Management

Technology Is Changing the Future of Government

A new breed of government employees are changing how it operates, inside and out.

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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.

It takes a long time to become an overnight success.

That’s an old joke from Hollywood, but it applies to government these days. In just a few short years, government technology has reinvented itself, with both the technology it uses and the people and processes behind it.

Government looks drastically different today than it did just two years ago, as our feature “The New Face of Government” describes. In the story, we highlight five members of 18F, the government’s ninja-like team of technologists who are tasked with creating technology solutions for government problems.

18F reflects a new generation of government workers, raised with the startup mentality common in tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Austin, who want to improve government from the inside out.

“It’s not us versus them — it’s us. We are all in this together,” says Kara DeFrias, 18F’s deputy director.

Along with people, processes are changing too. In “More Than Just a Bill,” we look at FITARA and how it empowers federal CIOs. Going forward, CIOs will hold more authority over technology purchasing and human resources, structuring agencies more like businesses with a clear chain of command.

It took government a while to reach this point, but things are changing quickly. Pay attention, because today’s government technology ecosystem differs from any that came before.

Placing Security Under the Spotlight

The breach at the Office of Personnel Management has dominated the technology discussion since it occurred this summer. We look at the government’s response in “Out of Harm’s Way.” A number of agencies are relying on increased network visibility to catch cyberattacks before they happen; for more, read “Let’s Get Visible.”

We also shine a spotlight on shadow IT in “The Shadow Knows,” in which IT managers explain that while shadow IT poses security risks, it can also provide a gateway into the minds of employees.

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

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