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O'Reilly opens up learning platform access for all government agencies to help navigate the crisis

Press release: April 6, 2020

In the face of unprecedented demand on government systems, company provides access to content on site reliability engineering, data science, remote management and more

BOSTON—April 6, 2020O’Reilly, the premier source for insight-driven learning on technology and business, today announced that it was opening up access to its online learning platform for all government agencies, in order to provide them with the resources they need in the face of increasing demand on government infrastructure and systems.

As of today, any government employee who does not currently have access to O’Reilly online learning, will be able to access helpful educational materials, at no cost, until July 6, 2020.

Civil offices, already strained prior to the pandemic, are facing new and unprecedented challenges as a result of economic losses, healthcare emergencies, and the implementation of a complex stimulus package. Government systems for public safety information, unemployment claims, medical insurance, disaster modeling and response, and more have been significantly affected by the abrupt increase in traffic and urgency.

“For years, government infrastructure and services haven’t kept pace with the speed of technology. Today, the weight of that burden is overwhelming—precisely at a time when citizens need to rely on our government more than ever,” said Tim O’Reilly, founder, chairman and CEO of O’Reilly. “Government agencies need help with everything from tools for remote work, to web design, mobile service design, text-based customer service, data science, and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE).”

O’Reilly online learning helps agencies and organizations empower their teams to be resilient in times of uncertainty by giving them the knowledge and tools they need to solve immediate and urgent technical problems as they arise. The company’s online training courses and other resources can help get existing and new users up to speed fast—which is especially important in situations like this where time is of the essence.

Many of O’Reilly’s most prominent publishing partners, including McGraw Hill, Packt, and Pearson have also agreed to waive the royalty fees they would normally receive for sharing their content, enabling O’Reilly to provide access to additional technical information that can help ease the burden for government workers immediately.

“This is an urgent crisis—one where the situation changes every day,” added O’Reilly. “O’Reilly and our partners are in a unique position to help.”

Some of the content government agencies have access to include:

  • Online Course: Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)
    One area of growing importance to government agencies the past few years has been the approach known as Site Reliability Engineering (SRE). Jaime Woo and Emil Stolarsky of Incident Labs have put together a course that will help government officials learn how to transform an existing organization toward SRE, to understand where DevOps and SRE overlap or differ, and to decide which method for calculating and measuring service level objectives (SLOs) should be used and when. This two-hour course is available at: https://www.oreilly.com/webcasts/lot/2248020-site-reliability-engineering-fundamentals.html.
  • Meet the Expert: Tim O’Reilly and Jen Pahlka on Turbocharging Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Crisis
    We’ve all seen the headlines: “States Overwhelmed By Previously Unimaginable Layoff Numbers”; “Here’s What Is In The ‘Families First’ Coronavirus Aid Package”; “Local Governments Struggle to Obey Their Own Social Distancing Mandates.” It’s a perfect storm for government: unprecedented demand and urgent new programs to respond to the disaster at the same time, as many government employees used to working face-to-face must suddenly work from home. Add to that a flood of stimulus money now, followed by a later drought as tax revenues are gutted by the economic shutdown, and two things are clear: people depend on the government more than ever, and for government workers, getting better at providing digital services is no longer a “nice to have” but a “must have.” In this Meet the Expert session, Tim O’Reilly will talk with Jen Pahlka, founder of Code for America, former Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States, and now co-founder of United States Digital Response, a new nonprofit connecting technology volunteers with governments that need their help. They’ll discuss the new challenges governments face, the resources that are available to meet them, and share case studies of how governments are fulfilling their mission in the present crisis: https://learning.oreilly.com/live- training/courses/meet-the-expert-tim-oreilly-and-jennifer-pahlka-on-turbocharging-governments-response-to-the-covid-19-crisis/0636920431657/.
  • Online Course: Home Network Security in 60 Minutes
    Working from home introduces new risks that you have to learn how to manage and mitigate. As senior information security consultant with FireEye Mandiant, Ric Messier offers an overview of the most common security threats to remote workers and shares best practices to ensure company data stays secure: https://www.oreilly.com/webcasts/lot/2239736-home-network-security-in-60-minutes.html.
  • Expert Playlist: Scott Berkun—Working Remotely Can Work for Everyone
    In this collection of content, The Year Without Pants author Scott Berkun’s picks include tips for how to work from home effectively and the tools that will make it easier: https://learning.oreilly.com/playlists/efe69f05-4fc4-452e-97e1-06e3fb4f7b1e/.

Any government employee interested in accessing O’Reilly’s learning platform must have a valid government email address and register here: https://www.oreilly.com/online-learning/government-free-access.html.

O’Reilly has also created a page that will be regularly updated with information and events that can help teams during the current crisis: https://www.oreilly.com/online-learning/navigate-change/nb.html.

About O’Reilly

For 40 years, O’Reilly has provided technology and business training, knowledge, and insight to help companies succeed. Our unique network of experts and innovators share their knowledge and expertise through the company’s SaaS-based training and learning solution, O’Reilly online learning. O’Reilly delivers highly topical and comprehensive technology and business learning solutions to millions of users across enterprise, consumer, and university channels. For more information, visit www.oreilly.com.

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