SmartColumbus Fosters Culture of Collaboration

Government Business

Article | March 11, 2022

Blockchain has started to take off. It is now seen as an important part of development. More and more countries and governments are optimistic about joining the race of leveraging blockchain to commence different projects. It can be used in process optimization, cybersecurity, or integrating connected devices. This distributed ledger format is intended to support both public and government sectors, concluding, identity management, digital currency, payments, health care, land registration, voting, and management of legal entities. Need For Blockchain in Government Sector To provide maximum governance, the government must transform itself digitally from both intra-departmental and interdepartmental perspectives. As different departments run on different disjoint technologies, it leads to the concern of data consistency and data integrity. Due to which it becomes highly essential to incorporate multiple digital identities based on citizens in each department to make cross-referencing an easier task. And this is what Blockchain is for and should be used by the government. Moreover, all over the world, banks are turning towards blockchain technology as a support for their complicated economy. They are going to utilize blockchain for issuing digital currencies. That’s the reason why the central banks of Russia, Japan, Britain, China, and the US are planning to meet and explore digital potential before launching CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). Advantages Of Blockchain By using Blockchain, governments can acquire several benefits. Some of which are: 1. Data Protection Personal data has always been higher risk in the unique ids saved by the government. Crucial details have sometimes been open to public records leading to data breach attacks. With the use of blockchain, these intensities can be easily avoided as the blocks are secured from cyber attacks. 2. Transparency It has been found that citizens have low trust in government bodies due to the unawareness of the reason behind their decisions. However, blockchain tends to remove the barrier of secrecy by creating a distributed network that enables participants to verify data that led to the decision. 3. Reduced Corruption Every public service department has at least one corrupt officer. So the government is taking measures to remove such personals which indeed is not possible due to other corrupt officials. However, with the inclusion of the Blockchain system, the mediator link will be terminated from the government system leading to the dumping of the corrupted officials. Final Thoughts One of the most intimidating things about blockchain is the absence of regulatory bodies that can cause any theft or scams. For a modern digital world, blockchain resembles a key-tool for securing digital records, developing economic transition, budgeting, and so much more. Companies that want to establish themselves as the pioneer in the upcoming blockchain revolution should also hire developers to develop their own blockchain-based apps or platforms for secured transactions.

Emerging Technology

Article | July 16, 2022

The biggest IT challenge local governments faced during the COVID-19 pandemic has been scaling existing infrastructure to accommodate many more workers than they had planned for, IT leaders said during a June 17 panel discussion. “Our remote access solution was originally scaled for a major snow day, not for 3,000 to 4,000 remote users,” Charles Gore, IT security manager for Loudoun County, Va., said during a webinar presented by CompTIA’s Public Technology Institute. “We were looking at 500 users remote. We had to spread the scoping across multiple technologies, which we had, but we needed to very quickly adjust to accommodate the new users.”

