Administering IT assets and technology investments is a critical yet resource-intensive process. Here, we’re talking about the administrative side of IT—planning, deploying, maintaining, and eventually decommissioning IT assets—rather than the day-to-day use of the technology. This administrative aspect is essential for ensuring that IT infrastructure remains secure, up to date, and capable of meeting regulatory compliance requirements; but with finite budgets and personnel, these demands can overwhelm even well-resourced IT teams.
Consider: In records management, organizations must adhere to legal obligations to retain and protect sensitive information, continually update systems to mitigate security vulnerabilities, and ensure compatibility with ever-evolving mandates. Managing those processes in-house, manually, with outdated on-premises systems is not just challenging, it consumes a disproportionate amount of IT resources. These demands thus divert resources away from mission-critical tasks, such as improving citizen services or enhancing cybersecurity protocols.
How Cloud-Based Records Management Tools Help Government IT Leaders Focus on Core Business
Cloud-based records management tools provide a solution to alleviate many of the burdens of maintaining and administering technology assets. By migrating records to the cloud, government IT leaders can shift focus from routine IT upkeep to core business activities. That’s because the app or cloud providers take on much of the responsibility, minimizing the burden on IT.
Executed well, cloud-based tools can reduce costs too. According to advisory firm Accenture, moving applications and workloads to the cloud can decrease the related Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by 30-40%. It can also help to reduce security incidents; according to Oracle’s “Security in the Age of AI” report, improving security is the top benefit of moving into the cloud, cited by two-thirds (66%) of organizations.
Extending Records Management Capabilities with the Cloud
There’s also potential to expand the scope of applications related to records management. In the business world, 76% of organizations report that successful cloud initiatives helped to drive expansion into new industries, according to IBM’s “How Cloud Is Driving Enterprise Innovation” report. For government entities, this might translate into an ability to use existing records in novel ways.
If nothing else, cloud-based records management platforms offer greater collaboration and accessibility. Government employees (and even citizens, where appropriate) can access records instantly from anywhere, streamlining workflows and making information more readily available when needed.
Cloud solutions often also include built-in compliance features that help agencies meet legal and regulatory requirements, such as encryption, access controls, and automated retention schedules. This ensures that records management aligns with governance standards while reducing the manual effort required to enforce policies.
By leveraging cloud-based records management tools, government agencies can significantly ease the IT burden of managing technology over its lifecycle, allowing them to focus on their core mission while ensuring their records management practices remain secure, compliant, and scalable.
About PSL
PSL is a global outsource provider whose mission is to provide solutions that facilitate the movement of business-critical information between and among government agencies, business enterprises, and their partners. For more information, please visit or email info@penielsolutions.com.