Small or Rural Communities Overcome IT Challenges by Modernizing Legacy Systems

Small and rural government agencies face challenges from budgets to aging IT systems that hinder your ability to serve the community. Modernizing IT systems to improve citizen engagement and process efficiency is a start to improving the services you can offer.By integrating advanced retail technology, businesses not only enhance the customer journey but also drive efficiency, reduce costs and boost overall profitability.

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If your small or rural community is looking to modernize legacy systems, these four challenges will be top of mind:

1.     Budget
2.     Legacy systems
3.     Staff retention and training
4.     Security risks

Your plan should begin with a deep dive into your organization to assess what to focus on.

After a thorough look into your agency’s needs, you can see what technologies would work best to modernize your IT system. Here are some vital strategies and tools to consider for your modernization needs:

Cloud computing platforms offer scalable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional physical on-premises systems. Using this technology and migrating your application and data to the cloud can help reduce the need for costly upgrades and minimize the maintenance costs to physical infrastructures.

Cloud platforms can offer small and rural agencies tailored solutions, giving you secure access to services and data from anywhere with an internet connection. It also provides support for disaster recovery and data backup, helping you protect your critical information.

Partnering with a trusted managed IT service provider can help your small and rural community address staffing shortages and technical gaps. Providers can offer expertise in areas such as system maintenance, network management and cybersecurity, allowing government agencies to focus on delivering improved services to their citizens.

Modernizing and maintaining cybersecurity solutions and tools is crucial to fend off the evolving cyber threats. Firewalls, intrusion detection systems and endpoint protections not only help keep your system protected but can also help minimize costs. Cyber threats can be very costly;  ensuring they don’t happen in the first place can be a more efficient use of resources.

Automation can help streamline administrative processes and improve citizen services. Virtualization allows small and rural agencies to upgrade your legacy software to modern web-based applications to help improve efficiency and user experience. Including automation and virtualization in your modernization efforts can also help lower your costs by reducing the need for manual labor and increasing energy efficiency.

Training programs for your IT staff can bridge skill gaps and empower your team to manage modern systems effectively. Training staff can help you retain current staff and save you the costs of having to hire and train someone new.

Implementing any or all these services and solutions can improve your agency’s efficiency and help you become more cost efficient.

Small and rural agencies looking to modernize must navigate the journey with care. CDW Government understands the unique challenges you face and has been working with state and local agencies for years to navigate them. Our experts are dedicated to helping you succeed.

Learn more about the solutions and services that CDW Government delivers that solve for legacy IT roadblocks.