Attempting to modernize without a comprehensive approach that accounts for an agency's culture, engages its workforce and addresses critical business practices can actually create new or additional challenges that limit effectiveness and negatively affect mission outcomes.
Few things will derail a project as fast as a lack of focus on mission outcomes and maintaining trust.
Many government agencies currently have components of zero trust already in their infrastructure, including identity credential and access management and continuous monitoring, so moving to a comprehensive zero trust model would just strengthen what is already there.
Reimagining form-based data collection as a shared service could transform many agencies' operations.
Without an extension to the legislation that compensates federal contractors unable to work because of pandemic-related facility closures, more people would lose their jobs, more companies could fold and the government could lose access to highly experienced and skilled members of their workforce who are critical to supporting national security, defense and other federal mission areas.
Defense agencies in particular are embracing the idea of blending development, security and operations from day one.
Governments today must resist the temptation to simply "modernize" outdated or obsolete IT systems or, worse yet, develop custom government off the shelf solutions that rely on open source projects that provide 'zero cost' software, but also bring no guarantees of support.
While this compliance may seem challenging, your company can be ready.
Productivity projections assume that federal workers and executives are widely empowered to make the most of the new AI tools at their disposal, but at present, this is not the case.
Crises are clarifying events, and the pandemic is making clear the limits of IT systems built for a different era.
As the dust settles and pandemic restrictions ease in the coming months, government agencies have a prime opportunity to shift from a state of reactivity to proactivity.
Why securing data and managing cyber risk must now become critical elements in agency ERM frameworks.