Procurement Hotspot: State and Local Government Interest in Leveraging Data

In recent years, SLED government entities have become more data-driven than ever before. In a recent report highlighting current Hotspots in SLED contracting, leveraging data was included as a topic to watch. This includes new and greater interest in the use of big data, business intelligence, and analytics across a range of vertical areas. Indeed, for 2019, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) included Data Management and Analytics in its top 10 priorities list, slotting this technology at number 8. Additionally, the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) released its own list of horizon issues for 2019, which also included the utilization of business intelligence tools and data to improve decision making as the top future issue.

One area of interest directly related to the use of data and analytics is in the Smart City movement. Deltek previously released its Smart Cities Report that explored the use of these new smart technologies in local government. This report addressed the use of smart technologies in several categories, including transportation, emergency response, citizen engagement, connected facilities, and smart and big data. Of these, the report found smart and big data to be the largest of these categories in terms of purchasing activity.

With these new technologies, cities and localities are generating huge amounts of data, and while this data can be used to solve problems and provide innovative solutions, it is not without potential drawbacks. An article in StateScoop raised the point that cities are now generating much more data, in some cases too much, and the datda is not always useful or relevant. Another article touched on this point, noting that this massive influx of new data will also bring new concerns around how to share the data that may not always be easily transferable, as well as how to keep it secure.

These governments need better ways of storing, managing, integrating, and analyzing that data. Over the past few years, there has been a fairly significant increase in solicitations for data-related technologies, indicating a change in mindset around government decision making and problem solving. From 2017 to 2018, there was a 20% growth in number of bids and RFPs that were released, and Deltek recommends vendors interested in this area should continue to monitor this trend in the SLED market.

Interested in learning more about the state and local government interest in the use of data, or in other current hotspot areas? Read more in Deltek’s report on the 10 Hotspots in State & Local Government Contracting for 2019.