Renewal season opens, and thousands of licensees log in on the same morning. Your licensing portal slows, the call queue fills and staff spend the day apologizing instead of processing applications. A week later, your state CIO asks for proof that your vendor’s cloud environment meets the new statewide security standard, and your team scrambles to assemble documentation.
Cloud challenges rarely show up as a single dramatic outage. They surface as sluggish portals during peak periods, hosting bills that climb every year and security reviews that stall procurement for months.
NASCIO ranked “cloud services” tenth on its 2026 State CIO Top 10 Priorities list. The report marks NASCIO’s 20th annual edition and draws on responses from 51 state and territory CIOs. Cloud solutions also landed at number three on NASCIO’s list of priority technologies, applications and tools. And nearly every higher-ranked priority, from AI and cybersecurity to identity management and data analytics, depends on a secure, scalable cloud foundation.
This article concludes our 10-part series examining NASCIO’s top priorities for state regulatory agencies in 2026. Each installment has explored how pairing advanced technology platforms with disciplined operational practices helps agencies meet elevated expectations, stretch limited resources and deliver better outcomes for the public they serve.
NASCIO frames the priority around eight focus areas:
For state regulatory agency leaders, those focus areas translate into everyday questions:
GovRAMP connects the answers. In this post, we explore how GovRAMP-verified cloud platforms help regulatory agencies meet NASCIO’s cloud priority, scale with confidence and move faster through procurement.
For regulatory agencies, cloud adoption no longer hinges on whether to move. The real question centers on how quickly you can modernize without putting licensee data at risk.
“Regulatory agencies need elasticity. They need uptime,” explains Ryan Pedersen, Chief Technology Officer for GL Solutions, on our Talkin’ SaaS podcast. On-premises systems struggle to match the uptime, disaster recovery and automatic backups that modern cloud platforms deliver.
Yet a cloud strategy without verified security creates new risks. Regulatory agencies hold sensitive data: Social Security numbers, background check results, disciplinary records and payment information. A breach damages public trust and invites legal exposure.
GovRAMP gives state and local governments a standardized, nationally recognized framework for verifying the security of cloud products. Instead of every agency running its own vendor security review, GovRAMP relies on independent third-party assessments, NIST-based controls and continuous monitoring. A vendor verifies once, and participating governments reuse that verification.
States continue to adopt the framework at a rapid pace:
Pedersen ties the trend directly to proactive cybersecurity. Agencies need to shift from reacting to threats toward anticipating them, and a verified platform makes that shift possible. “That really ties in with the GovRAMP ready platform,” he says.
GovRAMP awarded GovRAMP Ready status to GL Suite, regulatory software from GL Solutions, making it the first licensing solution to reach that security standard. That milestone gives your agency several advantages:
GL Solutions CEO Bill Moseley puts it simply: “Agencies should expect nothing less from their vendors.”
NASCIO calls out the selection of service and deployment models along with scalable and elastic services. For regulatory agencies, those choices shape how well a system handles change.
Most regulatory agencies benefit from a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model that runs in a government-grade cloud. SaaS shifts infrastructure maintenance, patching and backups to the vendor, so your IT staff can focus on agency priorities rather than server upkeep. NASCIO’s 2026 technology list reflects the trend, with software-as-a-service at number five and cloud solutions at number three.
Deployment matters too. Cloud platforms with federal security credentials, such as Microsoft Azure, offer the redundancy, monitoring and geographic resilience that a single state data center rarely matches.
Scalability means more than server capacity. It means your licensing platform absorbs growth, new license types and legislative changes without a matching jump in headcount or custom code.
The Nevada State Board of Accountancy offers a clear example. The board nearly doubled its number of licensees while maintaining staffing levels, thanks to automation and configuration options in GL Suite.
Elastic cloud capacity also protects you during peak periods. Renewal deadlines, emergency licensing orders and new program launches all drive traffic spikes. A cloud platform expands to meet demand, then scales back, so your agency pays for what it uses rather than for idle hardware.
