Government agencies generate and collect massive amounts of data, but have long struggled to extract value from all that information. Now the Federal Data Strategy provides a 10-year framework to “leverage the full value of federal data for mission, service and the public good,” and the signs of agencies’ seriousness are everywhere. Developing workforce data skills remains a challenge, while legacy systems continue to complic...

It’s been a decade since "Cloud First" was put forth as a formal goal of government. In that time, agencies have moved from wary experimentation to straightforward "lift and shift" efforts to, increasingly, enterprise as-a-service solutions. The question is no longer whether to leverage cloud servicers, but how best to do so. Yet as the easier moves to the cloud have been made, the remaining systems and workloads require decidedly more c...

Two years after the White House issued an executive order creating a national strategy for artificial intelligence, agencies are moving past pilot projects and are looking for the next level of AI in government. Although some of the most visible projects are at NASA, DOD and IRS, many agencies are working on developing AI projects that support services, improve mission effectiveness and decision making and automate repetitive tasks. There is a...

Most government agencies have made the journey to cloud since the Cloud First and Cloud Smart strategies came from OMB starting in 2010. Many organizations have more than one cloud. The challenge becomes blending the different types of cloud and service models to provide access to needed data, while at the same time protecting a much enlarged attack surface created by the large number of workers who are accessing the data remotely. If there is...

If there was ever a question about the role of information technology in healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic has answered it emphatically. Quickly analyzing large data sets and mapping the locations of cases around the world requires scale and power. Federal hospital systems (VA, Indian Health and Military Health System) are large users of the technology and the Department of Health and Human Services and its research centers fund research on a...

The Federal Data Strategy's action plan was reworked in response to the COVID-19 crisis, while state and local governments are simultaneously expanding health data initiatives and looking for more cost-effective data solutions. Add in the growing importance of data-intensive cyber threat detection and the broad potential of AI and automation, and it becomes clear: Agencies' data challenges are evolving rapidly, and a solid data strategy is mis...

Transforming the IT infrastructure for an agency is a complicated task that requires coordinated and effective decision making, buy-in from key executives and detailed data and security strategies -- not to mention funding for new technology or the move to managed services. This FCW Summit will discuss new policies and guidance that will govern these changes. In addition, agencies that are well into their modernization journey will share lesso...

IT modernization is a leap into the digital future, and cloud computing is its springboard. In the federal sector, cloud is quickening the advancement of mobile technology, data analytics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, agile computing, streamlined development models and advanced cybersecurity. The outcome is growing efficiency and effectiveness in agencies’ missions, improved customer service at agencies seeking to emu...