is designed to enable people to work securely in any location. Here are the views of Patrick Conte of Accellion.

GPN: Is product innovation taking place in the government market?

Patrick Conte: Local government is under increasing pressure to do more with less. In fact, the ratios of IT staff to local government employees is among the most skewed of all small and medium business segments, with fewer IT staff to more employees than in the private sector. So local government agencies have no choice but to turn to more innovative solutions to try to keep up with the demands of their users and citizenry.

Many local government entities are starting to try to be truly paperless, i.e., communicate with their citizens via e-mail, web and social media rather than paper notices or even telephone contact. Most governmental entities are big on using Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, blogs and texts. Solutions that help them manage this communications challenge are among the most used innovations.

We’ve been working with a local California agency that is looking to build mobile apps in-house, to help citizens’ access data in a secure way. There is a mandate here to utilize mobile technology to connect with constituents, and all of the agencies I speak with are trying to find the best and most cost-effective ways to do so.

GPN: Is innovation occurring in the public sector?

PC: Absolutely. E-learning is a big movement, and there are a number of open source and startup-built systems that can be used. Mobility is becoming a major direction for public sector IT groups, as they need to be able to share content securely, in many cases with citizenry, but also with local based businesses, contractors and legal partners. Security is paramount as public entities have access to a lot of personal and confidential data including tax records, legal records, personal and business credit information.

GPN: What are some examples of innovative products in the public sector?

PC: One example is mobile products that enable public sector employees to work outside the office; interact with citizenry directly; and be out in the local region to observe traffic, buildings, roads, other infrastructure. These same products enable public sector employees to conduct public service and social work remotely. This is the essence of mobility.

The challenge isn’t finding innovative apps. The challenge is in really securing the content that is so sensitive to the municipality, school district and citizens. It’s crucial for agencies to find apps that let their employees get work done, without worrying about the security of this content. An example of an app that enables mobile productivity with full security of the most important computing element — content — is Accellion’s kiteworks.

GPN: What can governments do to stimulate innovations?

PC: First, governments need to be open to innovation in products and processes. Governmental CIO’s are under pressure — they have to do everything the federal government does, but with a lot smaller staff and resources. Therefore, agencies need to allow them the latitude to look at true innovations. Secondly, continue to be judicious and competitive — make your vendors prove their value, every day. Larger vendors have trouble innovating because it’s too risky for them — so invariably they end up buying technology instead of doing what smaller companies like Accellion do — building it from the ground up. Something built for your needs is always better then something bought for you.

GPN: Thank you, Patrick Conte, for your views.

Editor’s note: Accellion is based in Palo Alto, Calif. The company has a number of government customers, including the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the Human Services Agency of San Francisco, and the Oregon Judicial Department. Federal agencies, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission and NASA also use Accellion’s products.

This video shows some of the features of kiteworks by Accellion that enables users to seamlessly access, create, edit, and share content from any device, anywhere.

_____________

To get connected and stay up-to-date with similar content from American City & County:
Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on Youtube

Tags: Administration Smart Cities & Technology Commentary

Related


  • COVID-19 and pivoting into a new year: It may be 2021, but did we really leave 2020?
    As we continue to navigate 2021, many issues will require continued tech leadership and support to carry everyone through
  • Artificial cities could pave the way to driverless adoption
    Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) have a future. That is without doubt but there is still a need to ensure that they will be safe on our highways and to ease the public’s safety concerns to increase their adoption over the next few years. CAVs need to be able to react to unforeseen events – […]
  • How city leaders can develop, manage and maintain strategic partnerships
    Now more than ever, the pandemic and economic crisis have exacerbated the need for municipal leaders to collaborate with other sectors including nonprofit, business, and philanthropy
  • Buffalo, N.Y.'s 48 hours to navigate a mission-critical transition to remote work
    In Buffalo, N.Y., 311 is a vital lifeline for the city, providing an always-on call resource for the city’s 250,000 residents to reach city government. When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a stay-at-home order, city officials knew a surge of calls was coming, and they needed to act fast to keep their front-line communications channel open. […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Hackers attempt to poison water supply in Florida town
  • Chicago becomes first city to use free COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tool for cities and states
  • Bridging the digital divide by fostering digital inclusion and economic recovery
  • UPDATED: Mask mandates, water upgrades, new transit part of Tampa’s plan for hosting pandemic-era Super Bowl

White papers


Discover How Public Sector Officials are Monitoring and Managing Overtime in This New White Paper

22nd February 2021

How to Assemble a Successful Government Grant Proposal

5th February 2021

The Rise of Procurement’s Next Normal

5th February 2021
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

American City & County’s 2020 Exemplary Public Servant of the Year Award dlvr.it/RtZbX2

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

American City & County’s 2020 Crown Communities Awards dlvr.it/RtZbVz

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

2020 Crown Communities Awards winner: Rock Hill, S.C.’s My Ride dlvr.it/RtZSFp

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Three communities hosting Augmented Reality Developer Challenge competitions dlvr.it/RtZ94D

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Using data to improve emergency response resources dlvr.it/RtVSc0

25th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

How small cities are tackling lead service line replacement dlvr.it/RtV9G8

25th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

COVID-19 and pivoting into a new year: It may be 2021, but did we really leave 2020? dlvr.it/RtQRcr

24th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Six tips for making sure your dispatch is doing all the right moves dlvr.it/RtQBvl

24th February 2021

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X