Technological advancements and the exponential growth of information are reshaping business operations across various sectors, including the government sector. The volume of government-generated data and digital archiving is accelerating, driven by the proliferation of mobile devices and applications, smart sensors and IoT devices, cloud computing solutions, and citizen-facing portals. As digital information expands and grows more complex, the management, processing, storage, security, and disposition of this data become increasingly intricate. Emerging tools for capture, search, discovery, and analysis are empowering organizations to extract valuable insights from unstructured data. The government sector is reaching a critical juncture, recognizing information as a strategic asset. Governments must protect, leverage, and analyze both structured and unstructured information to better serve citizens and fulfill mission objectives. As government leaders work to transform their organizations into data-driven entities capable of successfully achieving their missions, they are establishing the framework to correlate dependencies across events, people, processes, and information.
High-impact government solutions are being developed through the integration of several disruptive technologies:
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Mobile devices and applications
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Cloud services
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Social business technologies and networking
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Big Data and analytics
Big Data represents a key intelligent industry solution that enables governments to make informed decisions by acting on patterns identified through the analysis of large volumes of data—whether related or unrelated, structured or unstructured.
However, achieving these objectives requires more than just accumulating massive amounts of data. "Making sense of these volumes of Big Data requires cutting-edge tools and technologies that can analyze and extract useful knowledge from vast and diverse streams of information," noted Tom Kalil and Fen Zhao from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in a post on the OSTP Blog.
The White House took significant steps to assist agencies in identifying these technologies by launching the National Big Data Research and Development Initiative in 2012. This initiative allocated over $200 million to capitalize on the explosion of Big Data and the necessary tools for its analysis.
The challenges posed by Big Data are nearly as formidable as its potential is promising. Efficient data storage remains a primary challenge. With budgets consistently tight, agencies must minimize the per-megabyte cost of storage while ensuring data remains easily accessible, allowing users to retrieve it quickly and efficiently. The complexity increases further when backing up massive quantities of data.
Effective data analysis presents another major challenge. Many agencies utilize commercial tools that allow them to sift through vast amounts of data, identifying trends that enhance operational efficiency. (A recent study by MeriTalk revealed that federal IT executives believe Big Data could help agencies save over $500 billion while also meeting mission objectives.)
Custom-developed Big Data tools are also enabling agencies to address their analytical needs. For instance, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Computational Data Analytics Group has made its Piranha data analytics system available to other agencies. This system has assisted medical researchers in identifying links that can alert doctors to aortic aneurysms before they occur. It is also employed for routine tasks, such as screening resumes to match job candidates with hiring managers.
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