In a recent article on Government Computer News, Chris Borneman, VP of Software AG Government Solutions, discussed the importance of IT portfolio management to the digital transformation process and general mission success as well as necessary enterprise architecture (EA) to support it.
According to Borneman, proper IT portfolio management not only helps agencies better understand which parts of their legacy systems are redundant or obsolete, but it also helps pave the path forward towards a renewed, more transparent system.
He wrote, “This visibility is key as many agencies continue to struggle with requirements of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). The recent 2017 report to Congress shows — for the first time –more agencies’ performance declined than improved over the prior year.”
Because conducting an enterprise-wide IT inventory is daunting to say the least for many federal agencies, more organizations are looking to IT planning and portfolio management tools to support the IT inventory and analysis process across different systems and physical locations. This means eliminating inconvenient physical and manual inventories that don’t provide the visibility into how an agency’s IT assets tie to the mission.
To be most effective, these IT portfolio management tools must be supported by an engaged enterprise architecture (EA). Borneman stated, “Now more than ever, enterprise architects are in a position to be the connective tissue holding diverse perspectives together — from the executive, technical, financial and resource management ranks.”
Borneman goes on to share four critical steps that public sector organizations must take to ensure successful EA outcomes to support their digital transformation efforts. Here are a couple highlights from his key steps:
- Build a robust digital platform integrated with the business ecosystem to support all customers (internal and external), contractors and partner agencies.
- Leverage IT analytics and the data generated by internet-of-things devices to challenge standing assumptions and adjust business and operational models.
Read the entire article here.
