Tech Trends: Cloud Solutions Can Accelerate Artificial Intelligence Adoption

“As the West Virginia government considers opportunities for artificial intelligence in government, understanding cloud services will likely be vital, as most AI applications run on the cloud,” the brief says.

West Virginia’s lesson holds true across all state government agencies: Cloud resources put everyone in a strong position to leverage AI power.

Authorities Can Maximize Data Value from Hybrid Cloud

In the 2024 CDW Cloud Computing Research Report, the authors say: “The cloud has emerged as a powerful tool as organizations across industries seek to innovate. Artificial intelligence is moving into widespread use, but organizations need to take it to the next level to stay ahead of their competitors.”

The report surveyed IT decision-makers in the public and private sectors and asked them about how they are running AI workloads in the cloud. It notes that “68% of respondents said their organizations are using AI, with 53% of them running AI workloads in a hybrid cloud environment.”

In a chat with StateTech, Roger Haney, CDW chief architect for software-defined infrastructure, says public and private sector organizations face the same challenges in preparing cloud solutions for AI adoption.

“They’re learning about it, learning about new approaches to the problem and then trying to figure out how AI can help solve them,” he says.

Across all industries, CDW survey respondents cited “the need to assure the quality of data for AI applications” as their biggest challenge.

Agencies Can Ensure Data Integrity with Cloud Management

In “Developing and Deploying Trustworthy AI in Government,” Deloitte underscores the importance of data integrity to AI solutions. Successful AI applications require strong and reliable data to operate correctly.

“An organization’s ability to skillfully work with data is critical to AI quality and explainability. Effective data governance systems can help increase confidence in AI and leaders’ preparedness to manage its ethical implications,” the report says.

WATCH: State CIOs discuss key AI challenges and solutions at NASCIO 2024.

In an issue brief titled “Building Data Integrity in the Public Sector,” the Center for Digital Government notes that government agencies again can turn to the cloud to strengthen data reliability. Agencies can test data in every phase of its journey. Robust data integrity software may rely on low-code/no-code solutions to establish regular data testing procedures.

For many years, government agencies have turned to hybrid cloud to further these goals. They choose to maintain data on-premises and then empower cloud services with that data. Through strong data management, ensured in part through cloud solutions, state and local governments can deploy AI to augment citizen services.

Cloud Sets the Stage for Growing AI Use Cases

Google Cloud and other major cloud service providers furnish governments with a suite of AI tools, which they can turn on and off as required. They support platforms for creating and scaling machine learning models, simplifying data management across environments and defending IT assets from cyberthreats.

Google cites the example of the Hawaii Department of Transportation, which used AI “to integrate diverse data sets, including climate prediction models, into a comprehensive view of potential threats and vulnerabilities.” Thanks to this initiative, Hawaii can prioritize infrastructure investments, improve maintenance planning and change direction quickly in the face of new developments.

Cloud supports a range of use cases, including the top four state government uses identified by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers at its most recent annual conference: meeting transcription, cybersecurity operations, document generation and management, and software code generation.

With cloud, state governments can be ready for the future.

This article is part of StateTech’s CITizen blog series.