As I discussed in some of my earlier blogs there are some pretty inspiring people in government who are solving some real-world problems, helping people, and accelerating mission outcomes through the use of data to create actionable insight. Organizations like the FAA, the US Census, and the DOD are making significant breakthroughs with data. These agencies and many more are proving that access to data and the ability to use data to solve problems, get answers and accelerate mission outcomes is a critical capability within the operations of government. What is as critically important is that government organizations have a secure analytics platform that meets infosec needs called out industry standards such as FISMA.
Today Alteryx announces the availability of Alteryx Server-FIPS, a version of our Server product that is capable of operating in a FIPS-capable environment. Many government agencies have already experienced the value of being able to deploy a unified analytics capability that handles every aspect of the analytics lifecycle, from prep and blend to data enrichment, to the deployment of descriptive, predictive, and advanced analytics including geospatial and machine learning.
Earlier this year, Alteryx released Designer-FIPS, which is an intuitive solution that empowers users to blend disparate data for faster results in a more secure environment. Using repeatable drag-and-drop workflows, users can quickly profile, prepare, and blend data without writing code or custom scripts … Now with Server-FIPS, organizations can scale, govern, automate, and schedule analytic processes across teams and increase collaboration. Server-FIPS provides expanded access to analytics in environments that require a FIPS-capable experience.
Cyberthreats and breaches can be detrimental to the safety of the nation, our infrastructure, and the American people. In a recent study by the Washington Post, IT and cybersecurity experts state that federal agencies are more vulnerable to threats and attacks than before because protections have not kept pace with the scale, speed, and complexity of threats.
All is not doom and gloom however because in the last five years we have seen an increase in the success of federal agencies’ cybersecurity due to legislation and funding. So, there is more focus and cyber security is more of a front-burner issue than it has been in the past. However, the threats that we are now facing have advanced and continue to advance especially with adversarial nation states and even criminal organizations expanding their cyber capabilities.
There is also the added complexity of remote working and the reliance on cloud and mobile technology brought about by the response to COVID-19 that has expanded the number of potential weak points within a security ecosystem. According to some, the exposure to threats will continue to grow as powerful technologies like 5G, AI, and IOT continues to be further ingrained within our daily digital life.
With the availability of both Alteryx Designer-FIPS and Server-FIPS, government agencies have a comprehensive analytics capability that addresses the encryption requirements called for by the FISMA guidelines for federal agencies and can streamline their long tail of analytics point solutions, which can lower their risk because of less handoffs between platforms and lower their costs because of fewer vendors to manage. More importantly, with a FIPS-capable analytics platform, government agencies can better deploy more robust capabilities to harness insights, collaborate, and inform decision-making that will accelerate mission outcomes for people, employees, stakeholders, and communities.
Read more about Alteryx Server-FIPS here.