Texas Gets High Marks in the 2022 Digital States Survey

The pandemic pushed states onto a new path, with remote work and increased digital services seemingly here to stay. Top performers in the Digital States Survey, presented by the Center for Digital Government (CDG),* used the past two years to expand and revamp digital services, with an emphasis on end-user experiences. These states also have been leveraging ever-growing government data collections for valuable insights, while defending information security and privacy against the continual drumbeat of cyber attacks.

This year, Texas again finishes with an A- ranking, putting together a strong slate of IT work.

In a recent legislative session, Texas lawmakers codified data work in state government. A new bill requires appointing a data management officer for state agencies that meet a 150-employee threshold. The in-agency data officers are then tasked with joining the state’s data management advisory committee, working with the state chief data officer, building a data governance program for their agency, providing data for Texas’ open data portal and more. It’s a major step, one that both organizes the state’s approach to data and ensures the structure will remain intact for years to come.

At the top of the state’s priority list, however, is cybersecurity. The state recently made a $22.3 million investment in endpoint detection and response technology, which it is providing to agencies at no cost. This tech is on the cutting edge of cybersecurity, helping to guard against ransomware and other threats. In addition, Texas is partnering with universities there on several regional security operations center pilots that have the dual benefit of bolstering cyber defenses statewide while preparing students for careers in the field. Texas also established stronger cybersecurity training requirements for its state agencies and local governments.

Finally, the state also focused on improving constituent engagement. To help facilitate all of this — as well as any other tech adoption needs — the Department of Information Resources (DIR) created a strategic digital services program at the enterprise level, one that helps agencies modernize, transform and ultimately develop tech tools to accomplish their missions. On the user side, the state created Texas by Texas, or TxT, a secure platform with a mobile app residents can use for all government business, complete with a single account, personalized dashboard, stored payment info, notifications and more.

*This story is excerpted from full coverage of the 2022 Digital States Survey published in Government Technology. Industry Insider — Texas, Government Technology magazine and the Center for Digital Government are owned by e.Republic.