I am just wrapping up a world tour where I have been promoting a new document called, “The Connected Government Framework Reference Architecture,” which I have co-authored in partnership with Infusion Development. My tour has taken me to New Zealand, Australia, India, Malaysia, Germany, and finally to Belgium where the interest in this document has been extremely high.
The Connected Government Framework Reference Architecture is a high-level solution architecture—and related infrastructure architecture of a comprehensive software platform—to deploy Microsoft’s Connected Government Framework (CGF). The CGF is a set of concepts, guidelines, and resources for delivering connected government solutions that enable governments to better engage and connect with their citizens, improve government worker productivity, and increase insight and accountability. The CGF can be applied to any category of government business, whether it is a central government, a regional government or a local government. The CGF is based on Microsoft’s and its partners’ years of experience helping governments around the world meet their business challenges.
The CGF Reference Architecture document includes information not only on solution and infrastructure architectures but also sections on hybrid cloud environments, how to integrate third-party technologies that you or your customer may already have into Microsoft’s CGF, and a next steps and considerations section to help you think through many of the common challenges you may encounter when embarking on a connected government project.
This document is a companion to our higher level white paper on connected government, which can be found on our website. The white paper provides a foundation for our connected government solution accelerators:
View what customers have done with Microsoft’s CGF on our dedicated website. Or play our demos on connected government.
The feedback from both customers and partners on the CGF Reference Architecture document has been very gratifying. I have heard comments ranging from “This is exactly what we have been looking for from Microsoft” to “I can use this document to help me respond to RFPs much more easily” to “Finally, a document that helps me understand how to implement the Connected Government Framework!” People have been anxious to get a copy of this document in my many meetings over the last few weeks and I am very excited to share it with you. (For those who would like cut and paste portions of the document into their own proposals or strategic plans you can access it in .doc format here.)
This document is version 1.0 and included collaboration from many of my colleagues at Microsoft and our partners, Infusion Development, BroadReach, Fujitsu, Logica, and KMD. I welcome feedback on this document and look forward to producing a version 2.0 based on your suggestions for improvement and expansion of this important topic.
Please send questions or feedback to MSGovRA@microsoft.com.
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