Data

Intelligence
for Everyone
The Future of Decision Making
in the Public Sector

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Data Intelligence for Everyone: The Future of Analytics in the Public Sector 1
INTRODUCTION

Take a look at these stunning facts: 90

percent of all data ever created was
created in the past two years, according
to Science Daily. Ten times more mobile
data will be generated by 2020, according
to a Cisco report. And this data is created
at a rate of 2.5 quintillion bytes per day,
says IBM.
Clearly, there is an explosion in the amount of data created by
all organizations and the same holds true for government
agencies. Governments at all levels are creating, storing, and
sharing more data than ever before. This massive amount
of data created at a rapid rate poses both opportunities and
challenges.
From an opportunity perspective, todays data landscape
represents an unprecedented way for decision makers and
their front-line workers to better understand mission-critical
information, quickly take action, and build a more responsive
government.
From a challenges perspective, all the data in the world, how-
ever, cannot help solve problems or make government more
efficient if it is not applied correctly. Too often in todays data
analytics landscape, insight is disjointed as a result of activities
executed in silos. This makes it hard for legacy business intel-
ligence (BI) tools to identify issues, take corrective action, and
ultimately improve government services with the speed and
accuracy the public has come to expect.
To discuss the current government data intelligence landscape
and challenges with legacy business intelligence tools, GovLoop
and Salesforce, a leading enterprise cloud company dedicated
to modernizing and enabling government agencies, partnered
to create this Industry Perspective.
In this report, we will:
Speak with Alan Webber, Research Director for IDC Govern-
ment Insights, about modern-day data analytics and how it
currently operates in government
Discuss market drivers for better data analytics in the public
sector, and why they are more important than ever
Speak with Peter Doolan, Executive Vice President, Digital
Transformation and Innovation at Salesforce, about how
government can be more proactive in serving the needs of
its citizens via data
Explain why a data intelligence for everyone approach to
information analysis is the future of the public sector

Proper data analysis is what makes todays massive amount

of information insightful it is what saves money and allows
government to deliver better services. Modern data intelligence
tools, which can be used easily by any employee at any level of
government, can address this challenge.

1 Industry Perspective
THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF DATA
INTELLIGENCE IN GOVERNMENT
A variety of market drivers have brought government to the tip-
ping point of needing critically improved data analytics. As always,
shrinking budgets, reduced resources, and a call to do more with
less has the government looking to take advantage of data to
drive efficiencies.
Additionally, the public sector is driven by trends happening first
in the private sector that raise the bar for citizen expectations. It
continues to demonstrate how leveraging data to deliver quality
at speed is the next competitive differentiator transforming
business models and creating ripple effects that revolutionize
entire industries, app by app.
This is the impact Uber, the popular ride sharing app, had on the
transportation industry. Uber captured new forms of data wait
time, location accessibility with respect to cabs and put it to
work, meeting the needs of an underserved audience. This was
made possible by robust data intelligence tools that could analyze
the information in a way that turned insight into timely, targeted
services.
Due to these modern day applications of customer service
through better data intelligence, expectations citizens have of
their governments are rising. They expect the same level of
service from government as they receive in the private sector. As
it was when Uber entered the market, the current landscape of
data intelligence in the public sector space represents an oppor-
tunity for agencies to gain a new perspective on an issue, quickly
take action, and build a more responsive government both top
down and bottom up.
The combination of todays data-rich landscape with a growing
preference for targeted just in time services gives government
the opportunity to maximize the power of data analytics and
improve citizen services. This is needed: according to a recent
Forrester report, 45 percent of government customers think
agency representatives understand their needs, compared with
66 percent of private sector customers.

