As the government moves increasingly towards digital infrastructure, geopolitical tensions rise, and individuals access more endpoints from more locations than ever before, a strong cyber posture must be embedded in everything agencies do. Policy guidance such as the cyber executive order, NIST’s updated security risk framework, and the Cyberspace Solarium’s recommendations offer strategic direction while tactical playbooks such as...

From Cloud First to Cloud Smart policies, cloud computing has underpinned much of government’s IT modernization for the past decade. The importance of cloud adoption took on an increased urgency over the past two years as agencies needed to quickly and securely enable remote work for thousands of employees. Now, as agencies at all stages of their cloud journey develop the next generation of cloud strategy, issues around security, enterpr...

As the Continuous Diagnostic and Mitigation (CDM) program matures, it continues to evolve its capabilities to help federal agencies improve their security posture. From access to critical executive dashboards and shared services to guidance on secure acquisition strategy, CDM offerings provide a dynamic approach to fortifying the cybersecurity of government networks and systems. The increased focus on cybersecurity following President Biden...

Health technology has rapidly evolved to meet the changing needs of government agencies, health care providers, and patients during the pandemic. Many of these innovations, such as telemedicine, virtual reality training, and streamlined user experiences, are here to stay. However, there is still work to be done to realize the full potential of health IT. At the heart of this innovation, and its challenges, is data. When properly managed, data-...

Modernization is a Journey, not a Destination. Federal agencies raced to update their systems and move as many programs as possible to the cloud during the pandemic. But federal leaders realize that modernization is a continuing process that includes, but is not limited to, updating IT equipment and data centers. It also means upgrading networks and connections, software and services, security, workforce, and acquisition processes. At this sum...

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, edge computing, iterative software development, wireless networking, and data management all offer federal agencies an edge in their digital transformations, as well as their abilities to forge better services and address missions. Along with those technologies, however, come many challenges that require constant recalibration of plans and capabilities. The last two years forced agencies to adapt to e...

When DOD rolled out its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program in 2020, it was designed to secure the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in systems used by contractors in Defense Industrial Base that support business and warfighting efforts. Initially, an independent accreditation body was to certify a group of third-party assessment organizations. The plan ran into a number of obstacles as industry organizations questioned...

For almost three decades, governments at all levels have been working to improve the way they deliver services and benefits and engage with their customers---both internal and external. Efforts from past administrations focused on modernizing infrastructures and improving digital delivery, as well as gathering feedback from the public on how well the services were delivered. The Biden Administration has made customer experience one of its thre...

Just as technology has been constantly changing and evolving, so has DOD’s strategy for the best way to modernize the tools it provides to the warfighters and their business support services. In 2018, the agency released a strategy to use cloud technology, which has been revised over the intervening years to reflect the cancellation of the JEDI contract and the adoption of DOD’s Software Modernization Strategy. The new strategy set...

Emerging computing technologies—from cloud, to edge, to machine learning, artificial intelligence and others—are helping agencies to achieve better, faster, cheaper processing and problem solving, as well as more efficient applications. With their increasing incorporation into federal agencies’ everyday operations, these technologies also bring challenges, from security to operational and data privacy issues. Cloud computing...