Configurability completes the picture. Low-code and no-code tools let agency staff adjust fields, screens, workflows and reports as regulations change. Pedersen notes that agencies can roll out new workflows in days, not months, without waiting on developers.
Moving to the cloud does not mean handing over control. Strong cloud governance keeps your agency in charge of its data, access and accountability.
Look for these capabilities in any cloud licensing platform:
The Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board shows governance in action. The board moved from scattered desktop databases and paper files to GL Suite, then set automated retention schedules and added single sign-on. Staff now spend less time on password resets and more time processing applications and investigating complaints.
Service management belongs in the conversation, too. Ask about uptime commitments, release schedules, support response times and how the vendor communicates during an incident. A strong partner treats service management as an ongoing relationship, not a one-time handoff.
Procurement often slows cloud adoption more than technology does. Each agency-by-agency security review consumes weeks of staff time and delays modernization.
GovRAMP changes that equation. When you select a vendor already on the GovRAMP Authorized Product List, your procurement team starts with independently verified security evidence rather than a blank questionnaire. Nevada State CIO Timothy Galluzi says GovRAMP gives his state “a standardized way to verify a provider’s security controls up front,” with continuous monitoring keeping that assurance current.
For agencies in states with GovRAMP requirements, verification no longer counts as a nice-to-have. In Georgia and Nevada, it now shapes which cloud contracts move forward.
The Arizona Medical Board migrated GL Suite from a statewide hosting platform to Microsoft’s FedRAMP-certified Azure cloud. Before the move, the board paid roughly $30,000 a month for hosting. The migration cut those costs significantly while strengthening compliance, resiliency and efficiency. Cloud monitoring and analytics replaced manual checks and on-premises reporting, and board staff gained more control over system configuration.
The Arizona story touches nearly every element of NASCIO’s cloud priority: strategy, deployment model, security, service management and cost control. Read the full case study.
What does GovRAMP do for state regulatory agencies?
GovRAMP, formerly StateRAMP, gives state and local governments a standardized framework for verifying cloud security. Independent third-party assessors review a vendor’s security controls, and GovRAMP continuously monitors verified products. Your agency can then rely on that verification instead of running a separate security review for every contract.
How does GovRAMP differ from FedRAMP?
Both programs rely on NIST-based security controls. FedRAMP serves federal agencies, while GovRAMP serves state, local, education and tribal governments. Many cloud solutions draw on both: GL Suite holds GovRAMP Ready status at the application level and runs on Microsoft Azure, which carries federal security credentials.
What GovRAMP status should our vendor hold?
Requirements vary by state and by the sensitivity of your data. Check your state’s IT security policy and the GovRAMP Authorized Product List, then ask vendors where their products stand today and what milestones come next.
Does moving to the cloud mean giving up control of our data?
No. A well-governed cloud platform keeps your agency in charge through role-based access, audit trails, retention schedules and single sign-on. Your vendor manages the infrastructure, while your staff decide who sees what and how long records stay.
How does a cloud licensing system handle renewal surges?
Elastic cloud capacity expands to meet peak demand and scales back afterward. Licensees get a responsive portal during deadline crunches, and your agency avoids paying year-round for hardware sized for a few busy weeks.
Can a move to the cloud lower hosting costs?
Often, yes. The Arizona Medical Board paid roughly $30,000 a month on a statewide hosting platform before migrating GL Suite to Azure, and the move cut those costs significantly. Savings vary with agency size, data volume and contract terms.
An advocate for effective government, CEO Bill Moseley has enjoyed decades of service as a congressional staffer, attorney, administrator at the Oregon Department of Justice, agency software expert and Bend city councilor. He cofounded GL Solutions in 1997 to help government agencies function better. Bill led the company through decades of growth, personally serving as project manager for numerous installations. Bill chairs GL Solutions’ Board of Directors.
