5 Tech Trends to Watch
According to Gartner, here are the top technology trends that government chief information officers should watch.
Adaptive Security: Artificial intelligence will rapidly become a standard part of most threat detection and incident response plans, augmenting not replacing staff.
Digital Identity Ecosystems: Government agencies could play a vital role in the development of systems for managing the use of digital identities across the public and private sectors.
AI for Decision Intelligence: Machine learning, analytics and generative AI will help enhance human administrative decision-making and improve government service delivery.
Digital Platform Agility: Commercial cloud services and low-code application platforms will enable agencies to develop and deliver new services more quickly while also controlling costs.
Programmatic Data Management: AI-based automation platforms will help agencies enhance their use of data in decision-making and planning enterprise-wide.
Follow the Money
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) injected $1 billion into the federal government’s Technology Modernization Fund, with a focus on supporting four key areas. Here is how that funding played out across 52 total investments:
- 81% Modernize high-priority systems
- 83% Address cybersecurity needs
- 65% Improve public-facing digital services
- 54% Support cross-government collaboration and scalable services
Emerging Tech Causes Modernization Heartburn
Federal agencies increasingly are looking to accelerate their adoption of emerging technologies. But there’s a catch: Many modern solutions require a modern infrastructure. That is a big concern of federal IT leaders, according to the recent EY Center for Modernization survey of public-sector officials. The survey found:
- 64% of federal respondents were worried that their infrastructure could not handle emerging tech.
- 69% were also worried about having enough funding to modernize the infrastructure.
- 42% were concerned about outdated hardware.
- 35% were concerned about outdated software.
States Bet Big on Consolidation
In their efforts to improve the delivery of services to agencies, many state chief information officers (CIOs) are consolidating/centralizing different aspects of IT operations, according to a recent survey by the National Association of State CIOs. Top areas include:
- 90% — Consolidating infrastructure
- 69% — Consolidating services
- 64% — Centralizing IT project management/oversight
- 60% — Centralizing tech procurement in CIO organization
- 48% — Consolidating IT personnel in central office
The Aging IT (and HR) Workforces
To benefit from modernization, agencies must ensure their employees have the skills to work with new technology. One concern, according to a study by the Partnership for Public Service, is that in many agencies, IT employees, and the human resources employees who help hire them, are an aging population.
“This trend is good for institutional knowledge and continuity, but an ominous sign for the future,” the report states. “Agencies must do a better job recruiting and retaining younger workers in these fields to prepare for future challenges.”
This article appeared in our guide, “Agencies Draw a New Modernization Blueprint.” To learn more about how agencies are updating legacy systems, download it here:
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