Page 31 - Federal Computer Week, July 2019

wasting money on O&M and deliver far more efficacy to American taxpayers at a much lower cost.
One only needs to remember the inexorability of Moore’s law, which states that computing capacity doubles about every two years. This accounts for why an iPhone is more powerful than the computers that put a man on the moon yet even teenagers in developing countries can afford them. When money is spent on operating old tech- nology, the government does not receive the benefits of Moore’s law.
Unfortunately, despite bountiful evidence of wasteful IT spending, Congress has yet to get serious about retir- ing the nation’s antiquated IT. In its most recent attempt,
Congress appropriated only $250 million for technology modernization to be spent in 2018 and 2019. Even worse, it appears only $25 million actually made it into the 2019 budget. In point of fact, $25 million for modernization is microscopic when compared to the $90 billion IT budget. With a modernization investment like that, can the gov- ernment be serious about the problem?
It’s possible we’ve been looking at this the wrong way. All legislative efforts at reform have been structured like the IT budget, easily fractured and lost like crumbs, and the focus of IT policy has been on forcing compliance at the component level rather than putting the emphasis on the entire government. What’s needed is the elevation of
the law has not always resulted in the major mission improvements envisioned, nor has it sufficiently addressed the federal govern- ment’s burden of legacy mission- critical applications. Many of those applications are archaic, to say the least.
The President’s Manage- ment Agenda has provided
a vision of how IT can improve mission out-
comes. Here are three important steps to mak- ing that vision a reality:
1. Make the CIO a strategic busi-
ness partner. To do
this requires improving engagement and commu-
nication between the CIO orga-
nizations and the business units. There is
no silver-bullet orga- nizational structure, but some type of
cross-pollination of staff needs to occur
by, for instance,
putting deputy CIOs or technical business partners in the business units. Another approach is to have business staff work in the IT shop to ensure that business require- ments are effectively addressed. In addition, the CIO’s performance should be measured by metrics tied to mission results.
2. Elevate and align the role
of the CTO with the CIO. Hav- ing the CTO (and CISO) weigh in on innovative technologies and mission-critical requirements, such as cloud technologies or artificial intelligence applications, is essen- tial. By taking a long-term view into the agencies’ research and development efforts, CTOs can ensure that new technologies are pursued in a strategic and timely manner.
3. Consider follow-on legislation to FITARA and associated poli- cies. Although FITARA improved the CIO position, CIOs still need to move beyond managing IT opera- tions and continue strengthening their authority. Congress and the Office of Management and Bud-
get might want to consider:
• Addressing the CIO’s relation-
ship with agency business units and the CTO (without mandating a structure).
• Requiring transparency of the top acquisitions that enhance mis- sion performance. Perhaps this can be accomplished through the IT Dashboard, a provision currently required under FITARA.
• Ensuring that agencies retire antiquated and insecure mission- critical applications.
Such renewed focus will help CIOs (as well as CTOs and CISOs) align better with the business units. Let’s take these next steps and truly bring the power of tech- nology to our many mission-critical challenges.
David Powner is director of strate- gic engagement and partnerships at MITRE. In his previous role at the Government Accountability Office, he oversaw the implemen- tation of FITARA and management issues related to the government’s annual IT spending.
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