Amazon Web Services Case Studies Transforming Data Accessibility and Analytics for Government Agencies: A Case Study on Socrata and AWS

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	Transforming Data Accessibility and Analytics for Government Agencies: A Case Study on Socrata and AWS Amazon Web Services

Transforming Data Accessibility and Analytics for Government Agencies: A Case Study on Socrata and AWS

Amazon Web Services

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Transportation Management Systems (TMS) Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries	Cities & Municipalities Transportation
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Autonomous Transport Systems Time Sensitive Networking
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Testing & Certification
Challenge	Socrata, an Advanced Technology Partner in the AWS Partner Network (APN), often encountered customers struggling to unlock data from siloed, difficult-to-access systems and put it into a self-service accessible platform. This was crucial for strategic use of data in delivering program outcomes. A prime example was the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), a Socrata customer, which had difficulty using data and analytics in its daily work due to limited access to their business intelligence (BI) software. Only a small group of employees had access to the BI tool, leading to delays in simple tasks like changing a color on a graph. UDOT needed to consolidate different systems and provide more people with access to information and basic analytic tools. This was particularly important as UDOT relied on updated data to secure funding for projects from the state legislature. Read More
About Customer	The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is a government agency responsible for the construction and maintenance of public transportation infrastructure in the state of Utah. UDOT was struggling with data accessibility and analytics due to limited access to their business intelligence software. The organization needed to consolidate different systems and provide more people with access to information and basic analytic tools. This was particularly important as UDOT relied on updated data to secure funding for projects from the state legislature. UDOT became a customer of Socrata, seeking a solution to their data accessibility and analytics challenges. Read More
Customer Name	Socrata Read More
Solution	Socrata migrated its platform from Microsoft Azure to Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2016, attracted by the elasticity and scalability of AWS. This allowed their engineering team to focus more on developing new solutions. The Socrata platform now runs on 172 Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances and stores platform data in the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). To address customer compliance requirements, Socrata worked with AWS to support FedRAMP certifications, achieving the FedRAMP Moderate Authority to Operate (ATO) certification in 2017. To help UDOT, Socrata collaborated with technology integrator and consulting firm Grant Thornton to consolidate data from 15 of UDOT’s business systems into Socrata’s cloud-based platform. The platform was configured and operational in six weeks, with continuous value addition every two weeks on an AGILE sprint schedule. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Transportation Management Systems (TMS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Cities & Municipalities

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Autonomous Transport Systems

Time Sensitive Networking

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Testing & Certification

Challenge

Socrata, an Advanced Technology Partner in the AWS Partner Network (APN), often encountered customers struggling to unlock data from siloed, difficult-to-access systems and put it into a self-service accessible platform. This was crucial for strategic use of data in delivering program outcomes. A prime example was the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), a Socrata customer, which had difficulty using data and analytics in its daily work due to limited access to their business intelligence (BI) software. Only a small group of employees had access to the BI tool, leading to delays in simple tasks like changing a color on a graph. UDOT needed to consolidate different systems and provide more people with access to information and basic analytic tools. This was particularly important as UDOT relied on updated data to secure funding for projects from the state legislature.

About Customer

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is a government agency responsible for the construction and maintenance of public transportation infrastructure in the state of Utah. UDOT was struggling with data accessibility and analytics due to limited access to their business intelligence software. The organization needed to consolidate different systems and provide more people with access to information and basic analytic tools. This was particularly important as UDOT relied on updated data to secure funding for projects from the state legislature. UDOT became a customer of Socrata, seeking a solution to their data accessibility and analytics challenges.

Customer Name

Socrata

Solution

Socrata migrated its platform from Microsoft Azure to Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2016, attracted by the elasticity and scalability of AWS. This allowed their engineering team to focus more on developing new solutions. The Socrata platform now runs on 172 Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances and stores platform data in the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). To address customer compliance requirements, Socrata worked with AWS to support FedRAMP certifications, achieving the FedRAMP Moderate Authority to Operate (ATO) certification in 2017. To help UDOT, Socrata collaborated with technology integrator and consulting firm Grant Thornton to consolidate data from 15 of UDOT’s business systems into Socrata’s cloud-based platform. The platform was configured and operational in six weeks, with continuous value addition every two weeks on an AGILE sprint schedule.

Impact #1	With the Socrata solution, any UDOT employee can now access basic budget and spending information, project funding and statuses, and asset management reporting. They can also track the department's performance on its top three strategic measures: Zero Fatalities, Preserving Infrastructure, and Optimizing Mobility. The solution has democratized data access within UDOT, making it accessible to all workers, not just power users or analysts. Furthermore, UDOT can now more closely track funding sources using Socrata’s platform on AWS, giving the organization’s executive director the ability to show legislators a real-time, interactive view of how UDOT is managing its budget. This has led to more accurate analytics of department data, increasing the likelihood of securing appropriate funding from the state legislature.

Impact #1

With the Socrata solution, any UDOT employee can now access basic budget and spending information, project funding and statuses, and asset management reporting. They can also track the department's performance on its top three strategic measures: Zero Fatalities, Preserving Infrastructure, and Optimizing Mobility. The solution has democratized data access within UDOT, making it accessible to all workers, not just power users or analysts. Furthermore, UDOT can now more closely track funding sources using Socrata’s platform on AWS, giving the organization’s executive director the ability to show legislators a real-time, interactive view of how UDOT is managing its budget. This has led to more accurate analytics of department data, increasing the likelihood of securing appropriate funding from the state legislature.

Benefit #1	UDOT saved hundreds of hours of staff time previously spent on building static reports.
Benefit #2	UDOT saved several months by creating the annual strategic report in a Socrata-powered open data format rather than in a printed PDF file.
Benefit #3	Socrata's platform runs on 172 Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, demonstrating the scalability of the solution.

Benefit #1

UDOT saved hundreds of hours of staff time previously spent on building static reports.

Benefit #2

UDOT saved several months by creating the annual strategic report in a Socrata-powered open data format rather than in a printed PDF file.

Benefit #3

Socrata's platform runs on 172 Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, demonstrating the scalability of the solution.

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Overview

Transforming Data Accessibility and Analytics for Government Agencies: A Case Study on Socrata and AWS

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit