The shortfall in 2010 state and local government budgets is not news. But it remains the biggest issue facing state and local governments today – and will continue well into tomorrow. Existing gaps are projected to widen further in 2011, throwing departments and agencies already on the edge further into crisis.

‪But despite those dire predictions, according to a July report from INPUT, state and local government IT spending is projected to INCREASE between now and 2015. But how should those agencies spend precious dollars? There are cost-effective software investments that can show results within months.

SAS is stepping up its partnership efforts with state/local government through our hosted software solutions. By hosting the applications on their behalf, SAS can greatly improve the time to value. Hosting not only reduces time, risk and cost, it allows the department or agency to streamline their efforts by better focusing on their overall mission and function.

Our hosted government solutions are developed by the brilliant folks in the SAS Advanced Analytics Lab. They have significant expertise in all areas of state and local government – whether it’s fraud detection, health and human services, or public safety.

Examples of how SAS is partnering with state/local governments to host their data include North Carolina's integrated criminal justice system, CJLEADS, and Los Angeles County's fraud detection application.

The Advanced Analytics Lab is hard at work on several government data hosting projects. I look forward to sharing their innovative approaches to maximizing state/local investments.