In my recent Dark Reading piece, I discussed the NASCIO Top 10 (https://www.nascio.org/resource-center/resources/state-cio-top-ten-policy-and-technology-priorities-for-2023/) as they relate to developing, delivering, and securing the applications and APIs that help make state and local governments run.
In this parallel blog post, I’d like to discuss how the F5 Distributed Cloud Platform can help address each of the “State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2023” that I addressed in detail in the Dark Reading article.
- Cybersecurity and Risk Management: A more complex hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure exposes enterprises to increased risk across their apps and APIs. By offering a single interface to manage complex environments along with industry-leading API discovery and API security, the F5 Distributed Cloud Platform helps businesses improve their cybersecurity and risk management.
- Digital Government/Digital Services: The pressure to deploy digital services to citizens has never been greater. F5 Distributed Cloud Services allow businesses to simplify and optimize the environments in which their apps and APIs are developed, deployed, and managed. This, in turn, ensures that digital services are brought to citizens with the best possible experience.
- Workforce: The skills required to manage, operate, maintain, and secure modern environments have evolved. Thus, the need to train personnel and equip them to succeed in this new landscape is ever present. By providing an intuitive, cloud-agnostic, easy to use interface, the F5 Distributed Cloud Platform empowers the modern workforce in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. In addition, the platform is API-enabled, lending itself to efficient automation practices by reducing repetitive tasks and configuration errors while increasing workforce efficiency.
- Legacy Modernization: Legacy modernization has forced businesses to migrate some apps and APIs to the cloud—often to multiple different cloud environments. This has created a management nightmare. The F5 Distributed Cloud Platform allows customers to make order of the chaos and to simplify management across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
- Identity and Access Management: Because apps and APIs connect to and potentially expose back-end data and systems, properly controlling access to them is of the utmost importance. By helping manage access, applying security policy, and securing apps and APIs, F5 Distributed Cloud Services help customers ensure that they stay on top of Identity and Access Management (IAM).
- Cloud Services: Cloud strategy is and will most likely remain an important part of any business strategy. Citizens have grown to expect smoother and more streamlined digital experiences from their state and local governments. This noble goal requires the time- and resource-saving capabilities of a platform approach to fully realize.
- Consolidation/Optimization: Simplifying and optimizing the management, operations, maintenance, and security of a variety of environments remains an important priority. This requires both an approach that scales and the ability to reduce the potential for human oversight and error. The F5 Distributed Cloud Platform helps with both of these needs by vastly simplifying the management of infrastructure and ensuring that policies can be applied uniformly.
- Data and Information Management: Protecting data requires protecting APIs. The platform’s industry-leading API security and API discovery capabilities facilitate the protection and safeguarding of sensitive and critical data.
- Broadband/Wireless Connectivity: Managing broadband and wireless networks adds another layer of complexity to the infrastructure. There are a lot of moving parts to these technologies, and F5 Distributed Cloud Services can help businesses stay on top of those parts that involve cloud and edge technologies.
- Customer Relationship Management: Citizens have come to expect that state and local governments will provide services within acceptable timeframes. This requires serving applications and APIs quickly and efficiently. Service level agreements (SLAs) will need to be met. A well-designed cloud strategy that includes the capabilities of the F5 Distributed Cloud Platform is an essential part of achieving these goals and properly managing the relationship with citizens.
The NASCIO Top 10 enumerate what should rightfully be the top priorities for state and local government CIOs in 2023 and beyond. Properly addressing these priorities will require strategic investments in people, process, and technology. The F5 Distributed Cloud Platform is one such investment that can help businesses address these priorities and many others.
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