Amazon Web Services names 2019 'City on a Cloud' winners

UPDATED, Dec. 5, 2019: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has named the 18 winners of its 2019 City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge. AWS says winners will be awarded up to $20,000 in promotional credits, up to $20,000 in financial support and up to five employee AWS training vouchers.

The winners are as follows:

Constituent Services	City of Johns Creek, GA NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity Minnesota IT Services (partnering with MN Department of Health)
Solving Persistent Problems	West Virginia State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Community Solutions
Sustainability and Equity	Baltimore City Department of Public Works Face-to-Face Integrated Technologies DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority
Powered by AWS	Atlas One Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Space Systems Laboratory Utility Associates Democracy Live City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency
Dream Big	St. Vrain Valley Schools City of Virginia Beach, VA Circuit Attorney Office, City of St. Louis, MO
Public Datasets	City of Louisville, KY - Best Overall Dataset, Best Documentation City of Boston - Best Community Engagement

Dive Brief:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has named the finalists for its 2019 City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge, highlighting how they use the services to benefit constituents and become innovation hubs.
The finalists have been named in six categories: Constituent Services; Solving Persistent Problems; Sustainability and Equity; Powered by AWS; Dream Big; and Public Datasets.
Winners in each category will be announced on Dec. 4, and will receive AWS promotional credits, training and support for their projects. The finalists are as follows:

Constituent Services	Broward County, FL Library The Carroll School City of Johns Creek, GA NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity City of Omaha, NE Minnesota IT Services (partnering with MN Department of Health)
Solving Persistent Problems	Tyler Technologies on behalf of Virginia’s Framework for Addiction Analysis and Community Transformation West Virginia State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Homeless Network of Texas Community Solutions Baltimore Mayor's Office of Homelessness Services Baltimore City Health Department Reliance eHealth Collaborative
Sustainability and Equity	Baltimore City Department of Public Works Face-to-Face Integrated Technologies DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority
Powered by AWS	Passport Atlas One Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Space Systems Laboratory Utility Associates Iteris, Inc. Democracy Live VoiceXP and State of New Hampshire Elections City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency
Dream Big	biLAB at New York University St. Vrain Valley Schools City of Virginia Beach, VA Minnesota IT Services (partnering with MN Department of Health) C2SMART, New York University Circuit Attorney Office, City of St. Louis, MO City of Detroit
Public Datasets	City of Louisville, KY City of Boston

Dive Insight:

The growth of these awards from last year is indicative of how more cities and city-adjacent organizations have come to rely on AWS, and how they are making use of the various offerings to try and improve their residents' lives. The contest also serves as a way for AWS to show off its services and the impact its solutions are having in city life. Honorees include Los Angeles' earthquake early-warning app, efforts to fight homelessness and infant mortality, and efforts to cut gun violence.

There are also several finalists that represent smart city efforts in the Dream Big category, including the City of Detroit for its approach to mobility and efforts to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and cameras in New York City to improve pedestrian safety.

Contests like this from AWS show the continued importance and growth of the cloud in government operations and services. Microsoft is another company to offer significant government technology features through its Microsoft 365 Government platform, with many of those offerings also cloud-driven.