New York’s IT office partners with AWS for cloud and AI services, strategy saving taxpayers $58M

The New York State Office of Information Technology Services announced Monday it signed an enterprise cloud services agreement with Amazon Web Services for artificial intelligence and cloud services as part of the state’s new services strategy that, so far, has netted $58 million in savings for taxpayers.

The agreement is aimed at alleviating procurement hurdles for state agencies, speeding up statewide innovation efforts and providing “first-class technology and training tools to the New York State workforce,” and will make AWS AI and cloud services available to state employees at participating agencies over the next three years. These services, the state claimed, will be delivered at a lower cost than agencies would be paying independently for the same services.

The announcement expands the state government’s use of AI. In April, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state’s custom AI tool — called AI Pro, which is powered by Google Gemini — and its accompanying training materials would be made available to the state government’s entire workforce of more than 100,000 employees.

Under the leadership of Dru Rai, the New York chief information officer and director of ITS, the state’s IT office has been re-envisioned as the singular service provider for all NYS agencies. It is in the final stages of its transition to that dedicated agency service model, which pairs subject matter experts at the agencies with high-level tech support at ITS. This change, the state said, has helped agencies to reduce their volume of year-to-year unresolved incidents and requests, allowing them to get more work done.

The transition to a new service model also hinges on the proactive strategy with respect to consolidating enterprise agreements, the state added, which has delivered $58 million in cost savings for the state and its taxpayers. This setup will also help expedite the onboarding of agencies and their hardworking employees, so they can work, learn, grow and serve the state with new tools and enhanced capabilities.

“At ITS, we are committed to providing high-quality technology solutions in the most simple, streamlined, and affordable way possible. I thank AWS for being a trusted partner in our ongoing efforts to upskill the state workforce and assist agencies in delivering for New York, while ensuring our residents get the services they need and deserve in a timely manner,” Rai said. “Today, we are choosing innovation AND affordability, and taking an important step forward in the State’s technology journey.”