A SNAPSHOT OF DATA ANALYTICS

CHALLENGES
Based on GovLoop research and interviews with government community

Legacy business intelligence
(BI) tools that are clunky,
expensive and inefficient that
inhibit the average employee
from making use of it
A lack of visibility across
infrastructure means people
to do have an understanding
or the full scope of
information
Siloed people and tools Disparate products that do
makes it difficult to share not integrate well makes
information and best it problematic to actually
practices quickly gather data

A lack of visibility across A lack of skilled resources A cultural perception of

connected devices also makes means there arent enough difficulty in performing
sharing information difficult people whose job is to analytics discourages the
analyze data average employee from using
data to make decisions

Data Intelligence for Everyone: The Future of Analytics in the Public Sector 2
THE TWO MAIN CHALLENGES OF
LEVERAGING DATA INTELLIGENCE
In order to better meet these expectations, todays government
needs to follow the private sector in applying data analytics best
practices, resetting goals, and reinforcing strength of the mission.
The first step in the process is collecting and gathering necessary
information. Fortunately, government already has vast quantities
of data.
This cultural shift is essential. Webber explained that government
needs to learn that data is more than just inscrutable numbers
and spreadsheets, so it will be able to fully understand the impact
it can have on the citizens it serves.
Data isnt a specialized piece of information its everywhere,
Webber noted, and should be accessible and analyzed by all.

Government has an immense amount of data that it doesnt
really derive the value out of, said Alan Webber, Research Di-
rector for IDC Government Insights. Naturally, there are a lot of
constraints on that data. But theres a huge amount of data there
so government has already cleared the first hurdle.
So what is holding government back from making use of this
data in the same smart and efficient ways that the private sector
already does? It falls into two reasons, Webber said: The fact
that legacy data analysis tools are cumbersome, restrictive, and
difficult to use; and the perception that data intelligence is difficult
to pull off unless you are a specialist in it.
It is no surprise that this is the accepted perception of business
intelligence tools in government, Webber said. Legacy or unin-
tuitive BI tools have made it hard for the average government
employee to identify issues, take corrective action, and ultimately
improve services on their own using data. The perception and
often reality, when faced with these legacy tools, is only a skilled
data analyst could make use of them.
Think about this: Every time you fill out a form, thats data. Every
time you send an email, theres data in there. Theres data about
the email, theres data that youre transferring, you can do content
analysis on it to see what is actually being said. Every time you
log in to an application, every time you walk into a building, thats
data. And so what people dont realize is that theres actually data
all around us. We just have to open our eyes to see it.
If government can overcome this cultural perception of what data
is and who can use it, as well as acquire modern advanced report-
ing tools that could replace cumbersome legacy applications, the
possibilities to improve services for citizens are endless. In the
next section, we highlight a few of the main benefits of better data
intelligence in the public sector.

Part of the reason for this misconception is that public sector

Think about this: Every time you fill out
projects tend to move at a much slower pace than corporate proj- a form, thats data. Every time you send
ects. This means that the cutting-edge technology advancements
are often not on their radar. Moreover, the acquisition process an email, theres data in there. Theres
for technology is cumbersome and agencies are often locked
into contracts for years. Thus, agencies are using expensive tools data about the email, theres data that
that are essentially out of date by the time they even are able to
analyze their data.
youre transferring, you can do content
analysis on it to see what is actually
In addition to being potentially costly to maintain and unintuitive
to use, these legacy tools by nature silo data making it difficult for being said. And so what people dont
employees to pull information from disparate systems or have
visibility across platforms. For decades, government has relied on
realize is that theres actually data all
these tools for data management, with their relational databases around us. We just have to open our
and dedicated expensive storage. But the rapid increase in the
amount of data being created today calls for new tools, systems, eyes to see it.
and approaches in data analytics that can better handle this influx.
Alan Webber
The other reason government isnt fully taking advantage of data Research Director for IDC Government Insights
analytics, according to Webber, is because there needs to be a
cultural shift and understanding that there are excellent tools out
there that can help almost anyone derive value out of their data.
Especially government.

