A Common Platform for Crises
2020 has certainly put strains on the systems that are in place for running a government during a crisis, so the General Services Administration has released an RFI looking for a common operating platform to help manage things during a crisis. Currently, the GSA’s Office of Mission Assurance is using a Google platform, but they’d like to have something designed for disaster that will make their current technology more interoperable.
Integrating all of their existing technology has been a challenge, particularly when using a platform not designed for it. GSA has had to deal with a large increase in their use of automated business processes, along with the need to manage online records and remote workers with their virtual environments. The agency has huge reach and oversees thousands of government buildings and vehicles while also offering housing to over a million government workers.
Taken directly from the RFI, they’re looking for something that, “automates continuity and emergency management program needs, crisis management tasks, training and exercise requirements, and provides executive level dashboards for various audiences.”
These new challenges aren’t just unique to GSA either, as a group of 37 Inspectors General just reported back to the government on the IT challenges they’re running into related to CARES Act disbursements. The main takeaway is that the pandemic has massively increased the number of government employees who are teleworking, which leads to issues of security and oversight.
Since agencies are struggling to effectively manage their remote workforce, it’s difficult to ensure that funds are distributed quickly, and without the potential for fraud. Having all of these employees work from home also introduces security risks for each worker’s remote environment and the increase in data transfer that must occur.
All of this puts a strain on existing IT resources and underlies the need for a platform like the one GSA is hoping to implement. This will allow them to more effectively use the systems that are already in place, which is particularly important when they have to support a fractured workforce. A tool that can automate the deployment and management of remote staff, will allow IT to be more focused on information security and keeping cyberattacks at bay.
At Extract, we believe that automation is a great tool for allowing staff to focus on tasks that are better suited for them than manual data entry or redaction. This is why we offer a software that can automate those tasks, securely and quickly. If you’d like to learn more about our software, please reach out today.