Article | May 27, 2021

COVID-19 hit the construction industry like a tsunami. Almost all medium to large construction projects were shuttered as government leaders scrambled to protect the health of Americans. Today, however, even though the pandemic has not been contained, there is renewed interest in construction and reason for optimism. The immediate future is considerably brighter today than it was three months ago. Although construction projects are moving slower and fewer new ones being launched, there is definite movement. One year ago, construction projects were so abundant industry leaders warned of imminent danger related to America’s shortage of skilled construction workers, designers, and engineers. Those alarms are not as loud today, but that could change soon because new projects are being announced on a daily basis throughout the country. Officials at the Tampa International Airport placed approximately $906 million in construction projects on hold, but there’s little doubt that construction will begin again in the not too distant future. Air travel is down more than 95 percent, and urgency for planned expansions and upgrades is not as great. Many colleges and universities also have delayed projects. In fact, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) put a two-year halt on construction planned for this month. A $155 million football facility near Memorial Stadium is delayed primarily because university officials anticipate a $50 million budget shortfall. There’s also uncertainty about when sports events can resume. But, more positive news may definitely be found in almost every state in the U.S. Here are just a few examples of upcoming construction projects in America. Louisiana The Louisiana State Legislature has approved $529 million for construction on university campuses. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette plans to spend $187,700 to repair Fletcher Hall and $16.4 million to renovate Madison Hall. Northwestern State University will receive $37.4 million for construction related to Kyser Hall. Louisiana Tech University plans to spend $40.5 million for a number of campus improvements, and Louisiana State University (LSU) has $227.7 million for construction projects. Southern University in Baton Rouge has planned renovations and expansions for about $18.2 million. North Carolina Wake County has approved a $1.47 billion budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). It outlines construction projects at Wake Technical Community College that include new buildings on many campuses. One project outlined in the CIP is a new Emergency Operations Center, and other projects include a new Public Health Center, construction of training space at the Board of Elections Center, facility upgrades at Human Services Sunnybrook, a Facility Condition Assessment program, and vacant space build out for housing at Oak City Multi-Services Center. Missouri On June 2, North Kansas City Schools received approval for a $155 million zero-tax increase bond issue. Lee’s Summit voters also approved a new $224 million bond issue for various infrastructure projects in the R-7 School District. Some of the construction projects include a fourth middle school facility and renovations to the three existing middle school facilities. Voters approved a no-levy-increase bond question for $25 million for improvements to district facilities at Belton School District 124. Wisconsin The city of Sun Prairie has approved its 2021-2023 Capital Improvement Plan that includes many construction projects. The funding includes $7.4 million for phosphorous treatment and plant capacity upgrades at the Water Pollution Control Facility and $2.1 million for Sun Prairie Utility’s Business Park Substation expansion. Unfunded projects for 2021 include $3 million for a library expansion, a public works campus, and a Grans-Hepker intersection expansion. In 2022 the city will spend $7.4 million on street reconstruction. Another unfunded project for years 2022 and 2023 is a $5.7 million bathhouse renovation. New Jersey The New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority approved a toll increase to fund approximately $25 billion in construction over 10 years. Projects include the widening of 15 different sections of a turnpike, the replacement of a bridge between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and upgrades to roadway tolling stations. The plan also calls for widening of a 13-mile section of the Expressway, construction of a direct connector to the Atlantic City Airport and installation of cashless toll equipment. The governor announced plans this week to develop an offshore wind port on an artificial island along the Delaware River, potentially giving the state a competitive edge in the race to attract offshore wind jobs and manufacturers. The project would be unlike anything yet proposed in the U.S. and its cost could be as high as $400 million. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority will lead development of the port with the hope of creating thousands of high paying jobs and establishing New Jersey as the national capital of ‘off shore wind’. Texas The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Transportation Policy Board adopted a 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) that has numerous major construction projects. It includes $633 million for the I-35 Capital Express project which will be sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The TIP also outlines transportation plans from regional transportation entities including TxDOT-Austin District, Capital Metro, Capital Area Rural Transportation System, and other local sponsors that have federally funded or regionally significant projects. One project the board chose to maintain is construction of two lane frontage roads on U.S. Highway 183. That project is projected to cost approximately $75 million. Other projects in the CAMPO plan are: Slaughter Lane widening to six lanes from Brodie Lane to N. Mopac Expressway – $15.73 million; William Cannon widening to four lanes from McKinney Falls Parkway to Running Water Drive – $14.69 million; Braker Lane extension from Samsung Boulevard to Dawes Place – $14.05 million; University Boulevard reconstruction and widening to four lanes from County Road 110 to A.W. Grimes Road – $7.88 million; Gattis School Road Segment 6 widening to six lanes – $11.38 million; RM 967 widening from Oak Forest Drive to FM 1626 – $5.32 million; FM 621 widening from CR 266 to De Zavala Drive in Hays County – $5.1 million; SH 180 left turn lane installation and elimination of shoulder gap – $2.05 million; and, Hopkins Multi-use Bike-Pedestrian Facility construction – $2 million. Construction, engineering, architectural, and design firms will, no doubt, find immediate opportunities to contract with public officials. Additionally, as Congress begins to take up the task of developing an infrastructure bill, it is clear that construction projects will be hailed as the fastest way to stimulate the nation’s economy – a goal that has bipartisan support in America. Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.

Article | June 11, 2020

As federal agencies continue to support large numbers of remote workers, IT leaders have started to evolve their thinking on zero-trust security architectures. Increasingly, they are becoming more comfortable with the concept and are seeking to lay the foundation for deployments. Zero trust represents a mindset shift in cybersecurity in which every transaction is verified before access is granted to users and devices. In the federal government, it is still a relatively nascent approach, with some pilot programs here and there. However, IT leaders seem to recognize that cybersecurity models are increasingly going to be defined by a zero-trust architecture.