Page 33 - FCW, March/April 2021

Commentary|BY DAVID WENNERGREN
DAVID WENNERGREN is CEO of the American Council for Technology- Industry Advisory Council.
Seizing the chance to accelerate modernization
An influx of funding for TMF provides an opportunity to transform government — if we move with speed and purpose
The passage of the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided good news for those who care
about accelerating government mission outcomes because it
made significant funding available for technology modernization, cybersecurity, digital services and customer experience. Of particular note was the provision that added $1 billion in funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF).
TMF was established under
the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017 to help accelerate IT modernization efforts at federal agencies. At the time, many agencies were spending
80% or more of their annual IT budgets on sustaining aging legacy infrastructure and systems rather than implementing new, Digital
Age solutions. The premise behind TMF was sound: By providing a cash infusion to help jump-start modernization efforts at an agency, TMF could help organizations
break free from legacy solutions that consumed their budgets and anchored them to infrastructure and software no longer supported by the manufacturer.
Although the $175 million provided to TMF in its first few years of operation may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the $90 billion annual federal IT budget, the projects funded through TMF have focused on important efforts to advance the modernization plans of several agencies.
Against this backdrop, the
announcement that TMF would receive an almost tenfold infusion of cash has captivated the interest of the federal technology market, and it is worth giving some thought to how to effectively use that money.
It’s important to first focus on suitable ways to spend
IT modernization must keep up with the pace of technology change.
modernization funding. Although the list of potential funding priorities is extensive, good outcomes would result from focusing on investing in:
• Further acceleration of cloud migration.
• Ways to address the thousands of legacy systems and applications that still exist.
• Digital transformation efforts, with a focus on customer experience.
• Data availability and analytics. • System resiliency.
• The adoption of emerging
technologies, including intelligent automation, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and augmented/virtual reality.
Regardless of the exact priority order, all modernization efforts must ensure that enhanced cybersecurity is baked into the solution, rather than bolted on as an afterthought.
In addition, once a set of priorities has been articulated, it is crucial that the process for identifying, approving and successfully implementing projects with
TMF money be accelerated and streamlined. Less than $100 million has been cumulatively awarded to TMF projects, which indicates that the process should be optimized to ensure the timely flow of funds for new projects.
Finally, it is crucial that our collective goal is a focus on mission outcomes. TMF projects must deliver results that matter and demonstrate measurable improvements in the delivery of services.
We are at an inflection point. After years of funding TMF in small bites, Congress has dramatically increased the resources and priority of this work. Investments must be made and measurable outcomes achieved in rapid fashion.
If the fund is only drawn down
by a small percentage a year from now or if quantifiable improvements can’t be celebrated, it is doubtful that there will be any appetite for significant additional funding in the future. While $1 billion should make a noticeable difference, we must remember that it will take far more than that to transform the entire federal technology business.
IT modernization must keep up with the pace of technology change. We have an opportunity today that we must seize and not let pass us by. n
March/April 2021 FCW.COM 31