How AI Models are Advancing Weather Predictions and Forecasting

Posted on by Mike Adams

AI models have revolutionized weather forecasting, achieving levels of accuracy unimaginable just a few years ago. Today, a four-day forecast is as reliable as a one-day forecast was in the past, allowing meteorologists to predict weather further in advance with increased precision. This has practical benefits for everyday planning, like deciding whether to grill over the weekend or preparing for outdoor activities. More critically, improved forecasting is a game-changer for disaster preparedness in areas where timely and accurate predictions can save lives and reduce economic losses. Carahsoft, The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider™, leads in AI innovation, addressing Government challenges and unlocking AI’s potential to accelerate operations. Partnering with top AI companies, Carahsoft delivers advanced, accurate weather models to support Government agencies.

The Power of AI and Data

Ground-level stations and satellite sensors generate a massive influx of information daily, which AI excels at processing. By analyzing real-time observations alongside decades of historical weather records, AI tools identify patterns and deliver accurate predictions. This capability is particularly valuable during extreme weather events.

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Innovative AI models like Google DeepMind’s GenCast push the boundaries of what is possible in forecasting. GenCast delivers highly detailed forecasts with a resolution of about 16 miles, capturing localized weather patterns often missed by traditional methods. In addition to precision, these models offer unprecedented speed, processing vast amounts of high-quality data in minutes. This efficiency empowers emergency responders and decision-makers to act with confidence, reducing the impact of extreme weather on communities.

The integration of AI into weather forecasting has also significantly enhanced disaster preparedness. AI enables more precise identification of regions of concern, helping meteorologists and emergency teams allocate resources more effectively and reduce unnecessary efforts elsewhere. This targeted approach ensures critical areas receive the attention they need, while also preventing burnout among professionals tasked with monitoring weather events.

Moreover, meteorologists are expanding their roles to include emergency management skills. By combining AI insights with a deep understanding of societal and infrastructure impacts, they ensure forecasts translate into actionable strategies that protect lives and property. The combination of AI’s processing power and human expertise enables more effective evacuations, resource alignment and response efforts.

Challenges and Sustainability in AI Operations

While AI offers transformative benefits, it also presents challenges. The risk of misinformation from AI-generated weather models or images remains a concern, as untrained individuals may spread false predictions, causing unnecessary panic. This places an additional burden on professionals to correct misinformation and redirect resources. Maintaining a “human-in-the-loop” is essential for all AI deployments, ensuring that expert oversight validates outputs and mitigates potential errors. Furthermore, improving model training to recognize complex atmospheric dynamics, such as interactions with continental systems that can alter hurricane paths, is essential to enhancing forecasting accuracy. Weather forecasting is uniquely suited for early AI adoption because it generates massive amounts of data and benefits from high-quality datasets provided by organizations like the National Weather Service and NASA, ensuring models are trained on reliable information.

Sustainability is another critical consideration. Data centers and AI facilities consume significant amounts of energy and water, often in regions susceptible to drought or extreme heat. Expanding such operations across multiple sites could strain local resources. A lack of water for cooling systems, coupled with increasing heat waves, poses risks to operations and the energy grid, potentially leading to rolling blackouts.

Infrastructure capable of withstanding extreme weather is crucial. Facilities like the Salesforce Tower in California exemplify climate-resilient design by incorporating renewable energy, black water recycling and the ability to export energy to the city during optimal periods. More facilities of this kind are needed—those that not only minimize environmental impact but also contribute positively to surrounding communities. Strategic planning for site locations and designs, informed by accurate climate data, will be essential for ensuring sustainability and resilience.

How Government Agencies are Preparing for the Future

As Government agencies embrace an AI-driven future, they are modernizing infrastructure, curating large datasets and upskilling their workforce to harness AI’s potential. These efforts go beyond technological enhancements, focusing on using AI to address critical challenges such as refining weather predictions and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather. By integrating AI into disaster preparedness and emergency management, agencies are building a more resilient framework that protects lives, safeguards jobs and fosters innovative solutions for future challenges.

How Carahsoft Can Help

Carahsoft works with a robust and growing ecosystem of thousands of IT solutions providers, including Google, NVIDIA and Microsoft, who have developed AI weather models that are predicting hurricane landfall faster and more accurately than traditional Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. Carahsoft removes barriers around the AI adoption process by providing the infrastructure, data management and cybersecurity solutions required to safely and securely deploy innovative technology in your agency. As Government agencies continue to navigate the complexities of the modern landscape, Carahsoft’s AI partners stand ready to empower them with the tools and technologies needed to thrive in an era of unprecedented change.

Discover solutions tailored to your needs in Carahsoft’s Artificial Intelligence Solutions Portfolio and gain valuable insights with the AI Buyer’s Guide for Government.

Classified Data Spillage: Considerations for Risk Mitigation and Containment

Posted on by Maurice Uenuma

Classified data spillage has always been a concern to those in the national security community. When sensitive information spills onto an unauthorized medium or network, there can be grave consequences.

