Despite the challenges this year brought, one thing remained unchecked: State and local government information technology chiefs continued to move on from gov tech or shift to new opportunities in new jurisdictions.

Drones, thermal imaging and contact tracing got traction in all levels of government as COVID-19 broke down procurement barriers, sped up development and paved the way for getting new tech up and running.

Crashing state unemployment websites. Overwhelmed call centers. Millions out of work. Cloud technologies stepped up to the plate as the public sector worked to get citizens what they needed during the pandemic.

Before COVID-19 swept the globe, experts were already predicting a disastrous year in cybersecurity. The pandemic offered hackers new attack vectors and proved governments must always be ready for the unexpected.

As COVID-19 forced droves of Americans to work and learn from home in 2020, the importance of reliable high-speed Internet highlighted the digital divide in ways state leadership couldn’t ignore.