The IT industry moves at a rapid-fire pace, so it is vital for CIO’s at federal agencies to keep their fingers on the pulse of the industry. However, while the appetite for improvement is insatiable, funding is limited. The technology and capability for greater cybersecurity protection is there, for example, but it is not always within fiscal means for agencies to take advantage of them.

In our latest podcast with James Yeager, Federal Director for Tanium, Federal Technology Insider asked him to discuss the issue of funding and its relation to the evolution of IT in government agencies.

“There’s simply too much going on, and not enough to go around to solve all the problems,” Yeager explained.  He said that in order to combat the finite economic backing that is available, CIO’s must concentrate on making their spend more effective, particularly in the area of IT portfolio management.

Holding governmental entities accountable for all economic transactions, from Yeager’s viewpoint, will lead to a strong increase in productivity.  Essentially, he is calling for a private sector mindset to be applied to public sector entities.  This approach has already been taken in several federal agencies. One such example is the Department of Justice, which turned to executives from the private sector for assistance.

An additional problem that entities run into while dealing with IT modernization is the acquisition process, which seems to stay stagnant while the entire industry evolves. Yeager says that a priority for the federal government would be to solve the problem of too many roadblocks in the procurement process, which in turn ties the hands of an organization that wishes to spend the money, but can’t due to procedural complications.

Listen to all that Yeager shared about IT modernization in the federal government here.