The risk of data spillage continues to rise with the growth of data from broader collection and production, along with increased access to and use of this data for analytics and operations. Digital transformation, AI adoption, and data-driven decision-making have delivered great value to federal agencies, but these trends have made protecting classified data even more challenging than it already was.

This situation warrants new consideration for how sensitive data can be protected against unintentional exposure, and how spillage is remediated when it occurs. Data sanitization plays an important role in this arena.

How Spillage Occurs

Data spillage is one way that unauthorized disclosure of classified information takes place. According to NIST, it is a “security incident that results in the transfer of classified information onto an information system not authorized to store or process that information.”

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The spilled data could have been moved to an unclassified environment for nefarious purposes (e.g., espionage) or as a result of inadvertently mishandling the data (e.g., not following classification procedures). Examples of the former would include leaks such as those committed by high-profile conspirators Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. Examples of the latter would include incidents that involve cleared personnel who physically relocate or improperly dispose of sensitive materials.

Spillage can also happen as an unintended consequence of a loss of control of classified data systems (e.g., an email server misconfiguration). The growing size and complexity of the government’s data management landscape has led to an increase in data spillage risk.

More Data to Protect… and Contain

More classified data is being shared for the benefit of national security decision making and operations. Effectively extracting value from that data means sharing data across more systems and giving access to more people. This can produce long-term national security benefits but also near-term data security challenges.

The sheer volume of classified data is a contributing factor.The rapid emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT), more automated data collection, and the government’s digital modernization efforts have exponentially increased the volume of sensitive data being transmitted, processed, and stored, increasing the possibility of spillage.

Some examples of this include:

Generative AI (GenAI) that produces sensitive or even classified information before humans can properly manage and classify the outputs.
Broadly deployed sensors that gather or contain classified data and transmit that data across broad networks.
A growing number of cleared personnel with access to classified information.
Large sensitive or classified data sets being fed into large language models (LLM) that may spill during the extract, transfer, load (ETL) process.

The Role of Data Sanitization

There are numerous security controls available to federal agencies to prevent data spillage and respond to it when it occurs. These include data protection measures such as access control, multi-factor authentication (MFA), encryption, data loss prevention (DLP), email security, and employee training.

Data sanitization also plays an increasingly important role.

According to Gartner, data sanitization is the process of deliberately, permanently, and irreversibly removing or destroying the data stored on a memory device to make it unrecoverable⁠. In other words, a device that has been sanitized has no usable residual data, and even with the assistance of advanced forensic tools, the data will not ever be recovered. Data sanitization can also be performed on individual files, folders, virtual machines, and logical storage (without sanitizing the entire device or drive).

Sanitization of a device at decommissioning and ongoing data sanitization in live environments are both critical steps to reducing an organization’s data attack surface and potential risk of classified spillage. In this way, it helps to both prevent and mitigate it.

Prevention: Permanently removing classified data when it is no longer needed reduces the risk of this data ending up where it should not be. By deploying data sanitization tools, federal agencies can:

Remove redundant, obsolete, trivial (ROT), or dark (unused or unknown) data from storage environments.
Erase specific network files, folders, logical drives, or virtual environments to comply with classified data protection mandates.
Securely remove data from data storage drives or devices before storage or transport of those assets, including those slated for shredding or other physical destruction.
Integrate with data classification tools to proactively (and even automatically) identify, contain, and sanitize classified files when they are no longer needed.

Remediation: After a data spillage incident is discovered, action must be taken to ensure it is isolated and contained. Software-based data sanitization (including binary overwrite of all user-accessible and non-accessible partitions of the affected drive) can be applied to permanently remove classified data, even before physical destruction of the device or drive, as a robust risk mitigation measure. When done properly, data sanitization also provides additional assurance through erasure verification and reporting.

In its National Instruction on Classified Information Spillage,the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) provides the minimum actions required when responding to a spillage of classified information. According to CNSS, appropriate procedures for sanitizing or remediating the effects of a spill may include:

Using the operating system to delete the spilled information.
Re-labeling the media containing the spilled information to the appropriate classification/category and transferring the media into an appropriate environment.
Removing the classified information from the media by organization-approved technical means to render the information unrecoverable.
Erasing operating system, program files, and all data files.
Erasing all partition tables and drive formats.
Erasing and sanitizing the media.
Forfeiting the media.

Many of these procedures can be effectively implemented through a mature data sanitization platform and process.

To note, this guidance was issued before the recent developments in AI, IoT, etc., noted above. Likely, the emphasis on data sanitization in live environments will increase as policy is updated to better reflect—and keep pace with—the sheer volume of sensitive data being shared and processed at scale.

