MITRE Corp. – which operates Federally funded R&D centers focused on scientific and technology issues – published a new report on Sept. 5 that offers recommendations to the incoming administration on how to modernize archaic, legacy IT systems in the Federal government.
The report offers five recommendations to Federal agencies – three of which are directed at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – and three separate recommendations to Congress and industry.
The first recommendation for OMB, within the first 100 days, is to issue guidance to Federal agencies that requires them to develop a prioritized inventory of legacy systems, an IT modernization plan, and supporting budgets.
“This guidance should articulate evaluation criteria to prioritize systems most in need of replacement. Criteria should include systems no longer supported, systems with known cybersecurity vulnerabilities, cost savings, and significant improvements to mission,” the report says.
“The modernization plan should sequence acquisitions based on these criteria, and should address items such as network infrastructure, cloud migration, and cybersecurity,” it adds. “The plan should also include a decommissioning schedule that has clear milestones for retiring legacy systems.”
Additionally, MITRE said that OMB should “strongly consider” requiring independent evaluations of agencies’ inventory assessments and modernization plans.
“The guidance and supporting budgets need to include use of the Technology Modernization Fund and working capital funds called for in the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017,” MITRE said.
The second recommendation for OMB is to, within 180 days, make sure a reporting or transparency mechanism is in place to monitor agencies’ IT modernization progress and ensure accountability.
“This mechanism should leverage the existing IT Dashboard and clearly show progress, in terms of acquisitions and retirements, against the modernization plan,” the report says.
The third and final recommendation for OMB is to, within 180 days, create a program under the Federal CIO similar to the U.S. Digital Service that would feature a public-private partnership with key technology industry providers.
The U.S. Digital Service is a “tech startup” agency inside the White House that hires top technologists to serve the Federal government for term-limited positions. MITRE said this type of program under the Federal CIO could help agencies that are not making as much progress in their IT modernization journeys seek outside assistance.
The other recommendation for Federal agencies is to implement OMB guidance and new legislation by developing prioritized inventories, modernization plans, and budgets to support these plans.
Additionally, MITRE said agencies should partner with industry, national labs, or federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) to find ways to apply AI, machine learning, robotic process automation, and big data processing “to extract business rules and data processing logic from legacy IT platforms like mainframes with assembly or COBOL languages.”
As for its recommendations for Congress and industry, MITRE offered the following three:
- Enact legislation similar to the Legacy IT Reduction Act of 2023 to ensure that the Federal government’s approach to legacy modernization spans subsequent administrations;
- Implement the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) Scorecard recommendations called for in ACT-IAC’s September 2022 report, including the IT Modernization Planning and Delivery Category; and
- Enlist industry to partner with Federal agencies on their IT modernization plans and execution against those plans. Industry could bring new ways of transitioning systems and software created during the past century to the current industry-prominent hardware and software platforms.
“Despite all the attention to this challenge, many agencies lack comprehensive IT modernization plans,” the report says. “Without a modern 21st century digital government, Federal agencies cannot fully harness the power of technology to advance their missions and improve citizens’ experience with the Federal government.”
MITRE has issued other reports for the incoming administration, including a report last month featuring recommendations on how to maintain U.S. science and technology (S&T) leadership and promote international collaboration.
