For once, the biggest problem with engineering effective IT modernization may not boil down to a lack of money to tackle the job. That conclusion was a top-line takeaway from Republicans, Democrats, and private sector experts at a hearing of the House Government Operations Subcommittee hearing today on how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed state and local governments’ antiquated IT systems, and what governments should do about it now that pandemic conditions are easing in many areas. […]

With the United States and the rest of the world emerging from the shadow of pandemic to reengage with whatever “normal” life brings next, demands for how government should provide vital services to citizens – and the IT resources needed to improve delivery of them – have changed the service equation for good. […]

As IT modernization has become essential for Federal agencies to meet their mission needs, agency leaders described digital modernization plans and shared some insight on how to modernize effectively and efficiently. […]

As Congress closes in on pushing through a historic funding increase for Federal IT modernization, former Federal IT officials gave the latest legislative advancement a warm welcome today and offered an early look at some types of projects that might benefit most from quick investments.  […]

The COVID-19 pandemic forced government agencies to innovate much more rapidly with their IT systems, and now Federal leaders are planning how to continue that momentum beyond the pandemic. […]

The age of government IT systems has negatively impacted agencies’ missions and their ability to attract young talent, according to a recent report. […]

Scaling out cloud connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for some Federal agencies, but continuing to do so will accelerate the government’s pace of IT modernization and its ability to better serve citizens, Federal officials said at a Feb. 2 event organized by ATARC. […]

A dozen tech-sector trade groups today urged House and Senate leaders from both major parties to include in coronavirus relief legislation President Biden’s proposal for $9 billion of new funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) that lends money out to Federal agencies to undertake IT modernization efforts. […]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is in the midst of an IT modernization plan that has made progress within the agency, but a new report from the Social Security Advisory Board’s (SSAB’s) Information Technology Systems Expert Panel pulls from prior efforts and outside expertise to offer suggestions on how SSA can improve its efforts. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) released its request for proposals for the Defense Enclave Services (DES) contract, an $11 billion, 10-year contract that will be key to IT modernization and consolidation among the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Fourth Estate agencies. […]

Tasked with distributing stimulus checks during the pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been hobbled by decades of insufficient funding and legacy IT causing agencywide inefficiencies at a time when Americans rely heavily on the agency’s services. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., an official from the Government Accountability Office, and the IRS commissioner all agreed today that sustained modernization funding is necessary to bring the agency up to date and meet mission critical objectives. […]

Department of Agriculture (USDA) CIO Gary Washington is crediting the agency’s modernization efforts for smooth service delivery and mass telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he’s also saying that the agency isn’t slowing down its transformation efforts as it looks toward a post-pandemic future. […]

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) official said on Sept. 16 that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking action on several major IT modernization and cybersecurity issues that GAO has flagged in recent years, but that the agency still has a lot of work to do to address many of them. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) made three new recommendations to the agency on improving its cloud adoption, data center migration, and legacy IT oversight efforts in a new report released August 10. […]

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved by voice vote today several tech-related legislative measures including S. 4200, which would direct the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish an IT modernization Centers of Excellence (CoE) program that would facilitate adoption of modern technology by executive branch agencies. […]

Federal agencies have simultaneously adjusted core functions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic while making substantial progress on implementing cross-agency priority (CAP) goals, says the July 2020 update of President’s Management Agenda (PMA) progress. […]

Across the Federal government, said Peter Ranks, deputy CIO for the information enterprise at the Department of Defense (DoD), and Jeanette Manfra, former assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, more holistic IT modernization is necessary both during and following government’s reliance on widespread telework. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent said today the rapid IT transformations that have taken place over the last two months of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic should serve as a proof point for what the Federal government is capable of going forward. […]

Federal CIO Suzette Kent this week applauded the capacity of commercial, cloud-based solutions in helping the government focus on mission continuity and response during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Information Management and Technology (OIMT) became the latest agency to partner with the General Services Administration (GSA) on a Centers of Excellence (CoE) initiative on May 7 to boost the agency’s technology modernization efforts. […]

The State Department workforce is at about 90 percent telework, with the remaining 10 percent performing duties not transferrable to telework such as driving, CIO Stuart McGuigan announced at the April 21 AFCEA breakfast. […]

While the sudden transition to mass telework may have created some initial hurdles for Federal agencies, Federal CIO Suzette Kent said that the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) IT modernization initiatives remain in full swing. […]

Since 2014, the beginning of CIO Joseph Klimavicz’s tenure, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has achieved $600 million in IT cost avoidance, reduced cyber risk by 70 percent, and streamlined its 23 email systems into one cloud-based solution. […]

Anil Cheriyan, Director of Technology Transformation Services (TTS) at the General Services Administration (GSA), said Dec. 11 that legacy, talent, and culture – not just technology – are the biggest challenges to IT modernization. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lacked the IT systems necessary to accurately track migrant families separated under the agency’s Zero Tolerance Policy, according to a DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report released on Nov. 25. […]

The United States Post Office’s (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Semiannual Report to Congress lists infrastructure modernization, IT, and cybersecurity as some of the agency’s most critical management challenges. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is looking to modernize its IT, and is looking for industry help to develop a new enterprise architecture, according to a request for information released October 3. […]

Agencies are mostly making progress on the White House’s IT modernization goals – with many goals completed, most remaining goals on track, and a few challenge areas – according to a President’s Management Agenda (PMA) update released September 19. […]

Federal cyber officials from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Cybersecurity of Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) highlighted today that IT modernization and implementing OMB’s guidance are some of their biggest priorities. […]

Legacy IT systems and limited authority for the agency’s CIO slowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) emergency response activities in 2017, according to an audit by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released August 27. […]