Data spillage is a real and growing risk to national security, demanding a measured response. There are many security controls and associated policies available to prevent spillage and remediate it when it occurs. Robust data sanitization tools are likely to become more widely used, as agencies implement these capabilities in routine end-of-life data and device management, as well as in non-routine data spillage scenarios.

Reach out if you are interested in learning how Blancco’s solutions can help you prevent data spillage.

Make Invisible Talent Visible

Posted on by Kelley Steven-Waiss

With strengthening and empowering the Federal workforce as a key tenant of the President’s Management Agenda, the critical need for people with cybersecurity skills and an aging workforce, now is the time for government to re-evaluate how it looks at the skills of employees. Moving to a data-driven talent strategy allows agencies to match the right people to the right work at the right time which also enhances that employee’s experience and engagement with their work.

Progression not Promotion

The first step is realizing that skills are not a title. For too long, career success has meant moving up GS levels or in title. A change in title does not necessarily mean being exposed to new experiences, gaining new skills or even gaining responsibility. The growth that comes with new challenges is what keeps employees fulfilled. That can happen when employees move into positions across an organization. Sideways needs to be the new up – not just for the growth of employees but for the mission achievement of government.

Keep Talent in Government

People enter public service because they have a tie to the mission. They want to work for that organization with a line of sight toward that mission. They do not leave because they stopped believing in the mission, they leave because they have not been given an opportunity to grow and develop. Research shows that one third of millennials and Gen Z workers leave a job because they did not see an opportunity to grow their career.

Talent sharing across agencies is a concept whose time has come. Government employees need to see career path options outside of their current organization. Where can their skills make an impact in another office or agency? Seeing a growth path will keep the talent within the government ecosystem rather than losing them to good commercial companies.

Diversify the Workforce You Already Have

A data-driven approach can go a long way in driving out bias and growing equity. Across government there are many opportunities for people to get involved in steering committees, pop-up projects and short-term initiatives. However, getting involved requires employees to be informed. We assume that people will seek out these opportunities. Employees only network with people they know – this limits what they are exposed to. Employees miss opportunities every day that are tailor made for their skills and career goals.

A data-driven approach automates the ability to engage. Opportunities can be pushed to employees that meet specific skills and capability criteria. Those employees can then engage with the opportunity through a digital workflow allowing them to quickly and easily break into a new network within the organization. No longer are we dependent on who we know. Now technology becomes a proactive, enabling force in finding the best fit based on skills, not position or education.

Personalize the Journey

Studies show that 94% of employees will stay with an organization longer if they feel it is invested in them. Providing a dynamic career path backed by training and mentoring opportunities is a way to demonstrate commitment to an employee.

A one size fits all training program ends up fitting no one. Employees have come to expect a personalized experience from all of the brands they interact with – whether that is music or movie recommendations or reminders to order more toilet paper. Data-driven organizations can offer that same experience by feeding employees programs and trainings that people actually want to participate in and learn from.

For organizations, knowing the growth areas for employees allows for more targeted efforts in offering reskilling and upskilling opportunities to the people who will most quickly benefit from the training.

ServiceNow is proud to support organizations ready to make the leap to a data-driven skills-based model. Our recent webinar showed how to move away from spreadsheets and emails and begin managing skills in an automated way that works for everyone – HR, agency leaders, supervisors and employees. View the full session here to learn how to transform how you hire, reward and grow your team.

Software, AI, Cloud and Zero Trust as Top Priorities for the Army and DoD at Large at TechNet Augusta 2023

Posted on by Mike McCalip

Many of the major cybersecurity, data, DevSecOps and other trends from the past couple of years continue to grow and be top priorities for every segment of the Department of Defense (DoD). At TechNet Augusta 2023, Government and industry experts shared the specific needs of their organizations across those areas and solutions to help achieve their goals. The main theme of the event was “Enabling a Data-Centric Army” and expanding those principles and their mobilizing technologies to the entire DoD. For the Army in particular, the shift from hardware to software, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud capabilities and Zero Trust were headlining topics at the conference.

Shifting from Hardware to Software

In an effort to increase agility and expand access to resources, the Army is transitioning its equipment from hardware to software. Amending its materiel release process to decouple software from hardware allows the Army to deploy software outside of the long hardware acquisition cycle. To mobilize this endeavor, the Army Futures Command (AFC), is modifying its software requirements to focus on high-level overviews that are then refined by operators. Alongside this shift, the Army and other departments requested that technology providers ensure that their software solutions integrate with each other. Going forward, the Army also asked industry to provide software that is not tied to specific hardware. This separation will be key to establishing data-centricity. Nearly every speaker echoed the importance of this shift for their departments.

