The race to digital transformation and IT modernization is on for federal agencies, and many are embracing technologies, such as software-defined data centers (SDDC), to create efficiencies, serve constituents more effectively and improve citizen engagement. To be successful, however, federal CIOs should take five key actions and be able to address concerns around implementation and security. In this roundup, we find that the Census Bureau has raised questions from auditors about its 2020 count, and we learn why federal agencies are embracing SDDCs, the five actions agencies can take to effectively move to modernization and why military bases should consider technologies already in use in smart cities across the nation.
Census Underestimates Costs of 2020 Count
The Census Bureau is planning to employ an unprecedented scale of technology to save more than $5 billion in its 2020 recording. But several oversight groups have questioned the numbers. According to its 2015 plan, the Bureau is spent $17.8 billion on its 2010 Census and is projecting the need for $12.5 billion for the 2020 Census. Auditors from the Office of Inspector General (IG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) both have questioned the estimate. Read more here.
Feds Are Embracing Software-Defined Data Centers for Flexibility, Cost Savings
Recent federal government initiatives, including “cyber sprint,” the Data Center Optimization Initiative, which requires agencies to house at least four virtual servers per each physical server, and the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, which gave CIOs more authority to embrace technologies such as software-defined networking to increase the manageability of IT while decreasing costs, have spurred the adoption of software-defined data centers (SDDCs).
Read more here.
5 Tips to Help Agencies Win the Digital Race
The race to digital transformation and IT modernization is on for federal agencies, as they continue to try to gain efficiencies, serve constituents more effectively and improve citizen engagement. To find and implement the IT tools and methodologies for successful transformation, agency chief information officers, enterprise architects and IT portfolio managers should take five key actions, according to a Tech Insider post. Find out what the five key actions are here.
Making the Case for Smarter Military Bases
Taking advantage of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IOT), analytics, wireless sensors, automation and robotics could “enable more economical operations and help military staffers make better decisions,” according to a recent commentary in Wired. Government Computer News followed up with the author to expand on his ideas and learned that his ideas stemmed from looking at how things are already being done in cities today and comparing them with how “military bases look now and have looked for the last 50 years.” Want to find out more about the case for smart military bases, you can do that here
