States often struggled with IT during the pandemic

While some states quickly developed new tools to respond to the pandemic’s needs, many also hit snags along the way. Before its vaccination appointment website was launched in January, Florida turned to the ticketing website Eventbrite, a platform that was not designed for public health. Florida’s IT agency, meanwhile, has struggled to hold key employees.

Wisconsin sought help from 18F and others as it struggled with a legacy unemployment system that strained under heightened demand.

Washington D.C.’s vaccination appointment portal repeatedly crashed in February after leaders underestimated the load the public would put on their systems.

The Virginia Employment Commission wrestled with an IT upgrade and received more calls even than during the pandemic’s highest point in 2020.

But states also got new support for their IT projects, particularly in the form of relief funding in the spring and state and local cybersecurity and broadband funding through the recent infrastructure package.