Utilizing AI

With this major transition to a software-heavy environment, Army Chief Data and Analytics Officer David Markowitz believes it will be an ideal use case for generative AI in software development. Having a controlled environment in software development would make it easier to properly govern compared to the complexity of some of the other uses. As AI usage increases across the DoD, military leaders requested industry create AI platforms with layered complexity of features enabling users of any skill level to utilize the technology effectively. In regard to AI applications for data, Army CIO Leonel Garciga stated that additional guidance on “Data Use on Public/Commercial Platforms” would be released soon to clarify its policy. Overall, officials concurred that the DoD is not looking to become 100% reliant on AI aid but instead maximize AI’s strengths to augment human critical thinking and empower commanders to make data-driven decisions.

Enabling Cloud Capabilities

Over the past year, the Army has exponentially increased its cloud migration and virtualized capabilities. Housing information in the cloud optimizes data storage and simplifies ease of access particularly with the increase in data output, and the push for AI data analytics and data-driven decisions. Hybrid cloud solutions offer the readiness, adaptability and duplication of vital information necessary for military operations to continue smoothly in any situation. Currently, DoD leaders seek industry solutions for modernizing and moving applications to the cloud simultaneously. Acquiring technology with this ability would reduce both the security risk and the work required from the military to implement it.

Expanding Zero Trust

Overarching every aspect of the DoD is the critical need for cybersecurity. Garciga plans to emphasize Zero Trust implementation heavily in conjunction with improving user experience and cyber posture. While multi-factor authentication offers a great starting point, military leaders explained that it is not enough and that they look to partner with industry to close virtualization vulnerabilities through continuous monitoring and regular red teaming. At the conference, the Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) outlined seven principles for IT providers to follow for all capabilities they deliver:

Rapidly Patch Software
Assess All Production Code for Security Flaws
Improve Security of Development Networks
Isolate Development Environments from the Internet and from the Vendor Business Network
Implement Development Network Security Monitoring
Implement Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on Development Network and Testing Services
Implement Role-based Permissions on Development Network

Empowering DoD Success

A consistent thread woven throughout the event was the vital nature of open communication and partnership between the DoD and technology companies to achieve the established goals. Within each of these areas including the shift from hardware to software, use of AI, cloud capabilities and Zero Trust, the DoD looks to innovate and explore new methods and solutions to stay ahead on the world platform. Together through collaboration, industry can have a vital role in keeping American citizens safe one technology update at a time.

Explore our Federal Defense Technology Solutions Portfolio to learn how Carahsoft can support your organization through innovative, agile defense resources and IT capabilities.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at TechNet Augusta 2023.*

Innovation in Government: The Future of Technology with Dell

Posted on by Erica Raymond

Advances in communications, data analytics and cloud ecosystems are supercharging efforts to modernize government. Leaders recognize that partnerships with industry are essential to their success with emerging technologies, including groundbreaking tools and techniques that help agencies tackle a wide array of challenges. The government is facing monumental challenges, such as the economy, climate change, public health and military preparedness. These large-scale, broad impact problems require new and innovative ideas to solve. Organizations such as the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have released guidance and strategies for agencies hoping to move past existing restrictions by updated legacy systems. Carahsoft’s most recent Innovation in Government Report includes insights from industry experts at Dell Technologies on how emergent technologies can help government push past those boundaries, with deep dives on 5G, artificial intelligence, digital twins, edge computing and cloud ecosystems.

A Secure Way to Use AI-Assisted Data Analytics

“Federated learning is becoming increasingly relevant given the emergence of ChatGPT and other AI-based technologies. Industry and government leaders recognize that it is essential to develop AI in an ethical, unbiased way that ensures information privacy and security. The only way to do that is to take a critical look at the technologies that are evolving and shape them in an intentional way. Right now, AI is not as secure as it could be. It is susceptible to the same vulnerabilities that affect other technologies. Therefore, agencies and their industry partners should focus on protecting data where it resides, instituting a zero trust architecture and securing AI algorithms.”

Read more insights from Ed Hicks, business development manager for federal and AI at Dell Technologies.

What the Evolution of 5G Means for Government

“5G is the first generation of cellular technology that’s cloud native, which means it has the flexibility to be fully virtualized and deployed in several different architectural designs, hosted on commercial servers. Agencies now have the ability to dynamically scale up or down depending on the network load at the moment. In addition, many large hyper-scaler cloud vendors are exploring ways to provide 5G as a service and combine the virtualized network function with cloud-hosted workloads, integrating the telco workload into the traditional IT stack.”

Read more insights from Greg Burrill, 5G/Networking Alliance Manager at Dell Technologies.

Taking Modernization to the Next Level with Digital Twins

“Digital engineering is digital transformation applied to the realm of systems engineering. It is another path to IT modernization. Digital twins require the foundations of a digitally transformed environment and its elements of data management, agile development, DevSecOps and container-based orchestration. Digital twins focus on bringing data from the physical world into the digital arena, gleaning insights through artificial intelligence and then displaying those insights visually for users. Digital twins can deploy those conclusions in the physical world, measure the results of the changes and start the loop over again by feeding that data back into the digital arena.”

Read more insights from Ken Rollins, Technology Architect for Digital Engineering/Edge at Dell Technologies.

