It has been 10 years since the U.S. government began warming to cloud computing, beginning with the federal Cloud First initiative in 2010 leading to today’s Cloud Smart strategy – a game plan for bringing processes and applications into a new hardware environment.

But to take advantage full advantage of a cloud-driven ecosystem, the government must have more than just a cloud strategy. Agencies also need a data strategy.

What is a cloud data strategy?

Is data the new bacon? The world’s most valuable resource? That fuel that powers the digital enterprise?

The most successful companies in the world – Google, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, etc. – use data to drive business strategies. Being insight-driven isn’t just the domain of consumer tech. Government agencies rely on data to make informed and quick decision making, enhance productivity, improve transparency and build trust with citizens, eliminate fraud and abuse, reduce crime and security threats, and more.

This is a repost of a blog originally posted to GovLoop here.

This blog post is an excerpt from our new report, How Artificial Intelligence Combats Fraud and Cyberattack, download the full report here.

Data continues to transform the public sector in meaningful and compelling ways. As a vast creator and consumer of data, government agencies have a unique opportunity to revolutionize their decision-making power by utilizing data to the fullest.