10 November 2020

Municipalities work better in the cloud

A secure IT environment where employees feel at home and which is easy to manage – digitisation makes it all possible.

The Digital Security Agenda (Agenda Digitale Veiligheid 2024) mentions improving municipal digital resilience. One of the points raised is that the municipality must establish a solid base. In many municipalities, the IT infrastructure consists of many disparate components that have been ‘knotted’ together over the years. In my previous blog, I already wrote that with the emergence of the cloud and the increased use of SaaS, this ‘knot’ must be untangled in order to prevent unmanageable and unsafe situations.

For municipalities, the cloud has remained taboo for a long time. Is it secure enough and will it ensure the privacy of our citizens? Lately, however, I have noticed a change in this regard. If properly set up, the cloud proves to be more secure than the old on-premises solutions. Equally important is that municipalities must realise that the cloud offers much greater flexibility. Municipalities need the ability to easily adapt their IT environment to the sometimes rapidly changing needs and requirements of customers and employees. The cloud is an ideal platform to achieve this.

“For municipalities, the cloud has remained taboo for a long time. Is it secure enough and will it ensure the privacy of our citizens?”

Optimal security and ease of use

Recent research by A&O fonds Gemeenten has shown that officials would like to keep working from home more often in the future. Naturally, this is only possible if municipalities can offer a work environment that meets all the requirements. A jumble of interlinked solutions does not fit the bill here. Different applications that each require a separate login. Constantly figuring out where things are, and how to transfer information from one app to the other. No wonder employees will sometimes complain about ‘automation’. We all want to get the job done effectively, don’t we?

Luckily, there are now some great solutions out there, developed for optimal security and simple management of the IT infrastructure, but also for ease of use. Perfect for more regular remote work.

Solvinity offers the Lango Workspace, for instance. When we demonstrate this digital workplace solution in the cloud, initial amazement quickly turns into interest and enthusiasm. Users log in once and have direct access to all the applications, information and systems they need through one central portal. No need for separate passwords or new logins. This is what we call ‘Never more than one click away from all your applications’. Easy enough.

“A major advantage of such a workplace in the cloud as a service from a secure managed service provider is, that it allows control over the entire chain, from workplace to application management.”

Security and flexibility

Since employees only need to remember one password, it’s easier for them to choose one good, robust password. This has the added advantage of improving security. The single sign-on principle also allows for a better overview and control of the user accounts. If someone is leaving employment or in case of a potential security breach, only one identity needs to be terminated and there is no need to check multiple applications.

A major advantage of such a workplace in the cloud, which is procured as a service from a securely managed service provider, is that it allows control over the entire chain, from workplace to application management. For municipalities, where a high level of sensitive personal data is used, this offers a tremendous advantage; this way, you optimise the security of the entire chain and thus always offer the highest level of security.

In addition to providing a high level of control, a workplace solution in the cloud also offers considerable flexibility to a municipality and its employees. The number of workplaces are easily adjusted and, because the work environment is web-based, employees can use it anytime, anywhere: at home, on the road or at the office, on a tablet, smartphone or laptop – as long as it has a browser. Employees always directly access their own secure working environment. So, wherever they are, they can continue to provide the same services as from the town hall. Brilliant, isn’t it?

Three birds with one stone

For users a digital working environment in the cloud is pleasant and efficient, but for municipalities it offers the added advantage of a flexible environment that can easily be managed, and which enables us to optimally secure the entire chain. Ease of use, control and safety: three birds – restoring the entire foundation of the organisation with one stone.

Read more for more information about how we support municipalities or Lango Workspace.  

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