How Repatriation Fits into a Broader Cloud Strategy

“When agencies simply lifted and shifted workloads into the cloud, they often experienced inefficiencies and cost overruns. Now that agencies are gaining a better understanding of cloud models and how to adapt their workloads to run efficiently in the cloud, they have begun to more carefully consider when it makes the most sense to put a workload into a public cloud and when it is better to pull it back to run on premises, known as cloud repatriation. Those decisions should be part of a larger strategy for appropriate workload placement.”

Read more insights from Manny Yusuf, Chief Cloud/Edge Architect at Dell Technologies.

Future-Ready Data Centers for Government Agencies

“A software-defined data center (SDDC) virtualizes all the infrastructure elements that government agencies are using and delivers them in an as-a-service model. Specifically, compute, networking, storage, security and services are abstracted and delivered as automated, policy-driven software. That virtualized, programmatic approach enables SDDCs to break down IT silos and simplify complexities. The benefits include gains in performance and availability and reductions in costs and security risks. An SDDC enables applications to be deployed more quickly and IT resources used more effectively through the use of cloud-based services.”

Read more insights from Manny Yusuf, Chief Cloud/Edge Architect at Dell Technologies.

A Flexible Cost Model for Cloud and Infrastructure

“Maintaining visibility into IT operations is crucial for understanding and mitigating security risks as well as for better managing costs. Agencies might need to achieve a specific return on investment, meet certain efficiencies or comply with unique mission requirements. Regardless of the goal, a simplified cost model provides a comprehensive understanding of what it costs the agency to run workloads on premises, at the edge or in any cloud location. Dell APEX also allows agencies to maintain oversight of their IT environment and expenses when they are running a software factory and pushing out new capabilities on a continuous basis. Anytime something new is put in the cloud, it’s important to have visibility into its long-term costs so that agencies can avoid inefficiencies.”

Read more insights from Manny Yusuf, Chief Cloud/Edge Architect at Dell Technologies.

Download the full Innovation in Government® report for more insights from emerging technology thought leaders and additional industry research from FCW.

Security Protections to Maximize the Utility of Generative AI

Posted on by Tim Balog

Since the introduction of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) has exponentially expanded. While machine learning has introduced many merits, it also leads to security concerns that can be alleviated through several key strategies.

The Benefits and Risks of Generative AI

The primary focus of AI is to use data and computations to aid in decision-making. Generative AI can create text responses, videos, images, code, 3D products and more. AI as a Service, cloud-based offerings of AI, helps experts get work done more efficiently by advancing infrastructure at a quicker pace. In contrast, AI is also commonly used by the general public as a toy, since its responses can sometimes be entertaining. The comfort users have with AI and wide range of inputs introduces risk, and these risks can proliferate exponentially.

There are several key concerns for Government agencies when utilizing generative AI:

Copyright Complications – AI content comes from many different sources, and that content may be copyrighted. It is difficult to know who owns the words, images or source code that is generated, as the AI’s algorithm is based on derivative information. The data could be open sourced or proprietary information. To combat this, users should modify rather than copy any information gained from AI.
Abuse by Attackers – Bad actors can utilize AI to execute more effective and efficient attacks. While AI is not yet self-sufficient, inexperienced attackers can use AI to make phishing attacks more convincing, personal and effective.
Sensitive Data Loss – Users have, either intentionally or unintentionally, input sensitive data or confidential information into Generative AI systems. It is easier to disclose sensitive information into AI prompts, as users may dissociate the risk from the non-human machine.

The many capabilities of AI entice employees to utilize it to support their daily tasks. However, when this includes introducing sensitive information, such as meeting audios for transcripts or unique program codes, security concerns ensue. Once data is in the AI’s system, it is nearly impossible to have it removed.

To protect themselves from security and copyright issues with AI, several large communications companies and school districts have blocked ChatGPT. However, this still carries risk. Employees or students will find ways around security walls to use AI. Instead of blocking apps, organizations should create a specific policy around generative AI that is communicated to everyone in the company.

Combatting AI Risks

One such policy method includes utilizing a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution. The DLP’s purpose is to detect and prevent unauthorized data transmission, and its capabilities can be applied to AI tools to mitigate these concerns. Its security parameters work through three main steps:

Discover – DLPs can detect where data is stored and report on its location to ensure proper storage and accessibility based on its classification.
Monitor – Agencies can oversee data usage to verify that it is being used appropriately.
Protect – By educating employees and enforcing data-loss policies, DLPs can deter hackers from leaking or stealing data.

DLP endpoints can reside on laptops or desktops and provide full security coverage by monitoring data uploads, blocking data copied to removable media, blocking print and fax options and covering cloud-sync applications. For maximum security, agencies should utilize DLPs that cover all types of data storage—data at rest, data in use and data in motion. A unified policy based on detection and response to data leaks will prevent users from misapplying AI and provide balance for secure operation.

