Digital transformation is moving slowly in Government segments, according to our work with 451 Research. The analysis attributes this slow speed of change to a set of issues: long procurement cycles, spending constraints, heavy dependence on legacy systems and the volumes of data in them.

Add all that together and the slow pace of transformation is easily explained. Yet IT modernization pressure is only rising in government circles. Mandates come from legislative and executive branches as well as a public that understandably wants easy access to services and expects the highest levels of security for their most personal data.

Balancing these needs to press forward and act with deliberation is a strategic challenge for government agencies that deserves a strategic response.

CenturyLink has worked with countless organizations ­­– large and small – all around the world on their digital transformation approaches. While each situation is different, one approach that consistently breaks through the gridlock of launching transformation initiatives is to find the legacy system or application that can be managed by an outside provider with the fewest concerns raised about the complexity or the security implications.

This system or application doesn’t have to be a major mission-critical item. The goal is to find ways to free up funds and IT staff to focus on more strategic initiatives. In fact, sometimes starting with shifting something that does not seem strategic can be preferable as there are often fewer internal hurdles or resistance than moving.

Voice communication can be one of those legacy items that can move from in-house management to a provider, freeing up resources to focus on other projects. CenturyLink has been working with government personnel who manage more than 450 Senate offices, in all 50 states, helping them move voice communication systems to the cloud. They have implemented a Managed Voice over IP (VoIP) voice solution that securely links government clients in the U.S. Capitol Building with their corresponding offices in each state. Now that service is available to all agencies including state and local government via the General Services Administration’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contracting vehicle as well as GSA Schedule 70, NetworX and NASPO ValuePoint. Known as CenturyLink^® Government Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS), this managed VoIP solution offers an opportunity for multi-location agencies to communicate as if located under a single roof and provides the convenience of centralized management of their communication services.

CenturyLink Government UCaaS is a step that can get any agency started on the course to digital transformation. Not only does it free up some resources, it is also a cloud-hosted service. So it builds experience in moving applications to the cloud and the confidence that you really can secure those applications, maintaining control and gaining efficiencies, with a cloud based system in a cloud-hosted environment. This is true whether you are offloading virtual machines, creating new applications or migrating legacy workloads.

Stepping with deliberation down the path of digital transformation does not mean you have to move slowly. Read our 7 Proven Steps to Migrate Legacy Voice Systems to the Cloud to learn how to minimize disruption while kick-starting your transformational journey.

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