How content management platforms can break siloed systems in agencies

Agencies looking to improve workforce productivity will see big benefits by integrating their content and process management onto a single platform. The Small Business Administration already has started down this path and currently benefits from cost reductions across the agency.

Sanjay Gupta, CTO at the SBA, has been instrumental in leading the agency’s cloud initiative since 2017. He shares some of the lessons learned from the process, which included consolidating duplicative documents to improve collaboration across departments.

And joining him to discuss how agencies can make a transition to a content management platform is Anju Varkey, senior solutions engineer for partner enablement at Alfresco.

Together they discuss why agencies should take a serious look into content management system platforms in this podcast, produced by FedScoop and underwritten by Alfresco:

Why should agencies consider using a content management platform?

“Stand-alone systems are unaware of their environment and you may need to copy data from one system to another. When you have those network, single purpose, siloed systems you end up duplicating your efforts and creating additional siloes, instead of having a platform that can interconnect to your agency,” says Varkey.

“Integrated platforms will allow you to analyze both siloed systems, digitalized intelligence and sophisticated decision making,” she explains.

How did the SBA lay out a plan for a CMS platform?

“It was rather surprising to see the extent of siloed systems in place. Particularly what was surprising was that even in a program office sometimes there were silos. So, you can imagine there was a lot of duplication of content, data and functionality,” says Gupta.

“We identified initial targets that would have a lower change impact on the workforce but would provide more value in terms of the ability to collaborate and to reduce duplication – and in essence flatten the siloes. For us at the SBA, the cloud is not the destination, but it is a means to an end,” Gupta elaborates.

What should agency CIOs and CTOs consider in order to integrate a content services platform?

“You need to start with a vision that is big and is forward leaning. And you need to start small use an agile approach so you can learn quickly, improvise as needed and iterate rapidly. … Your cloud strategy is likely to adjust over time, so CIOs and CTOs need to be aware and be open to pivot as needed,” says Gupta.

“When you consider an integrated platform for your agency, look for a platform that complies with open standards and doesn’t use proprietary languages … an easy-to-use, intuitive user interface and platform that complies with open standards would be the key requirement that agencies should look for,” Varkey says.

Listen to the podcast for the full conversation on improving workforce productivity with integrated content management platforms. You can hear more coverage of “IT modernization in government” on our FedScoop radio channels on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher and TuneIn. 

This podcast was produced by FedScoop and underwritten by Alfresco Software, Inc.