While agencies want to stay competitive and benefit from AI, they must also recognize and take steps to reduce the risks involved. Through educating users about the pros and cons of AI and implementing a DLP to prevent accidental data leakages, agencies can achieve their intended results.

Broadcom is a global infrastructure technology leader that aims to enhance excellence in data innovation and collaboration. To learn more about data protection considerations for generative AI, view Broadcom’s webinar on security and AI.

A Unified Identity: Login and Customer Experience

Posted on by Tiffany Goddard

While in-person services used to be the primary channel of access to Government services, this is no longer the case as more customers turn to digital services. To provide excellent Customer Experience (CX), the Government must prioritize creating digital channels for customers to sign up, apply for and purchase Government services. During Carahsoft’s 2023 Customer Experience and Engagement Summit, panelists discussed how agencies can create an easy-access experience for customers that is unified across all Government agencies.

Simple, United Services

Customers want easy access to services, and this requires a secure, trusted, personal Government-issued digital identity. Having an individualized login allows customers to establish their identity online before completing important tasks, such as making child support payments or searching for unemployment insurance. To be as secure and validated as possible, these logins should be operated by an organization that does not have a motive to leverage private information to sell customer data for profit.

To maintain the core principles of effective customer service, logins should have a common set of controls that validate digital identities. To create a reliable login account, there are three core principles to follow.

Logins must be usable by everyone including constituents without a bank account or a home. Employees cannot have implicit biases and must be ready and willing to serve everyone.
The data that people provide must always remain private. With a Government-issued digital identity, customers will be providing sensitive information to prove their identity. This must be protected to preserve trust in the Government.
Programs should be based on private sector technologies. Government agencies do not need to reinvent or reimagine technology. Rather, they should leverage products that are already built well and bring them together in a way that employs the best innovation in the private sector.

The Benefits of Accessibility

Having a digital identity could allow customers to have a single account that is accessible across Federal, State and Local Government. When customers need to transfer to a different department, an identity-tied login creates an easy way to share their history with new agencies. Centralized login accounts can connect the customer through various platforms, such as email, phone call, in-person and online. IT (information technology) is one of the few categories that has a spending increase into the double digits, which reinforces technology as the primary trend in Government innovation.

As with any digital ability, security concerns must be addressed. Since control of login credentials allows control of identity and data, agencies need to know that the person who is logging in is not an impersonator. By privatizing accounts and their login information, this avoids the information being manipulated or sold.

Government agencies are in the best position possible to combat this. The White House allocated agencies a budget to address CX initiatives. Panelists expressed that many excellent partners in the industry are ready to deliver on these cybersecurity initiatives. For the first time, CX is part of the President’s Management Agenda. The entire administration unified around the agreement that CX is vital to the Government, and the digital sphere must be the first step in reconstructing CX. With this support, agencies can spearhead the movement in providing simple, effective and secure service to elevate CX.

Check out the rest of the 2023 Government Customer Experience series to learn more about Carahsoft’s insights from CX industry thought-leaders at the summit.

To learn more about the latest in the CX landscape and how Carahsoft’s industry-leading partners can support your Customer Experience initiatives, please visit our resource hub to access all on demand recordings and information from the 2023 Government Customer Experience and Engagement Summit.

Utilizing Data to Improve in Customer Experience

Posted on by Tiffany Goddard

The main goal in customer service is to provide for customer needs and preferences. Through data and feedback, agencies can revitalize and refocus services to best support customers. At Carahsoft’s 2023 Government Customer Experience and Engagement Summit, panelists reviewed the usage of data in improving the customer experience (CX).

Maintaining Pace with Customer Needs

Expectations from customers have changed rapidly. The pandemic forced customers to increasingly operate via the internet, from important telehealth visits with doctors to completing the mundane task of buying groceries. To match audience needs, Government services must follow suite and digitize.

While digitization is vital, agencies must begin by investing energy and resources into the foundation of CX. To create successful digitization, agencies must focus on swiftly delivering value. Components such as success, personalization and digital equity will follow naturally. Implementing iterative feedback strategies and routines to talk one-on-one with the people directly involved refines usability in agency services.

Providing Equitable Service Through Data

Creating swift and efficient Government services can be difficult and gathering data on customer feedback is the key to improving them. By collecting data through live user testing, agencies can demonstrate how well services are working. This insight can be utilized to encourage the Federal Government to continue or increase funding for State and Local initiatives.

Agencies should encourage reviews as much as possible. By gathering feedback, agencies can use the information gained from data to implement measures alleviating processes that customers carry out. Feedback on digital services can be used by agencies to revitalize their websites around customer needs. Digital services should be simple, accurate, equitable and accessible. Sometimes, this means agencies will need to continue redesigning initiatives, even if they performed adequately in test cases. While this can be cumbersome, being equitable for all users is a vital part of customer service. Pilot programs and generative artificial intelligence can alleviate this process and aid in experimenting with new technologies or designs.

