2020 Federal Government Technology Priorities
There are only two months left in the calendar year and the federal government is already several weeks into fiscal 2020. Given this, the current administration has started to outline its technology initiatives for the coming year, focusing on identity management, supply chain, network monitoring, and IT modernization.
IT modernization is something that the government has always seemed to be in need of, and this year has seen concrete steps to progress, particularly through the Technology Modernization Fund. The TMF recently authorized grants to the Department of Agriculture and the Equal Opportunity Commission, bringing the total grants awarded to nine, and the fund to less than 20% of its endowment.
Agencies may have to concentrate more on their own funds going forward, though, as next year’s budget negotiations make no guarantees of the TMF being replenished. Agencies may be able to realize IT dollars as they use modernization to reduce burdensome manual activities, as we’ve seen with groups like HUD and GSA, which implemented robotic process automation technology to reduce thousands of hours of employee time.
While the administration is pushing for advancement within government agencies, the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Council is hoping to lock down agencies from disreputable vendors. New criteria will allow the government to better assess the risks of different vendors and their products, while the council itself will label certain vendors as problematic, opening up the possibility of a complete government contracting ban for offending parties.
Identity management will be another big focus of the coming year, ranging from employees and contractors of agencies like the Department of Defense to the ever-increasing number of services that reach citizens directly, often through their mobile phones. The trend is to move toward a policy of zero-trust, which allows for fewer opportunities for an account to be compromised. eti
All of this will be supported by cybersecurity staff, who will benefit from an increase in cyber training programs and automated continuous monitoring programs to free them up to work on tasks more suited for human intervention.
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