2020’s cyclone of seismic challenges impacted our nation’s federal agencies, which provide crucial programs and services across the full spectrum of citizenry and industry.

Consequences from this paradigm shift produced obstacles that cannot be solved with incongruent technology systems and applications. A vigorous response, executed with state-of-the-art technology tools and resources, will transform these challenges into opportunities.

CONNECT PEOPLE, SYSTEMS AND DATA ANYTIME FROM ANYWHERE with service now

Complex problems frequently require timely solutions. It’s imperative you provide immediate responses to urgent issues for stakeholders—no matter where they are. In Forbes, Jeanette Manfra explains why IT modernization is vital to effective government crisis response:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that government operations need to run on more modern technology, and they need to make the transition more quickly. As federal and state governments sent their employees home, capacity and accessibility demands quickly overwhelmed IT systems and processes. Many agencies struggled to provide services using newer digital channels. And, unfortunately, new security challenges have emerged as well, particularly among agencies with services hosted in specialized ‘government clouds’ that have strained under the load.”

ServiceNow is one of the most widely used IT platforms in the federal market, and its leading-edge solutions are enabling federal agencies to solve a wide range of complex business problems. The Now Platform®, ServiceNow’s single cloud platform, empowers IT teams with an intuitive platform that streamlines systems and modernizes federal agency IT practices. The result is a centralized, end-to-end solution that drives efficiencies and optimizes operations across multiple agencies and internal departments, which transforms your workforce into a high-performing team.

The Now Platform® is structured for prompt, data-secure collaboration with staff and customers anytime—and from anywhere. And modern IT systems, with updated platforms, lead to greater efficiencies and better outcomes for everyone.

Veracity Consulting, a ServiceNow Premier Partner, recently assisted the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Warehouse and Commodity Management Division after a recent merger of several of the agency’s divisions revealed that incongruent, antiquated technology systems slowed overall efficiency and restricted collaboration among staff. Some teams involved in the merger had previously adopted the ServiceNow platform and encouraged the others to adopt a single ServiceNow system.

This innovative technology is already creating relationships in the USDA infrastructure among a business and its warehouses, licenses, storage agreements and the examinations of those warehouses. The new platform also revealed more opportunities to improve other processes using the same new solution—and it all came at a crucial time with the onset of the pandemic.

MEET FEDRAMP REQUIREMENTS EFFORTLESSLY

For nearly a decade, the government has required federal agencies to adopt FedRAMP authorized secure cloud services for their data. To comply with these complex security requirements, cloud builders have designed specialized platforms for government clients that are “FedRAMPed.” However, these digital citadels often can’t bear the load of today’s security challenges and simply don’t meet current customer needs. Manfra explains the merits of a more innovative approach.

“IT agility is vital to an organization’s ability to respond to crisis, and with a more modern approach to the cloud, governments can gain the agility that today’s most resilient businesses use to serve changing customer and employee needs while keeping data protected.”

Not only are ServiceNow apps and programs FedRAMP-authorized, your custom apps, created on the Now Platform®, will be automatically FedRAMPed.

BUILD BRIDGES WITH CUSTOMERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

Regardless of the venue, today’s consumers expect a positive, seamless experience. McKinsey & Company discusses the need for governments to strengthen their level of customer support and connection:

“Customers care most about simplicity, reliability and consistency when they employ the services of government … Yet, public-sector leaders globally are recognizing that outstanding customer experience has become an imperative. It is driven by the need for governments to maintain the trust of their citizens—trust that has been eroding in many countries. It is also motivated by citizens’ everyday expectations, which are shaped by the offerings of leading firms. And it is impelled by the intricate and urgent needs of entire populations in crisis.”

More than ever, it’s essential to focus on clients and their critical needs. As we navigate our unprecedented present – and look to the journey ahead – there’s no better time to transform your agency’s digital experience.

Designed with an eye on the evolution of our data-dependent world, ServiceNow and the Now Platform® will help you harness digital innovation. Your agency will improve operational efficiency and security, save time and money, and most importantly, make lives better for those you work with and serve.

About Travis Goodsell
Travis Goodsell is director of solutions delivery and ServiceNow expert at Veracity Consulting, a tech consulting team of trusted advisors, ready to deliver unique solutions to the toughest business challenges of commercial and federal clients across the U.S. Learn more at VeracityIT.com, and share your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter.