America created the internet and now it’s time the government had the proper infrastructure to safely take full advantage of it, according to a blog post by U.S. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott about federal IT modernization.
Approximately 78 percent of the $82 billion federal IT spending planned for 2017 is earmarked for maintaining legacy IT investments, the post read, and with the increasing need to leverage cutting-edge technologies to strengthen governmentwide cybersecurity and protect citizen information, the administration is looking to identify and prioritize systems in need of upgrades.
Announced as part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the proposed guidance to overhaul antiquated systems is being released for public comment to start the government down the path to target high-risk, high-priority systems in four phases.
The steps include developing updated enterprise road maps for the Office of Management and Budget; identifying and prioritizing systems with criteria developed by OMB and the General Services Administration; developing modernization profiles for systems needing updates, retirement or replacement; and executing the actions that reduce security risks and legacy IT spending.
“Moving the federal government to modern infrastructure, such as cloud-based solutions, is a fundamental necessity to building a digital government that is responsive to citizen needs and secure by design,” Scott wrote. “Doing so will enhance agencies’ ability to protect sensitive data, reduce costs and deliver world-class services to the public. No one change is the silver bullet, however. Rather, this is a sustained effort that will ensure the federal government can best serve the American people in the 21st century.”
Those interested in submitting input on the proposed guidance can do so for 30 days by visiting policy.cio.gov.