3 Industry Perspective
THE BENEFITS OF BETTER DATA
INTELLIGENCE IN GOVERNMENT
Weve seen that better data intelligence is necessary in govern-
ment, but that legacy BI tools often prevent collaboration, make
it difficult to bring information from disparate systems together,
and are not user-friendly. Clearly, moving from legacy technology
to modern analytics solutions is critically important for the public
sector to keep pace with the citizens it serves. The key is empow-
ering everyone in your organization to use data to do their job
better and make more informed decisions. Agencies need a tool
that is as user friendly for business users as it is for employees
with a deep data analysis background in order to solve problems
from both a cultural and IT standpoint.
Thats where Salesforces Government Cloud Wave can help.
Government Cloud Wave is Salesforces data intelligence expan-
sion pack for Government Cloud solutions. It gives government
employees of all levels and abilities the modern, mobile analytical
functionality they need to identify patterns, resolve issues and ad-
vance the mission and it is included in their FedRAMP-approved
cloud platform.
Wave shares the same code line as the Salesforce Govern-
ment Cloud. The resulting solution is both an application and
a platform: prebuilt apps deliver out-of-the-box dashboards
allow users to analyze information from common fields case
management data, correspondence, project and financial data
with ease. When deployed as a platform, Wave incorporates data
from third-party applications to gain broader insight. In both
scenarios, actions and next steps can be executed directly from
Waves dashboards, rounding out Salesforce Government Cloud
solutions with advanced reporting capabilities.
1
MODERN MISSION COMPLEXITY NEEDS
CONTEXTUAL ANALYTICS
A single-platform solution helps employees to see context around
data so that they can better understand the significance of the
information presented, in context of their daily tasks and overall
workload. Such capability helps users identify patterns and
anticipate the likelihood of potential outcomesa task that is in-
creasingly difficult given the compounding data landscape. When
analytical capabilities are made available within a work stream in
a timely manner, employees are better enabled to bring together
various data points across agencies and systems in an actionable
waypiecing information together to reveal a bigger picture, and
solve more complex problems.
Fusion centers are a perfect example: Fusion Centers are
information sharing centers established by the Department of
Homeland Security. They operate as state and major urban area
I think government is at a crisis moment of accountability, trans-
parency, and relevance for many of its stakeholders, said Peter
Doolan, Executive Vice President, Digital Transformation & Inno-
vation at Salesforce. You only have to look across government
in most modern economies to see that citizens are demanding
more of their governments. Government has to be more trans-
parent and data intelligence can help.
When an agency can take an analytics for everybody approach,
this helps fill critical data skills shortages. Government HR no
longer needs to be focused on hiring people with existing data
analysis skills as many employees could tackle the tasks.
Additionally, by bringing multi-vendor data together onto one
platform, and serving it up in a highly visual, user-friendly inter-
face, the platform allows any user to comprehend millions of rows
of data and take action to make decisions.
Its a modern re-imagination of analytics in the cloud for govern-
ment, said Doolan. It gives government the ability to capture
data from any source, especially those that have an action bias for
government.
This kind of modern approach to gathering information and en-
abling insight is critical to todays mission goals because of three
key reasons.
focal points for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of
threat-related information between federal; state, local, tribal, ter-
ritorial (SLTT); and private sector partners. In these centers, teams
analyze various data points from a variety of systems, looking for
correlations, commonalities, and patterns that reveal potential
events. With this insight, Fusion Centers can alert law enforce-
ment or advise emergency response teams as needed, helping to
thwart attacks and provide faster service. Data helps turn reactive
efforts into proactive protection.
Government needs to utilize a single-platform solution as its now
critical to providing the right kind of accessibility and service in to-
days increasingly connected world. Its especially relevant in areas
like security; the best attempt at making foresight 20/20.
Data Intelligence for Everyone: The Future of Analytics in the Public Sector 4
2
LEAN GOVERNMENT MODELS REQUIRE MORE
INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS TO MAKE DECISIONS EASIER
Economics 101 teaches us you can move along the supply curve
reflecting change in precisely where the balance exists between
resource capacity and demand. If you discovered a new re-
sourceoil, gold, etc.you could shift the supply curve out,
increasing your total capacity.
Data is like that newly discovered resource that drives transpar-
ency, fosters data-driven decisions, and encourages engagement.
This kind of perspective develops a modern data management
strategy that leverages the resource in way that unlocks insight,
3
TAKE ACTION AND MOVE THE MISSION, FASTER
The kind of granularity that comes from todays data-rich envi-
ronment means big potential for improving service targeting and
quality. Take for example, AIR Louisville, a government program
that uses sensor-laden inhalers to automatically track where and
when residents breathing suffers most.
This data is then combined with that from two different networks:
one of air sensor data from the EPA and one of micro-air sam-
plers from around the Louisville area. The program then analyzes
these combined data sets, giving local government the insight
they need to identify and address sources of air quality issues.
AIR Louisville uses data to connect city resources and improve
quality of life for their residents, serving as a perfect, modern
MAINTAINING COMPLIANCE ACROSS
DATA INTELLIGENCE
Data security is always a top priority for government. Many
agencies use spreadsheetswhich likely contain sensitive data
such as PII, peak transit times, and moreto track progress and
performance. These spreadsheets and their data are often being
emailed back and forth to a variety of readers. Unfortunately,
email is not always the most secure form of communication, and
using email means that theyre not able to tell who accessed or
downloaded that information.
5 Industry Perspective
guides investments, and transforms government into a mis-
sion-centric organization. By maximizing this resource across the
employee base, the department or agency increases their service
capacity. Realizing data as a resource empowers teams to expand
their potential to impact the mission.
Lean government budgets require a thoughtful, smart approach
that uses all resources to their fullest, most efficient capacity.
Government as an industry has a vast amount of resourceful data
at their fingertips, making economic-inspired goals a possibility.
example of governments mission: protect and serve the individ-
ual rights of each citizen. Data can help the mission address a
persons needs as an individualwith the scale required by the
mission. Think of the good that can become of government data
when its understood and acted upon in the best, most complete
way possible.
Modern data reporting tools allow any user or employee to not
only turn information into insight, but also to take action based off
that insight, developing both behavior and mindsets that are truly
data-driven. This helps the organization streamline processes and
deliver higher quality, more targeted, more effective services. Data
helps organizations deliver private sector innovation across public
sector missions.
But with data intelligence in the cloud, you can grant access to
reports based on role, group, and more traits. A cloud-based
platform allows people to control who has access, can give people
visibility into who did what with the information, and is all stored
on a central, always-on platform. With a FedRAMP-certified data
intelligence solution like Salesforces, that means no more risky
email blasts for your sensitive spreadsheets.
CONCLUSION
Government collects massive amounts of data. However, a variety of challenges have prevent-
ed government agencies from enabling their employees to use that data effectively to make
better policy and operational decisions.

