Modernizing Your IT Infrastructure

We all know that bringing together the old and the new seems to be all the rage right now. Think about the all the fashion comebacks we’ve been seeing like bellbottoms to chokers to denim everything. Everyone is looking for the right balance to bring the past into the present and future. When done right, this blending of past and present can result in a new modernization that’s its own new thing. You just have to make sure you have the right balance.

The federal government is part of this movement. They’re investing in innovative technologies to modernize. But IT leaders are concerned that the stability and security of legacy IT will be sacrificed in the process. During the online training, we heard from Jim Tunnessen, Chief Technology Officer from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Adam Clater, Office of the Chief Technologist, North American Public Sector from Red Hat.

Why is it important to discuss the modernization of IT infrastructure, you ask? In a recent GovLoop survey, 59% of over 500 government respondents said integrating new solutions with legacy systems was the main challenge to modernizing their IT infrastructure. We need to talk problems, challenges and solutions.

Tunnessen discussed the various modes that come into play when considering a multi-modal or bi-modal IT infrastructure and how the government should transition to successfully help their IT infrastructure. These modes include maintaining current systems and operation, rapid technology solutions and new technology and processes.

“Technology is always growing and improving and it is hard to keep up at times. The government needs to stay informed, have open communication and create an atmosphere of empowerment,” said Tunnessen.

Tunnessen and Clater both agreed with new technology, there will always be challenges and it will be rocky at times, but you need to be able to embrace the risk and move forward. New approaches will have to be tried and tested to find a strong IT infrastructure.

Clater discussed how the government is under pressure because of the increasing expectation and compliance. People are expecting faster services and applications but with the same low budget and not enough time. The seismic shift in enterprise IT is driven by expectations of consumers.

“The government needs to make small changes without having to make significant changes to the underlying infrastructure,” said Clater.

Staying organized with your leadership, remembering multi-modal isn’t a new idea, open communication and not being afraid to fail are things to remember when you are modernizing your IT infrastructure.