February 27, 2025
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) today announced a strategic partnership with Google Public Sector that provides state employees with a wide array of new secure technology tools, including data analytics to support decision-making, all while enabling the State to strengthen its disaster recovery capabilities, enhance service delivery, and support New York’s ongoing digital transformation. This first-of-its-kind Enterprise Cloud Services Agreement with ITS will help connect and integrate disparate systems to improve efficiency and data sharing, simplify the process to access powerful technology tools, and reduce overall costs.
New York State Chief Information Officer and Director of ITS Dru Rai said: “As the amount of data being generated and safely stored by the State increases, and as our residents expect more and better access to digital services, this collaboration is the right move at the right time. I thank Google Public Sector for helping New York State and ITS build an environment that is even more scalable, reliable, modern and secure.”
The Enterprise Cloud Services Agreement provides New York State employees at participating agencies with access to secure Google Cloud services over the next two years, including business applications related to computing, data analytics, networking, security, cloud storage and AI, as well as expanded access to training and a dedicated support team.
Google Public Sector Vice President of Go-to-Market Brent Mitchell said: "Google Public Sector is proud to partner with New York State to accelerate their digital transformation. By providing secure access to our advanced cloud technologies, we're empowering state employees to innovate and deliver enhanced services to residents. This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting government modernization, enabling the public sector to leverage Google Cloud to improve efficiency, strengthen resilience, and ultimately, benefit New Yorkers."
The agreement ensures continued utilization of the on-premises data center currently being operated by ITS at the Zero Energy Technology (ZEN) building at the Albany Nanotech Complex in Albany, creating a hybrid and diverse environment that more securely protects the State from an unprecedented catastrophic event. The move prioritizes redundancy, strengthens backup and disaster recovery efforts, and better positions ITS to utilize its skilled employees to drive solutions that achieve fundamental change.
Rai was named CIO and Director of ITS by Governor Hochul in October 2023 after a 30-year private sector career. Under his leadership, ITS has transitioned to a new and more effective Dedicated Agency Service model, which has brought State IT resources closer to partner agencies, elevated the agency’s performance, streamlined procurements, and dramatically improved IT service delivery throughout New York State government.
For more information on how NYS ITS is driving digital transformation, visit the ITS website. Learn more about how Google Public Sector partners with state and local government agencies to provide innovative solutions to improve government services on the Google website.