With the overwhelming switch to digitization and the automation process, agencies must not lose sight of maintaining security standards to protect the sensitive information they hold. Implementing data protection and resiliency ensures that in case of data loss, agencies can get services back up and running again.

Equitable service means considering the audience. Whether the audience even has access to technology or in-person services, is a large factor in how CX is provided. For services geared for older customers, such as Medicaid, physical copies may be necessary to reach a large part of the audience. Some customers may need help accessing information. Government agencies can make a difference in these communities by offering additional assistance, including teaching seniors how to use technology or signing them up for medication deliveries. Without considering the audience, and without providing an extra helping hand, Government agencies cannot ensure equitable and proper service to their customer base.

Ultimately, agencies need to stay relevant, accurate and up to date with customer needs while also recognizing that it takes time and effort to perfect services. However, by interpreting data to consider different perspectives and needs, and by applying that data to expand support services and platforms, agencies can provide excellent customer service and experiences.

Read the previous blog and check back soon to read the rest of Carahsoft’s insights from CX industry thought leaders at the summit.

Letting Data and Leadership Inspire Change

Posted on by Tiffany Goddard

Every agency strives to provide quality customer service, but learning and executing new ways to do so can be daunting. Attendees at Carahsoft’s annual Government Customer Experience and Engagement Summit learned that while the process may differ for each agency, there are a few main principles each group should follow in providing an excellent customer experience (CX).

Expounding On Census Data

Over the past few years, agencies have changed the way they collect data to find the best way to reach customers. For some audiences, this may include both electronic and paper forms. If both methods are deployed every so often, agencies can better understand which customers still need that physical conversation or mail-in form, and which prefer online methods. Agencies must embrace observability in both controlled and uncontrolled environments to collect the most effective data on customer experience. One such uncontrolled feedback forum is social media. Previously thought to be uncorrelated to constructive feedback, agencies are finding that customers use social media as a feedback mechanism. By monitoring responses on social media, government organizations can find action items for the way they serve the public.

After collecting data, agencies need to know how to sift through it to find relative action items. To provide better customer service, agencies need to find measurable results from these initiatives. Actionable plans should be formed around the data results. Ultimately, the customer’s experience must guide agency programs.

Leadership in Action

Data can be utilized in practice through strong and guided leadership. A government agency may be the sole provider for a particular service, such as taxes with the Federal government, or issuing drivers’ licenses through the local government. Therefore, it is increasingly important that the government provides excellent service. Government agencies must center their service around empathy. By connecting and understanding customer needs, employees can balance data insights and other priority goals such as cybersecurity and regulatory framework in light of its main goal of centering services around the customer. Agencies can utilize journey mapping and analytics to find predictive routing for continued customer service improvement.

Addressing CX can benefit other service priorities, too. By focusing on each individual customer interaction, handling time and average transaction time will decrease, while overall satisfaction between employer and customer will be higher. During Carahsoft’s 2023 Customer Experience and Engagement Summit, Abraham Marinas, the Product Design Director at Federal Student Aid, attested, “…as you focus on the customer experience, all those metrics eventually will fall in line.”

Technology can be utilized to fulfill innovation in customer service. Technology has improved vastly in the past several years. While agencies may have previously structured themselves around technology, now, technology should be formatted to fit the agency’s specific needs. By investing in strong partnerships with the IT industry, agencies can create better solutions and technology for their organization.

As the government strives to better serve its people, agencies must continue to update their processes and services for positive change by considering the following:

Have a clear, focused image of the change it wants to make.
Decide how to will demonstrate the benefits of that change.
Share that image with each individual team; even when an organization has a shared vision, it might need to change the implementation process depending on the structure of each team.
Upscale existing talent or hire new experts to specialize and understand new changes.

By engaging in genuine and emphatic conversations and utilizing data to influence leadership and progress, employees can form bonds with their customers to help foster trust and respect for the Government.

Read the previous blog and check back soon to read the rest of Carahsoft’s insights from CX industry thought leaders at the summit.

5 Essential Applications of AI Technology in Education

Posted on by Tim Boltz

When growing up and sitting through math class, students often heard teachers say that students should not rely on a calculator to do their math for them. After all, they would never have a calculator in their pockets. Today, that statement could not be farther from the truth. Now, many students have an entire computer in their pockets with a calculator just a click of a button away. The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased exponentially within the last few decades, and students and educators alike must embrace the latest in AI and education technology to keep up with the pace.

In all learning environments, students and teachers rely on modern technologies to enhance their experiences to be as informational, productive and efficient as possible. In recent years, hybrid learning and collaborative digital spaces became essential components of education for both K-12 and higher education organizations. With this development, education technology has evolved and expanded to include new and more advanced AI systems inside and outside the classroom.

