Cloud

Tackling Hybrid IT Infrastructure Challenges in the Government Sector

Modernization initiatives remain a formidable challenge for federal agencies.

Travis Galloway is Director of Government Affairs at SolarWinds.

Cloud technology has rapidly transformed the private sector over the past five years. Federal departments and agencies across all domains are taking a measured, strategic approach to evaluating the long-term value of migrating to the cloud. As the federal government continues to shift some assets to the cloud, agencies that manage sensitive information are still required to maintain on-premises systems, resulting in complex hybrid IT infrastructures that span both on-premises and cloud environments.

The ideal hybrid IT infrastructure for the federal government should seamlessly integrate on-premises systems with secure, scalable cloud services. This enables mission agility, enhances cybersecurity posture and ensures continuity of operations across diverse and evolving threat landscapes. Unfortunately, many federal IT teams are currently facing challenges in fully leveraging their infrastructure to realize the possible benefits.

According to the SolarWinds Next-Gen Government IT: AI and Observability Insights Report, while the public sector relies heavily on the cloud, there has been a decline in on-premises or traditional data center usage, which was the most common environment in 2023.

Federal IT teams are navigating uniquely complex challenges inherent to the public sector, including the vast scale of operations and continued reliance on aging systems, some of which date back to the 1980s. With over $130 billion spent annually on IT across the federal government, maintaining and evolving the right hybrid IT environment for each agency’s mission requirements remains a formidable task, demanding strategic coordination, modernization and resilience.

With the right hybrid IT network observability tools, federal government organizations can more easily navigate some of these complexities to maintain continuity of operations across the globe when it matters most.

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Budget Constraints Limit IT Modernization Initiatives

In addition to complex, aging systems, 65 departments, agencies and commissions employ more than 4 million in the Executive Branch alone. It’s important to understand a few more of the major challenges public sector IT leaders are facing when trying to optimize their hybrid environments. They have been forced to operate under continuing resolutions for the last 20-plus years, creating burdensome IT infrastructure sustainment and investment challenges.

For example, according to the SolarWinds report, a little more than a quarter (28%) of federal government IT leaders said budget constraints hinder their ability to sufficiently maintain or improve IT security to accomplish their mission. Then, the proliferation and pace of technology as it relates to many of the current statutory regulations and requirements associated with software acquisition in the federal government do not allow government agencies to move as fast as private organizations when it comes to acquiring and implementing new technologies.

Despite the many challenges federal IT teams face, there is progress: The SolarWinds report notes that 6% of public sector IT leaders have already completed their digital transformation journey — a testament to what’s possible with the right strategy and tools.

With pressure to reduce the size of government and cut costs, the imperative to consolidate, modernize and automate has never been greater. Achieving operational efficiency without compromising mission capability requires a holistic approach to modernization — one that spans the entire technology stack and operational processes.

A Path Through the Complexities

To navigate the complexities of hybrid IT — from legacy systems and compliance requirements to cybersecurity and scalability — agencies are increasingly turning to intelligent observability solutions to visualize their networks, eliminate silos and optimize the health and performance of their systems. These tools provide the insight required to optimize the performance and resiliency of on-premises and cloud-based resources needed to manage large, complex and distributed environments and scale infrastructure to meet emerging requirements.

Observability is central to this effort. It enables agencies to integrate legacy and modern systems across on-premises and cloud environments while reducing operational noise and addressing root causes rather than symptoms. By implementing a comprehensive observability strategy with the support of artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps), IT leaders gain a unified view of their infrastructure through a single pane of glass, enabling real-time assessment of system health, resource utilization and mission readiness from anywhere in the world. This end-to-end visibility empowers IT operations, DevOps and cybersecurity teams to proactively detect and resolve anomalies, streamline workflows and focus on mission-critical priorities — all while advancing toward a more efficient, secure and future-ready federal IT environment.

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Achieving the Benefits on the Other Side of Complexity

Navigating the intricacies of modern technology, from cybersecurity and legacy infrastructure to workforce modernization, is a strategic imperative for today’s federal IT leaders.

These challenges, while significant, must not stand in the way of progress. In the face of increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats from both criminal and nation-state actors, the federal government must prioritize building secure, agile and resilient hybrid IT environments. Doing so is essential not only for mission continuity and national security but also for sustaining U.S. leadership in global innovation.

By embracing advanced observability, automation and AI — and by collaborating with trusted industry partners — federal agencies can modernize with confidence, ensuring their infrastructure is ready to meet the demands of today and the uncertainties of tomorrow.

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