Solving the Federal Data Sharing Problem: Part 2
In our previous blog, we explored some of the ways the federal government’s ability to share and access data can affect daily lives, health, and the justice system. Those challenges result from an enormous population of internal and external stakeholders, antiquated IT systems, and complex (and sometimes even conflicting) federal data sharing policies. But, all is not lost.
The federal government takes these challenges seriously. They tackle them through strong data management practices, improvements to their identity and access management systems, workforce education, and recommended policies from the Federal Data Strategy. And, this strategy continues to progress, specifically in data management practices through Data.gov.
There are over 200,000 datasets from hundreds of data sources, including state, local, and federal agencies. For example, there are 592 climate-related datasets stored in open-source applications (developed publicly on GitHub), with multiple tools and resources for gaining insight into that data, like climate model projections and competitions, used to solve specific problems such as food resilience.
Moreover, the federal government is embracing customer experience (CX) and designing best practices to further understand the impact and consequences of data sharing and other potential challenges (as highlighted by the U.S. Digital Services Playbook). This increased consideration will significantly affect federal services over the next five to ten years. But, what do federal agencies need to improve the situation?
Everlaw Achieved FedRAMP Security Authorization! Click to learn more!
Technology That Facilitates Easier Data Ingestion
Getting files into a system should be a smooth process, allowing for easy uploads of various file types. However, many proprietary and legacy systems are more difficult to improve upon because they aren’t always compatible with newer file types. Although there are cloud-based solutions that give federal agencies the ability to upload different types of native data and learn new file types based on unique federal matter needs.
Cloud-based solutions also help federal agencies reduce the overall movement of data from one system to another, eliminating the need for multiple software solutions. On the flip side, data should be exported out of systems just as easily, allowing for ingestible formats like CSV, PDF, or a ZIP file.
Easy and Secure Access to Systems
Security is paramount given the highly sensitive information in federal use cases. Identity, credentials, and access control management (ICAM) is a critical piece to the puzzle that ensures the right people get into the system and have access to the appropriate content — quickly.
Cloud-based platforms, such as Everlaw, can help federal customers manage their users’ access. With the use of SAML 2.0, federal agencies can leverage sign-on and two-factor authentication to protect their data. Temporary access to information should also be easy, but carefully managed when a federal agency needs to share case details.
Productions are another obvious use case, and making those documents available to third parties through means they can handle is critical, as some users have more sophisticated resources than others. So, finding the right cloud-based solution that offers multiple production methods is critical.
Leveraging Technology to Solve Federal Data Sharing Challenges
Technology alone won’t solve all the issues that arise from data sharing. However, federal agencies should leverage a modern cloud-based solution, like Everlaw, to ensure effective collaboration when policy or people aren’t the issue. Recently, Everlaw secured FedRAMP Authorization and is now part of a very select few that have met this criteria, making it one of the most trusted litigation and ediscovery partners on the market.
Are you interested in partnering with a FedRAMP-authorized partner to help solve data sharing challenges? Check out the Everlaw for the Federal Government page.
