Tyler Technologies, of Plano, Texas, announced that the state of Maryland is launching the Socrata Connected Government Cloud (SCGC) solution. The state will use this internal data sharing approach to strengthen its commitment to innovation and data-driven governance.

Maryland will use the SCGC to improve operational efficiency, strengthen the security of its data, and enhance collaboration across agencies and coordinating offices. SCGC is an integrated solution fueled by Socrata’s data-as-a-service platform, which brings built-in analytics to support government’s most important programs, including open data.

The SCGC solution will serve as a self-service centralized data repository for state employees. The extensible cloud-based, data sharing platform, which was built specifically for governments, streamlines data governance and self-service access across organizations.

“Under the Hogan administration, there are more Marylanders than ever before using Maryland’s Open Data Portal. Interest in open data has expanded throughout the world, and, with over 8,500 unique users accessing Maryland’s Open Data Portal per month, our state is no different,” said Michael Leahy, secretary of the Maryland Department of Information Technology. “Demand for greater transparency, accessibility, and ease of use continues to grow and the citizens of Maryland expect data to be available to them as fast as they request it.”

Maryland adopted the Open Data Act and implemented the state’s Open Data Portal in 2014, as well as large data-driven programs such as Maryland OneStop Portal and Maryland Total Human-services Integrated Network. Furthermore, the state’s website provides a gateway for more than 21 million visitors to visit agency websites and use hundreds of timesaving digital government services, including car registration renewals, vehicle emissions tests, safety inspections, and business registrations. As part of the internal data sharing launch, Maryland’s public-facing open data portal will migrate to a new URL, opendata.maryland.gov.