At this year’s Tennessee Digital Government Summit, one message rang loud and clear: government agencies are being pushed to do more with less—and they need smarter tools, not just more hands. That’s why KnowledgeLake was there, helping agencies reimagine how work gets done.
Christy Gary, KnowledgeLake’s VP of Strategic Accounts, joined the panel “Doing More with Less: Real-World Cost-Effective Modernization Strategies,” alongside experts from KPMG and Lumen Technologies. Moderated by Jerry Jones, CTO for the State of Tennessee’s Strategic Technology Solutions group, the session focused on how public-sector teams can drive efficiency and modernize operations—even under tight budget constraints.
Christy introduced the concept of Synthetic Labor™, KnowledgeLake’s approach to using AI-powered automation to take on repetitive, low-value tasks. This frees human teams to focus on higher-impact work like serving citizens better and resolving problems faster. She asked the audience to imagine what could be accomplished if their people weren’t stuck keying in invoice data or shuffling documents, but instead had the bandwidth to innovate, collaborate, and deliver better public services.
She shared a powerful example from a government accounts payable department that used to require 10 full-time employees to manually process and key invoices. By automating document indexing and data transfer into their ERP system, the agency reduced the workload to just two employees focused only on exceptions—freeing up the rest of the team for more strategic work.
Beyond tools and technology, Christy emphasized what really drives successful modernization:
When asked how to modernize without major financial investment, Christy encouraged agencies to start by rethinking work and inventorying the tools they already have. “You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel,” she said. “Someone’s probably already solved the problem you’re facing.”
The takeaway? Government agencies don’t need massive overhauls to modernize. With intelligent document processing and a modern content platform, agencies can digitize paper-heavy processes, reduce manual tasks, and unlock meaningful gains in efficiency, accuracy, and employee satisfaction.
As Christy put it, “It’s not about adding more people. It’s about making the people you have more impactful.”
We’re proud to support state and local governments as they transform operations and better serve their communities—one smart workflow at a time. To find out more about how KnowledgeLake can help you do more with less, reach out and connect with us.