IT Modernization

Overcoming technical debt and accelerating modernization

COMMENTARY | High performance in IT requires an ability to adapt, preparing the organization to seize future opportunities and tackle upcoming challenges efficiently.

Automation helped VA approve 1 million PACT Act claims, officials say

The agency is relying on automated decision support and other optimization efforts to help process claims for veterans exposed to burn pits and other chemicals.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel details his hefty tech to-do list

Enabling taxpayers to fully interact with the IRS digitally is a “generational imperative,” the agency head said.

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Senate bill looks to chop through red tape in procurement

The bipartisan legislation aims to both expand access to special acquisition authorities and give new, innovative contractors more opportunities to work with the government.

Federal weather system experiences outage amid severe weather nationwide

The agency is seeking money to shore up weather forecasting IT systems in fiscal year 2025.

Export control agency lacks funding and tech to manage its workload, official says 

The head of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security gave lawmakers “an emphatic no” when asked if his office has the IT resources it needs to carry out its mission.

Agencies contend with new metrics, another missing hearing for FITARA 17.0

Cracks are showing in the usual, bipartisan buy-in for oversight on FITARA progress.

How federal agencies can accelerate IT systems modernization with AI

AI can explain older programming languages, assist in developing new code and expedite vulnerability remediation.

NDAA provision looks to close cybersecurity gaps in nuclear weapons systems

The requirement included in the fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill follows a 2022 GAO report that found the National Nuclear Security Administration did not fully implement “foundational cybersecurity risk practices.”

Why smart multicloud policies are a golden ticket to modernizing IT infrastructure

COMMENTARY | A multicloud approach to cloud computing is used for better data control, allows access to the best services from each provider, and offers more flexibility as IT leaders can optimize workload placement based on workload requirements.

IRS hits key digitization goal months ahead of schedule

Although Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plugged progress in IRS efforts to tame paper in the agency, she also emphasized that “playing politics with IRS funding is unacceptable.”

Raylene Yung exits TMF

Jessie Posilkin, currently the Technology Modernization Fund's customer experience portfolio director, will take over as acting executive director until a permanent candidate is selected.

The White House’s tech team, 10 years after HealthCare.gov

Mina Hsiang, the administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, was on the team that saved the flawed website supporting Affordable Care Act enrollment 10 years ago. Now, she leads the tech team born from that crisis.

TMF adds guidance for IDEA Act proposals

Agencies have until Sept. 22 to send in submissions for funding.

The White House is developing a 10-year modernization plan to replace legacy IT

The National Cybersecurity Strategy tasks the Office of Management and Budget with creating a plan to eliminate all vulnerable legacy systems from federal agencies within a decade.

'High volume’ of last-minute PACT Act submissions caused tech glitches, VA says

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough stressed that no veteran or survivor who received an error message “will miss out on a single day of benefits due to this issue.”