IT Modernization

High-quality government software starts with efficacy, not efficiency

How will the government deliver high-quality, secure software that creates measurable outcomes? Not simply through efficiency.

OMB releases federal tech impact report as Biden admin winds down

Clare Martorana, the federal CIO, says she expects federal IT to stay bipartisan.

Republican lawmakers ask Trump to kill IRS Direct File

The new program intended to enable free, online tax filing directly with the government has garnered controversy and praise since its inception.

Ramaswamy cites legacy tech and fraud as early DOGE priorities

Department of Government Efficiency Co-Chair Vivek Ramaswamy called IT modernization “low-hanging fruit,” but reaping cost savings will take up-front investment — and time.

Biden looks to preserve tech, cyber legacy with veto threat

Experts see continuity in tech policy from the Biden administration to a possible Kamala Harris presidency, with possible divergence on some national security and antitrust issues.

Updated

Biden briefed on CrowdStrike IT outage as multiple federal systems impacted

Social Security offices are closed for the day due to the incident. It will be “time-consuming” for all affected systems to undo the damage because the process is manual, one expert says.

Hitting the gas at Energy

CIO Ann Dunkin talks FITARA, modernization and the challenge of managing IT in an environment driven by high-performance technology.

Why it's past time to modernize the FITARA scorecard

COMMENTARY | Another reset is needed to keep the FITARA scorecard relevant in driving IT management best practices across federal agencies

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.

Exclusive

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.