DEARBORN, MI – In an effort to modernize IT and data infrastructure at the City of Dearborn, last week, Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud and his administration implemented use of the Google Cloud Workspace suite across all City departments. City employees officially began using the innovative suite of digital tools on Monday, July 10. The shift to Workspace now provides the City with first-rate technologies and security features to increase access to public services and information for Dearborn residents.

The shift to Google Cloud Workspace is the first of several improvements to be completed through a collaborative partnership between the City and Google. In February, Mayor Hammoud and Google Public Sector CEO Karen Dahut officially announced the City’s partnership with Google Cloud, which will continue to provide significant advancement in technology, particularly on the City’s website, that will benefit Dearborn residents and employees alike as the multi-phase project is completed over the next year. 

Mayor Hammoud stated, “Dearborn is known as the capital of innovation, starting with Henry Ford and what he did globally for manufacturing. Innovation has always happened in the private sector here, and now, with our city’s modernization of technology, the public sector can finally match that innovative spirit. From Model T to Mach E, in both the public and private sector - that is how monumental this transition is for Dearborn.”

Google Cloud provides organizations the ability to digitally transform business processes through innovative solutions and technology, while enabling growth and supporting a greater choice and flexibility for public sector entities. The Workspace platform through Google Cloud offers City employees access to a suite of secure applications designed to encourage collaboration, improve efficiency, and increase productivity. 

Celebrating this major advancement in City technology, Hammoud welcomed Google executives to the City of Dearborn’s administrative offices and departments last week to observe the real-time transformation of the City’s technology infrastructure.

Brad Hoffman, Director of Public Health, Public Education and Public Sector for Google Cloud in the Central Region of the United States stated, “This is one phase of a multi-phase project with the City of Dearborn to modernize and revamp all of the digital services both employees and citizens will enjoy. We went down to the studs and said ‘let's rethink entirely what it means to be a state-of-the-art municipal services organization.’ Through this experience, Dearborn will eventually stand out as one of the most forward thinking municipal governments.”

The next phase of the project will introduce changes to the City’s website which will soon offer online services, making Dearborn a 24/7 service provider. The City is also working with Google and consultants at Appnovation to improve access to language services by implementing a multilingual virtual agent and translated information across the website. 

Hammoud added, “This collaboration is as much about accountability and transparency as it is about modernization. We had one-time dollars to expend to make a transformational investment. A year from now, our residents will be able to feel the difference in how they interact with the City, as well as receive improved service delivery.”

Additional training services, applications, and the website are projects that will be ongoing throughout the year.

See additional updates and information by visiting the City of Dearborn’s official social media pages @Dearborngov.