The needs of students are always changing, and educators must constantly adapt to progressive ways of teaching and learn different technologies or platforms that can assist with their daily lessons. With the implementation of AI and numerous benefits of digital learning, all students and instructors can achieve a more wholistic and innovative education. These five topics demonstrate how AI is an essential tool in the learning process for various types of learners across K-12 and higher education.

Communication

Innovative trends in education technology have made it possible for students and staff to stay connected, whether through remote online learning or collaborative learning in the classroom. AI tools like SMS bots, predictive technology and ChatGPT can assist students in tasks such as navigating their school’s learning platforms, researching and preparing information for assignments and getting real-time answers to their questions. AI can also help teachers and professors orchestrate discussion points between students and guide next steps within small group collaborative projects.^[¹^]

Automation

For teachers, implementing AI can help automate repetitive daily tasks like grading tests and quizzes, and catching minor mistakes within written essays. This way they have more freedom and time to focus on in-depth feedback, creating comprehensive lesson plans and spending one-on-one time with their students. Additionally, AI tools can give students instant feedback on their work, allowing them to be more independent in identifying inaccuracies and recognizing successful projects.^[²^]

Immersive Learning

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are becoming increasingly more popular in students’ everyday lives, so using these technologies as a learning tool is familiar and compelling for them to gain valuable experiences in the classroom. Immersive technologies can simulate real-world scenarios for students to gain hands-on experience with low risk, like medical simulations and technical experiments. It also can allow students to break the barrier between their physical space and complex concepts like observing the planets up close or enlarging and examining something microscopic.^[³^]Not only do AR and VR create expansive opportunities for students to view and understand concepts in new and captivating ways, but they also create an additional, interactive and collaborative avenue of learning for students who may not be as responsive to traditional tools like textbooks and study guides.^[⁴^]

Data-Driven Results

Throughout a student’s education, data is continually collected to better understand and predict their developing needs and most effective learning strategies. AI technologies can quickly and automatically analyze and report on this data, allowing teachers and professors to evaluate trends in an individual student’s or an entire class’s performance. Empowered with this knowledge, educators can tailor their lesson plans and take a more proactive approach to supporting students’ needs, ultimately increasing academic improvement for all.^[⁵^]

Personalized Learning

Student’s learning styles can vary depending on many factors. For example, some students learn best through more visual and interactive experiences, while others may learn best through memorization and flashcards. Analyzing data collected by AI can help teachers be more informed and prepared educators for different kinds of learners. By applying the insights gathered from AI algorithms, educators can create personalized tracks for individual students, including aspects like adjusting the types of content, working with their comfortability, tailoring to their pace of learning and understanding their comprehension of learning objectives.^[⁶^] Additionally, AI technologies can help teachers plan, schedule and produce suggested lesson ideas more efficiently so they can target instruction and reduce the time it takes to create activities that best support each student.^[⁵^]

As AI becomes more common in education, maintaining academic integrity and validity within assignments of any kind will remain top of mind for educators. While earlier AI systems are designed to help students achieve academic success, newer AI systems are intended to empower teachers to optimize the use of artificial intelligence for students and encourage positive, ethical engagement with AI technologies.^[⁷^] Fostering trust among educators to cultivate the most prosperous learning environment through the implementation of AI can further personal, social and educational growth for all students.

Explore Carahsoft’s education technology solutions to learn how your organization can work together with our top innovative EdTech vendors to bridge the digital divide and meet the demands of modern education.

Resources:

[1] Office of Ed Tech. “AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning: New Interactions, New Choices.” Medium, https://medium.com/ai-and-the-future-of-teaching-and-learning/ai-and-the-future-of-teaching-and-learning-new-interactions-new-choices-c726bcf03012

[2] Shonubi, Olufemi. “Council Post: AI in the Classroom: Pros, Cons and the Role of Edtech Companies.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2023/02/21/ai-in-the-classroom-pros-cons-and-the-role-of-edtech-companies/?sh=2cb4a227feb4

[3] Dick, Ellysse. “The Promise of Immersive Learning: Augmented and Virtual Reality’s Potential in Education.” Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. https://itif.org/publications/2021/08/30/promise-immersive-learning-augmented-and-virtual-reality-potential/

[4] Dani, Vishal. “How Augmented Reality Creates Interactive and Engaging Classrooms.” Kitaboo, https://kitaboo.com/augmented-reality-creates-interactive-and-engaging-classrooms/

[5] Gururaj, Tejasri. “10 Examples of Artificial Intelligence Improving Education.” Interesting Engineering, https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/examples-how-artificial-intelligence-improving-education

[6] Dani, Vishal. “9 Trends in Education Technology That Will Have a Major Impact.” Kitaboo, https://kitaboo.com/trends-in-education-technology/

[7] Office of Ed Tech. “AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Engaging Educators.” Medium, https://medium.com/ai-and-the-future-of-teaching-and-learning/ai-and-the-future-of-teaching-and-learning-engaging-educators-141e90c5e29f