Page 32 - FCW, May/June 2018

IT TRANSFORMATION
RECENT YEARS HAVE SEEN progress in modern- ization, innovation, cybersecurity and cloud migration. But a complete overhaul of IT requires time, planning and more than a little patience because, despite the lightning-quick speed of change in technology, transfor-
mation is not a race but a journey.
Although modernization is part of it, true IT transformation goes
beyond simply upgrading existing technology and instead seeks to revolutionize the way agencies operate and deliver services.
Several factors are driving those efforts. One is money. About
70 percent of the $95.7 billion federal IT budget in fiscal 2018
goes to operating and maintaining existing IT investments. In
fiscal 2019, the government is expected to spend $22.2 billion on major investments and $61.2 billion on non-major ones, according to the federal IT Dashboard. Furthermore, the Government Accountability Office found that spending on development, modernization and enhancement declined by $7.3 billion from fiscal 2010 to 2017.
That trend has led to another motivator for IT transformation: federal regulations. The Trump administration has made IT
transformation a priority and vowed to not just modernize outdated IT systems, but take a “holistic approach to federal IT that fundamentally transforms how agencies accomplish their missions,” according to the administration’s fiscal 2018 budget document. “This approach entails reengineering underlying business processes and leveraging modern IT solutions, such as cloud and shared services, that drive efficiency and scale.”
In that same vein, Congress passed the Modernizing Government Technology Act in December 2017. It authorizes up to $250 million for a Technology Modernization Fund from which agencies could draw to help pay for IT updates. In March, Congress earmarked $100 million for the fund as part of an omnibus spending bill.
Finding help along the way
A third driver is rooted in the government’s ability to deliver services and engage with citizens in a meaningful way. People experience a high level of fast, seamless service from the private sector every day as they bank, shop, seek information and keep
up with friends online. And they expect the government’s digital services to match or exceed the quality of what commercial entities
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Government agencies are embarking on a long and complex journey to efficiency and effectiveness
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