A Digital Transformation for City Websites: The rapid evolution of technology in recent years, coupled with the need for businesses to adapt to digital operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an increase in the number of services that are now delivered digitally.
However, it is not just businesses adapting their services to go online. Government digital transformation is gaining tremendous momentum that brings various digital government trends and specific benefits of automation.
Gartner states that government organizations must stay current with the technology trends of hyper-automation, legacy modernization, and total experience to enhance their services and the experience of citizens. These are forecasted to be the top digital transformation trends in 2023. Before diving in, let us take a closer look at the government’s digital transformation trends.
- Unifying citizen experiences
- Automating manual processes
- Designing for mobile devices
- Leverage Content Management Services
- Strengthening security
- Transitioning to cloud-based and shared services
- Ensure security and privacy controls
One of the main trends in this government’s digital transformation is the speed at which the transformation is taking place. The need to modernize services is nothing new, but challenges in providing services to citizens throughout the pandemic heightened awareness and accelerated progress.
Challenges facing government and government agencies include the need for easy content management by non-technical staff with user-friendly editing tools. Additionally, effective workflow management and the ability to assign specific permissions to different users is important. Quick content scheduling and publishing capabilities are also crucial, but this may be hindered by the need to rely on technical teams and the amount of time it takes to implement changes.
How Can Government Websites Leverage Acquia + Drupal to Enhance User Experience?
Government and public sector websites are now required to perform a wider range of functions, acting as a central hub for communication, transactions, information, promoting local points of interest and more than ever before.
Government officials tasked with selecting and managing a content management system (CMS) have little room for error and high stakes. Government websites must be secure, scalable, engaging, flexible, accessible, reliable, and easy to navigate. Siloed systems and outdated technology, often inherent in government technology, present potential roadblocks. As budget constraints tighten, websites must demonstrate cost-effectiveness and support good governance. Drupal + Acquia can help!
What is Drupal + Acquia?
The combination of Drupal and Acquia as a platform for government websites offers a powerful solution for creating and managing secure, high-performance websites. Drupal is an open-source content management system that is widely used by government agencies around the world. It offers a flexible and modular architecture that can be customized to meet the specific needs of each organization. Acquia, on the other hand, is a cloud-based platform that provides a set of tools and services to help organizations build and manage their Drupal-based websites.
One of the key benefits of using Drupal and Acquia together is its high-security level. Acquia has a strong security track record and complies with many security standards, such as OWASP, PCI DSS, and HIPAA. Acquia has also been granted an Authority to Operate (ATO) under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which is a government-wide program providing a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services.
Another advantage of the Drupal + Acquia combination is its scalability and performance. Drupal can handle a large number of concurrent users and can handle the high traffic volume. Acquia provides a cloud-based hosting platform that is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure, which offers automatic scaling, load balancing and redundancy, ensuring that the website can handle any traffic spikes.
- Cost savings through streamlined development and maintenance
- Scalability to meet demand and increase efficiency
- Improved data accuracy and automated insights for personalized customer experiences
Drupal is built using PHP, adheres to HTML5 and YAML standards and is highly regarded for its robust open-source community and advanced features such as:
- Low maintenance cost
- High security and scalability
- API-based architecture for easy integration with 3rd party systems
- Good content authoring experience
The Level of Performance & Scalability Provided
Drupal + Acquia is a popular choice for government and high-traffic websites globally, as it can handle traffic spikes and maintain smooth performance. It allows for the expansion of content with multiple contributors without sacrificing efficiency. Drupal makes it easy to manage site performance and scalability effectively.
The Content Flow
Drupal offers unparalleled simplicity for content creation and publishing. Its WYSIWYG editor allows for customizable content and easy management through authentication and permissions. Drupal also excels in content architecture, offering an Admin Interface for building the ideal structure or the ability to program it manually. Modules like Paragraphs and Layout Builder provide granular control over the content editing and for easy update.
Additionally, experience management can be made easy if bundled with Acquia Site Studio, a low code- no code product that is provided as add-on with Acquia platform – easy content editing and page building through a drag and drop feature.
Cost-effective Implementation
Drupal + Acquia offers flexibility in scaling maintenance and support costs to fit budget. Historically, government departments have had separate, unique websites, resulting in many platforms and difficulty finding information. Drupal also allows creating multi-site using single website code and designs – providing capability to share features, and functionality across departments, allowing them to focus on delivering digital services rather than website design.
Security Measures
The Drupal + Acquia Security Team is dedicated to resolving all reported security concerns in core modules. The team members are experts in global security practices, further demonstrating Drupal’s security reliability. Drupal offers several security features, such as:
- Password regulations
- Detection of brute force entry by limiting login attempts from a single IP address
- Ability to block IP addresses
- User roles for managing user access to pages
- Customizable database encryption for high-security applications
- Form API for validating data entries to prevent malicious inputs such as XSS and CSRF from entering the database
Thoughts
Drupal + Acquia also offers advanced features such as content personalization, multilingual support, easy to manage ADA compliance and integrations with other systems. These features help government agencies create personalized experiences for their citizens, reach a wider audience, and streamline their workflows – A robust, secure and scalable platform for building and managing government websites. It offers a wide range of features and functionalities that can be customized to meet the specific needs of each organization while providing a high level of security and performance.
Digital transformation in government is crucial for meeting citizens’ increasing demands and expectations. While it can be difficult, it benefits citizens and the government. By embracing digital technology, governments can improve citizens’ quality of life and strengthen the relationship between citizens and the government. Drupal is an effective tool for connecting citizens with their government.
Elevate your city’s online presence to new heights with Drupal CMS and Acquia Cloud Platform: Discover the secrets to creating powerful digital experiences that drive engagement and results.
