Management

Technology Helps the Government Change Course Effectively

Advances in technology and culture let the government be more agile than ever before.

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Ryan Petersen has worked in publishing for more than two decades, most of it spent creating award-winning content and strategy for CDW’s family of tech magazine brands. As editor-in-chief, he works with his team to develop compelling and useful industry-focused stories to share with the technology world. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys spending time with his children, traveling, online gaming, and following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

Inside the Beltway, feds have long compared the government to an aircraft carrier: a large and powerful vessel that lacks the agility to quickly change course.

Those days would seem to be coming to an end.

As you read through this issue, you will see how technology leaders are bringing dexterity to government through cost-effective solutions that not only save money — which can be reinvested into newer technology — but also deliver efficiency.

Years ago, former federal CIO Steven VanRoekel encouraged agencies to “cut and invest” when it came to technology. Today, those efforts are paying off.

Creating Options

Hybrid clouds are a great example, as our story “Federal Agencies Begin Adoption of Hybrid Clouds” explains. Agencies such as the Transportation Department intend to use a mix of public and private clouds to build technology infrastructures that give them the flexibility cloud provides while maintaining a level of control they are comfortable with.

The same can be said with the increased use of automated technologies in data centers. The feature "Agencies Tap Automation Tools for Greater Data Center Efficiences," describes how agencies such as the Coast Guard invested in advances in hardware and software to improve data center performance, while freeing personnel to tackle more important and mission-driven tasks.

This type of innovation also takes center stage in the article “Migrating to New Technology While Maintaining Old IT,” which details how technology leaders manage bimodal environments. Government tech leaders know that they must bring in emerging technologies to help their agencies grow while also maintaining legacy systems still used to run critical functions.

App-etite for Information

The desire to continuously innovate on behalf of our readers is one of the reasons we built the CDW Digital app, which features CDW’s family of technology magazines, Technology Insights guides, solutions publications, white papers and more. Download CDW Digital today from iTunes, Google Play or the Windows Store.

We hope you enjoy this issue. Share your federal government success stories and feedback with us on Twitter at @FedTechMagazine.

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