Florida Receives High Marks in National Digital States Survey

Since the 2022 Digital States Survey*, one of the most notable changes to Florida’s IT landscape was the recent appointment of Warren Sponholtz as the state’s new chief information officer.

Sponholtz was appointed to the role in August, officially replacing Jamie Grant, who stepped down as the state’s CIO in July 2023. During this time, state agencies, including the Florida Digital Service (FLDS), focused on increasing cybersecurity and enhancing constituents’ digital experience.

For example, FLDS has updated its cybersecurity policy to integrate AI-driven threat detection and response mechanisms to safeguard the state from cyber threats. FLDS is currently in the process of administering the second year of its Florida Local Government Cybersecurity Grant Program, which offers $40 million in competitive grant funding for cities and counties to equip software, services and solutions to improve their cybersecurity posture and protect Floridians’ data.

Each state agency is responsible for developing its own digital engagement and cybersecurity strategies, as Florida’s government is fully federated. However, the state has developed several key policies, including a comprehensive digital engagement strategy to enhance the constituent experience by deploying user-friendly platforms, implementing single sign-on systems to access services and using advanced analytics to personalize interactions.

Other notable state efforts include creating a Government Technology Modernization Council within the Department of Management Services to study and monitor the development and deployment of new technologies and implementing a state-level Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC) within FLDS.

The CSOC currently deploys a security stack to 35 state agencies, providing continuous monitoring and incident response year-round. Going forward, the state will focus on increasing departmental IT collaboration, open data transparency, application modernization, emerging technologies, cybersecurity and IT governance.

*The Digital States Survey is conducted by the Center for Digital Government, part of e.Republic, the parent company of Government Technology and Industry Insider — Florida.