Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The pandemic has impacted many vertical markets throughout the past year and a half. Retail and Dining environments were able to benefit greatly from the distanced and contactless strategies that were adopted, such as payment options, curbside pickup, and so many more. The government, both federally and locally, were hit pretty hard as well, while their employees were forced to work from home and office locations were shut down to help stop the spread of the virus at the beginning of the pandemic’s toll. But as some plateauing began to occur, a lot of those buildings began to open back up, integrating some new and safer operations moving forward. That being said, the contactless trend was heavily embraced for governments around the nation for things like contactless transit systems, remote/virtual social worker visits, virtual court hearings, and even installing chatbots for high-demand call centers. 
By implementing a different habitat for such digital identities, these government offices are reshaping operations and introducing new and trending technologies that are likely to stick around, perhaps even after the pandemic’s duration. For the government organizations who very quickly responded to the incident and quickly implemented telework options and other digital delivery platforms, they were on the right route to simplifying the lives of everyone involved and propelled business as it were, into the future of work.
Going Digital
Government agencies and organizations were definitely deemed essential businesses, so it was necessary that its employees would continue to pick up their daily workflows from the comfort of their home offices when it was appropriate. When #WFH was/is instilled there needs to be a means of improving digital government operations, such as allowing the correct citizens to utilize their single login to access services such as bill pay and get into contact with the right departments, breaking down barriers that were previously built up, Pre-COVID-19.
As we venture further into this year, it’s been found that many states including Colorado and Maryland have already encouraged the usage of the Real ID through a digital lens. These states’ digital ID programs include access to important documents through an app, relieving the “I don’t have my ID on me” panic that hits from time to time. 
Though, not all states have fully accepted this digital approach, it’s likely they will at one point make the switch. States will need to ensure that any digital transmissions can be authenticated, so that any attempts at identity fraud or suspicious activities can be detected and blocked. Nonetheless this installment promotes the usage of contactless strategies in government facilities and organizations.
Thriving Remotely
Before COVID-19 struck, nearly 63% of business leaders held concerns about the rate of productivity taking place for those who would need to work from home, but it’s been found that with the load of success that followed the switch of work environments, many government organizations have been more prompt to allow the private and public sectors to alter their working spaces to become more hybrid and adaptive to accommodate the needs of their employees.
Governing bodies both large and small were able to reconvene from a remote location. By shifting large Town hall meetings and events to virtual rooms that could be more generally joined, this switch-up boosted a higher percentage of citizen and visiting interactions, because more voices were heard and participation was greatly encouraged and listened to. Under many states’ “sunshine laws”, public meetings were able to occur electronically and digitally, such as public briefings and addresses to determine the daily number of COVID-19 cases or the number of vaccines administered throughout the state and specific regions.
Modernizing Technology
No matter what the industry, it’s always been found that legacy systems and their integrating properties could slow down the implementation of technology applications on site. That means slow adoption rates for things like cybersecurity, which could make or break an organization in the heat of the moment. John and Dean from the TEConnect podcast crew linked up with Jeff Smith from True Upside Consulting back in March to discuss the methods and challenges of government selling in times like the present. From the impacts of the Coronavirus to other policy-oriented changes, the team dove deep to better understand what it takes for resellers to efficiently operate in the public sector. Go ahead and give this episode a listen, and if you aren’t already, go ahead and subscribe; the team puts out new content every Thursday.
