State and local governments are increasingly adopting cloud and implementing an IT shared services model due to its financial, technical and operational promises, says Kevin Irland, a corporate communications manager at Verizon Enterprise Solutions.
Irland writes in a Tuesday blog post that a survey by Grant Thornton, TechAmerica and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers indicated that many governments are already using or expanding their use of shared services.
According to Irland, shared services via a cloud environment can facilitate cost savings as IT organizations pay only for needed or consumed resources.
He adds that having a centralized enterprise network infrastructure also could help with efficiency in operations and service delivery, as well as standardization of network security and currency.
Government IT agencies could have different needs and uses of shared services such as human resource applications, mobile device management and help desk services, Irland reports.
The report said agencies also need to consider cybersecurity, governance, cost allocation and other potential issues with sharing IT resources.