It no longer has to be that way.

When government agencies have the power to use analytics in a groundbreaking way, they
can meet tasks that are critical to mission need: making better and more informed decisions;
managing billions of dollars of taxpayer money in a smart and effective way; and providing a
level of transparency that improves citizen trust.

With user-friendly data intelligence tools that can be used by everyone, we are creating a
data-driven and an intelligence-driven workforce who are anticipating the needs and require-
ments of their constituents versus reacting, said Doolan. Thats a fundamental shift in the
culture for the better.

ABOUT
SALESFORCE
After consistent ranking in industry reviews, such as the
Gartner Magic Quadrants, recognition for being the worlds
most innovative company from publications like Forbes, and
our community mindset captured by our 1-1-1 model, we
have demonstrated our commitment to the success of those
we serve. Our vision is to build the platform that allows you
to connect. We know that if you engage deeply, interact,
remember those customers, and create 1-to-1 relationships
with them, you will have incredible success. (Marc Benioff,
CEO Salesforce)
From individual customer orgs, to a FedRAMP authorized
Salesforce Government Cloud partitioned instance of the
Salesforce service, we have evolved the industry leading cus-
tomer success platform to build the Salesforce Government
Cloud. With the Salesforce Government Cloud Lightning, we
are translating our customer-first DNA into mission success.
ABOUT
GOVLOOP
GovLoops mission is to connect government to improve
government. We aim to inspire public-sector professionals by
serving as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop
connects more than 250,000 members, fostering cross-govern-
ment collaboration, solving common problems and advancing
government careers. GovLoop is headquartered in Washing-
ton, D.C., with a team of dedicated professionals who share a
commitment to connect and improve government.
For more information about this report, please reach out to
info@govloop.com.

See how this can support departments and agencies as

they transform the 21st century government mission.
Contact us today.

Data Intelligence for Everyone: The Future of Analytics in the Public Sector 6
 1152 15th Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 407-7421 | Fax: (202) 407-7501
www.govloop.com
@GovLoop

7 Industry Perspective