Chapter 22
Government
In This Chapter
Defense Intelligence Agency
Hampshire County Council
CommIT Enterprises
We often describe some industries (such as financial services and telecommunications) as early adopters of new technology, but guess which industry is often credited with actually creating new technology. Here’s a hint: Your tax dollars hard at work. Government agencies have consistently pushed the technology envelope through research in support of the health, security, and general welfare of its constituents. For example, one of the earliest forms of the Internet was developed by a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) agency that was working to improve communication among researchers in distributed locations. This early Internet was basically a packet-switching network — the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). Created to solve some very specific communication challenges for a certain group of people, it evolved into the Internet over a relatively short time into what we know today.
Although not all government technology research affects so many people quite so quickly, governments do use technology to help empower their constituents. Technology has become a critical component of how many governments manage critical issues, ranging from protecting their citizens from terrorism to managing their citizens’ social and economic welfare. Governments need to find efficient and secure ways to create links between agencies and constituents across the globe. And because ...
