Monthly Archives: July 2017

Government agencies at every level—city, state, and federal—collect large amounts of data; that’s a fact. The challenge for many lies in the ways information is collected and processed. Much of it is locked up in departmental silos, on somewhat dated computer systems, and it’s hard to access for additional analysis or to share publicly. Much of it may have been collected on paper forms or input by busy staff with lots of other things to do. Yet in any commercial organization, your data might be considered like gold dust! Locked within those siloed systems are many nuggets of valuable information that can help improve the efficiency of your entire organization, help deliver better services, and help improve the lives of your constituents.

Beep! Beep! The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) held their Region I Conference this week in Portland, Maine. Thought leaders and industry professionals seized the opportunity to network with each other, learn best practices from affiliate agencies, and share insights on what’s to come in the continually evolving world of motor vehicle administration and public safety. Portland, Maine provided a beautiful backdrop to the week, especially as conference attendees set sail on a sunset ferry cruise to Peak’s Island for a lobster dinner! 

In today’s data-driven world, you will hear buzzwords thrown around like MDM, big data, machine learning, data lakes, etc. But then you may think, how exactly do these concepts apply to my organization and my specific role? How can I deploy the most valuable data management processes? To answer these questions, it is important to understand what modern data management looks like at a high level, and then how are businesses are using modern data management to refine business processes and enable best practices. Understanding the concept of modern data management is the first step in deciding how to enable it in your organization.