https://statetechmagazine.com/ en https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/qa-why-state-and-local-agencies-must-address-technical-debt-ai-era-accelerates As state and local governments look to modernize services and adopt artificial intelligence, many agencies are confronting a familiar obstacle: technical debt. Aging infrastructure, unsupported systems and outdated hardware are creating growing cybersecurity risks while limiting agencies’ abilities to deploy modern platforms and artificial intelligence-driven tools. Meghan Steele, Cisco vice president of U.S. public sector sales for state and local government and education, spoke with StateTech about why technical debt has become a strategic issue for government IT leaders, how agencies can… Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:01:13 -0400 Mickey McCarter https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/qa-why-state-and-local-agencies-must-address-technical-debt-ai-era-accelerates https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/high-performance-computing-no-longer-out-reach-state-and-local-agencies High-performance computing has been around for decades, but its adoption in state and local government has long been limited by cost and complexity. Historically, deploying HPC required significant investments in specialized infrastructure and highly skilled personnel, resources that are often out of reach for many agencies. But advancements in on-demand computing models, user-friendly software tools and shared infrastructure ecosystems are changing that equation. Managed platforms, prebuilt applications and community HPC clusters are lowering barriers to entry and making advanced computing… Thu, 28 May 2026 14:11:35 -0400 Darren Pulsipher https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/high-performance-computing-no-longer-out-reach-state-and-local-agencies https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/when-cyber-crises-strike-state-and-local-unity-determines-recovery-speed Recent cyber incidents in Winona County, Minn., and New Britain, Conn., highlight how state and local municipalities are struggling to recover from ransomware attacks that affect emergency services, public records and city operations. As ransomware evolves into cloud and multistage extortion attacks, state and local governments and critical infrastructure organizations should prioritize rapid recovery strategies, which include: Shifting from incident response to assumed-breach planning and automated resilience Designing for recovery and uninterrupted delivery of essential public services… Wed, 27 May 2026 14:00:01 -0400 Lou Karu https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/when-cyber-crises-strike-state-and-local-unity-determines-recovery-speed https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/cjis-data-loss-prevention-public-safety As I talk with state and local agencies, one thing is clear: CJIS 6.0 is no longer theoretical. It’s here, and it’s beginning to reshape how public safety organizations think about protecting sensitive data. The Criminal Justice Information Services Security Policy has always evolved, but version 6.0 introduces a requirement that stands out from prior updates: data loss prevention (DLP). This shift toward actively inspecting and controlling data itself is a significant change in mindset. At its core, CJIS data is often unclassified but highly sensitive. It’s information that should never be… Tue, 26 May 2026 14:59:10 -0400 Eric Marchewitz https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/cjis-data-loss-prevention-public-safety https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/case-constitutionally-grounded-ai-and-data-architecture The numbers are hard to argue with: The 2026 NASCIO-Deloitte Cybersecurity Study found that only 22% of state CISOs describe themselves as highly confident in their ability to protect government systems, down sharply from 48% just four years ago. Cyberthreats are accelerating, budgets are tightening, and artificial intelligence is amplifying both the opportunity and the risk simultaneously. I have watched this dynamic from the inside for a long time, and I think the confidence gap persists for a reason that the standard prescriptions do not address. State governments are defending the wrong… Thu, 21 May 2026 14:23:40 -0400 Michael G. Leahy https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/case-constitutionally-grounded-ai-and-data-architecture https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/how-to-improve-citizen-service-experience-modernizing-311 State and local government contact centers are under increasing pressure to deliver faster, more intuitive services to residents. From our perspective working with agencies across the country, the modernization of 311 systems has quickly become one of the most effective ways to improve the citizen experience. We’re seeing a clear shift: Governments are moving beyond static websites and legacy call centers toward more dynamic, integrated service platforms that operate around the clock and connect directly to back-end systems. Click the banner below for insights into upgrading government… Tue, 19 May 2026 13:55:56 -0400 Eric Holstein, Eric Marchewitz https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/how-to-improve-citizen-service-experience-modernizing-311 https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/ai-powered-fleet-technology-helps-deliver-faster-more-responsive-public-services When a pothole complaint comes into the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County in Michigan, road crews can quickly repair the reported damage. The problem is, another pothole may be sitting just one street away, unnoticed until the next resident calls to complain, Assistant Operators Director Rusty McClain says. For local governments, that reactive approach creates inefficiency, wasted labor and frustrated citizens. “When you have potholes in an area, you might be on Road No. 1. But on Road No. 2, right next door, you might not know that they’re there,” McClain says. “We’re trying to allocate… Mon, 18 May 2026 11:52:00 -0400 Mickey McCarter https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/ai-powered-fleet-technology-helps-deliver-faster-more-responsive-public-services https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/observability-vs-monitoring-what-state-and-local-it-teams-need-know-perfcon As state and local governments modernize legacy systems and expand into hybrid and multicloud environments, IT teams are under increasing pressure to maintain performance, security and uptime across increasingly complex architectures. In this environment, understanding the difference between monitoring and observability has become critical. While the terms are often used interchangeably, they represent fundamentally different approaches to managing IT systems — and that distinction is shaping how agencies deliver reliable digital services. According to Bill Rowan, vice president of public… Thu, 14 May 2026 16:09:28 -0400 Jessica Balen https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/observability-vs-monitoring-what-state-and-local-it-teams-need-know-perfcon https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/what-data-sovereignty-context-public-sector-perfcon As state and local governments accelerate cloud adoption and deploy artificial intelligence tools, data sovereignty is emerging as a foundational issue for IT and policy leaders. At its core, data sovereignty is about control; specifically, who has the legal authority over government data. Sushila Nair, CEO of Cybernetic and president of the ISACA Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter, defines it this way: “Data sovereignty is a government's legal authority to control, access, protect and govern data within its jurisdictional order — and to assert or defend that authority against competing claims… Tue, 12 May 2026 17:16:12 -0400 Jessica Balen https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/what-data-sovereignty-context-public-sector-perfcon https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/drones-public-safety-emergency-response-tools Public safety agencies are being asked to perform with greater speed, visibility and precision than ever. Whether responding to emergencies, investigating incidents or protecting critical infrastructure, the need for real-time intelligence has never been greater. From my perspective working with state and local agencies, drones for public safety — also called unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs — have quickly evolved from niche tools into mission-critical assets. What was once experimental is now operational and, in many cases, indispensable. When we talk about public safety, we’re talking… Mon, 11 May 2026 13:53:40 -0400 Dusty Thomas https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/drones-public-safety-emergency-response-tools