Management

Why Simplicity Is Essential for Federal IT

As systems grow size and scope, solutions that reduce complexity are essential.

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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.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Leonardo da Vinci said.

It’s hard to find a CIO who would disagree. New technologies bring amazing capabilities. Federal IT systems can accomplish feats that were difficult to imagine a few decades ago. But new systems also create complexity, making every IT professional’s job difficult.

The data center serves as a prime example, as advances in areas such as server virtualization and storage have made operations increasingly complex. A Deloitte survey released in late 2016 found that 46 percent of IT executives identified “simplifying IT infrastructure” as a top priority.

Mobility and the cloud also contribute to the complication. Users are moving far beyond the network perimeter, and they demand greater capabilities from both devices and applications.

When it comes to security in an increasingly complex IT ecosystem, data is more difficult to protect and threats are continuously evolving.

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Feds Can Simplify Data Centers and Security

For federal techology professionals, solutions that simplify IT are essential. These include automation features that handle mundane tasks so IT professionals can focus on less common issues.

Advanced management tools also simplify oversight of far-flung systems that have multiple components, whether they be mobile deployments or data center operations.

Technologies aimed at reducing complexity can be found throughout the federal government. The feature “How Hyperconvergence Simplifies Agencies' Data Centers” highlights how hyperconverged infrastructure enables federal IT pros in numerous agencies to consolidate data center equipment while also providing comprehensive management control.

In some cases, policy changes are all that’s needed to simplify operations. For example, security experts have long recommended that users change their passwords regularly. But the confusion such a policy creates may outweigh the benefits. A simpler option — longer passwords — may be the more secure choice, as the article “It's Time to Question Longstanding Password Security Best Practices” addresses.

For agencies mired in complexity, such minor changes can have a major impact, as long as they make things simpler.

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