Chief information officers (CIOs) at the Commerce Department and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said Thursday that they are rethinking traditional IT planning and modernization approaches as agencies face rising pressure to deliver faster, more flexible digital capabilities.
Speaking at the Bethesda AFCEA Energy, Infrastructure and Environment Summit in Washington, Commerce CIO Brian Epley said rigid long-term planning models are no longer viable in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
“We wrote one five-year plan that seems ridiculous. No kidding. I mean, so much is going to change in between now and then,” said Brian Epley, CIO of Commerce, during the summit.
Instead, Commerce is moving toward a broader strategic framework that prioritizes adaptability while maintaining alignment with mission goals. Epley said the approach is designed to let the agency pivot more quickly as technologies and requirements shift.
That shift is similar to moves being made across government and industry, with organizations moving to continuous delivery and iterative planning, driving away from multi-year IT roadmaps.
At FERC, CIO Mittal Desai said modernization efforts are increasingly driven by user experience tailored to diverse employee needs rather than traditional security-first models alone.
That approach is underpinning a multi-year modernization effort that relies on cross-functional teams and rapid prioritization to guide investments. Desai said FERC has deployed artificial intelligence capabilities across roughly 70% of the agency over three weeks, but noted that governance and workforce readiness remain the primary challenges.
“The harder part was doing the planning, the governance, the security controls. Deploying the tools have been regularly the easiest thing in getting people up, skilled and trained,” Desai explained.
Desai added that workforce upskilling is central to sustaining modernization gains, with training programs spanning AI and data literacy as well as agile practices for non-technical staff. The goal, he said, is to create a digitally fluent workforce capable of maximizing the use of new tools.
Both CIOs agreed that modernization efforts must extend beyond technology to include underlying business processes – an area Epley identified as a persistent barrier.
“The other day, I filled out a form that had a date of 1974 on it … that’s not even technology; that’s legacy, but that’s process,” Epley said.
Epley explained that outdated processes alongside legacy systems remain a major barrier to deploying technology upgrades. By shifting to using workforce and customer needs to drive modernization efforts, he said agencies are using cross-functional teams to surface priorities and accelerate digital transformation.
Desai echoed that view, highlighting smaller operational changes – such as replacing email chains with collaborative tools – as opportunities to improve productivity and mission delivery alongside larger technology investments.