GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ARE AT AN IMPORTANT CROSSROADS.
For years they’ve faced mandates to Government modernize IT, but many have made limited progress. Now, with increasing citizen demands and other mission requirements, agencies are under pressure to adopt newer technologies. Faced with aging systems that are not up to the task — along with the need to reduce security risks and improve efficiencies — the cloud is emerging as the primary vehicle for transforming government agencies.
This IT modernization trend is essential to increasing efficiencies, flexibility, and scalability while also reducing risks. Given the limited IT resources in most government agencies, cloud services help minimize the need for maintenance and management, freeing agency personnel to focus on innovations that drive the success of mission objectives.
In the past, ensuring effective risk management has been a primary gating factor in government adoption of the cloud. But now, U.S. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorized secure cloud-based services are available to help accelerate modernization efforts. (FedRAMP provides a standardized approach for security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring of cloud products and services.)
Cloud services have also proven to help reduce security risks, improve efficiencies, drive initiatives to meet agency goals, deliver improved customer experiences, and achieve other mission objectives.
The Modernization Imperative Government agencies are facing a new level of urgency to modernize. In May 2017 President Trump issued an executive order tasking various agency heads to focus on strengthening the cybersecurity of federal networks and critical infrastructure.
An ensuing “Report to the President on Federal IT Modernization” was submitted to the President later the same year. The report “outlines a vision and recommendations for the Federal Government to build a more modern and secure architecture for Federal IT systems.” Its recommendations are grouped into two general categories: the modernization and consolidation of networks, and the use of shared services to enable future network architectures. The report “envisions a modern Federal IT architecture where agencies can maximize secure use of cloud computing [and] modernize Government-hosted applications.”
In December 2017 the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act was signed into law, providing funding mechanisms and technical expertise to help agencies implement security and modernization projects.