Tag Archives: Technology Modernization Fund

Unpacking Digital Transformation

Posted on by
Reply

At long last, Government agencies are getting some real support for their modernization and transformation initiatives. Through the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Congress is providing significant funding for updating or replacing legacy systems, with a focus on both improving the security of government systems and delivering better services. The opportunity, now, is to make those investments pay off. How can agencies cut delivery times and meet expected outcomes? Download the guide to access worksheets, step-by-step guidelines, government and industry insights, and other resources that can help agencies launch transformation initiatives—and deliver on them.

 

Supercharge Your Agency Service Management

“Using cloud solutions, organizations can automatically scale up their systems when constituent demand is high and down when demand is lighter. This enables agencies to be more responsive, efficient and constituent-friendly. Most federal agencies are going through a major digital modernization effort, replacing outdated/ legacy systems with cloud-based solutions, said Sandra Trumbull with Atlassian, a software-based company. And self-service — whether through guided prompts, artificial intelligence or other methods — is increasingly important because users are more empowered and typically obtain faster responses service teams have fewer headaches, agencies can lower their service costs, and everyone receives a better overall experience.”

Read more insights from Adaptavist’s Phill Fox, Principal Customer Success Advocate, and Atlassian’s Sandra Trumbull, Enterprise Solutions Advocate.

 

IIG GovLoop Digital Transformation Blog Embedded Image 2023How Agencies Are Driving Innovation to the Edge

“Not so long ago, Air Force communications meant radios that transmitted information about where to go and what was happening. Now, digital input is being delivered directly into the cockpit. ‘We’re talking about a situation where edge capability expands the envelope of the missions that we can get accomplished and changes the ways in which we can accomplish them,’ said Winston Beauchamp, Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Department of the Air Force. Currently, the service uses edge computing in its Agile Combat Employment, a scheme of maneuvers aimed at increasing survivability while generating combat power. If warfighters are under threat at fixed bases, they must move to alternate locations quickly — and those might not have all the infrastructure of a traditional base. ‘Edge technologies enable you to deploy to that location that you need to accomplish that mission without a huge footprint,’ Beauchamp said.”

Read more insights from Red Hat’s Government Symposium.

 

Data, Data Everywhere, but Not a Byte to Eat

“The first element of intelligent data management is visibility: Where is agency data located? And directly associated, Breakiron said, is accessibility, knowing how the agency organizes and uses its information, and what the data’s condition is. ‘We often find, especially in the government, in excess of 50% of the data hasn’t been touched for as much as five years,’ he explained. ‘And we also find that about 20% of the data, you couldn’t talk to if you had to.’ Commvault calls that “orphan data,” and it’s akin to having a VHS tape but no VHS player with which to view it. An intelligent data management system creates a tiered storage approach that identifies long-ignored information, allowing an archival model for ‘pennies to the dollar vs. thousands of dollars in storage costs,’ he said.”

Read more insights from Commvault’s Richard Breakiron, Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives for the Federal Sector.

 

Build a Functional Ecosystem Through Cloud Architecture

“While technology is at the core of a total agency transformation, Chang advised against having it ‘dragging process and then dragging people along.’ The process and the people need to move along with the technology instead of clinging to its shirttails. ‘One thing I would offer as a piece of advice, having done multiple transformations in the Federal Government, is invest in upskilling your people,’ said Chang. ‘If your people can’t use the technology — no matter how great the technology is — the organization as a whole does not move forward.’ For federal environments, he urged technology upskilling to improve employees’ data literacy, analytics awareness and coding abilities — or at least to provide a basic familiarity with those activities.”

Read more insights from Snowflake’s Winston Chang, Chief Technology Officer for the Global Public Sector.

 

How Open Source Database Technology Can Support Transformation

“Modernizing your applications and services without modernizing the underlying database is like buying a new car but installing your old engine. You’re just holding yourself back. That’s the experience of Enterprise DB (EDB), which provides tools and services to large organizations adopting PostgreSQL (Postgres), a relational database management system based on open source technology. Like other enterprise-grade, open source systems, Postgres helps organizations avoid the rising licensing costs and vendor lock-in that come with proprietary software, said Jeremy Wilson of EDB. But just as importantly, Postgres is rapidly replacing legacy, proprietary software as a platform for innovation.”

Read more insights from EDB’s Jeremy Wilson, CTO of North America Public Sector.

 

Transforming With Visibility and Agility

“Staff working their way through a digital transformation, such as a cloud migration, will need new skillsets. They’re going to use new services and capabilities — and none of them will be the same, Shopp said. SolarWinds helps users build knowledge, intelligence, configuration smarts and cloud awareness, he explained. ‘Intelligence in a box,’ as Shopp called it, is codified into SolarWinds products and helps agency employees monitor workloads. ‘When it comes to understanding your infrastructure and your workloads, no matter where they reside — on premises, the cloud or hybrid — we’ve got you covered,’ Shopp said.”

Read more insights from SolarWinds’ Brandon Shopp, Group Vice President of Product.

 

Observability Made Simple

“The task of monitoring these complex systems gets more complicated, too. ‘The question is, how do I know there’s an issue?’ said Brian Mikkelsen of Datadog. ‘Is it when the tickets start flowing, when complaints increase, when your leadership team asks why something isn’t working?’ None of those options is ideal. Datadog’s application performance management platform provides a real-time window into the digital environment, identifying performance and security issues — quickly. Its ‘full stack’ hybrid infrastructure capability means everything from the back end to the front end is monitored and reported via infrastructure metrics, application performance traces, and correlated logs.”

Read more insights from DataDog’s Brian Mikkelsen, Vice President and General Manager.

 

Download the full GovLoop Guide for more insights from these digital transformation leaders and additional government interviews, historical perspectives and industry research.

Fostering Trust in Government Agencies Through Customer Experience

Posted on by
Reply

Trust is the basis of every customer service endeavor which drives interaction between customers and agencies. As such, it is vital for government agencies to establish reliable service to properly meet customers’ needs. If employees can create an engaging customer experience, taxpayers will come back to the agencies for services that they can trust. With this pattern, the government can become the most authoritative information source for citizens.

One way to enhance trust is to improve customer service. Politeness fosters trust in customers, which can lead to smoother interactions. Having a quick turn-around time helps ensure the customers’ needs are being met. Government services should stimulate the free market by offering customers choices so that they can find a tailored solution. The timely, efficient service of private companies should be emulated in the public sector and has become a tax-payer expectation. In mirroring this service model, the public sector can build trust in their services.

Utilizing Government Initiatives

Another important way to build trust with customers is to meet them at their comfort zone. This differs amongst people. Generally, however, taxpayers want to easily gain the information and resources they need in the usual method and timeframe that they are accustomed to. Government services can be provided on a variety of platforms, such as websites, apps, social media, by phone and in person. This way, agencies can reach the greatest number of people possible in real time. Agencies must keep up with modernization to maintain trust between the public and the government.

Carahsoft CX Summit Series Blog Embedded Image 2022When interacting with taxpayers, agencies need to help remove the complexity from technology. If customers do not know how to navigate government websites and online services, then the aid will be futile. Customers should not be expected to understand agency charts or data just to receive benefits. As such, the public sector must prioritize strong customer service to improve customer experience.

Federal government initiatives, such as the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), provide support for technological efforts by financially prioritizing customer experience improvement. About $100 million of the funds will go towards improving CX for civilian end users that interact with U.S. government digital services.[1]Agencies should harness such government initiatives to improve upon services. This funding can be used to cut waiting times, eradicate duplicative administration paperwork and streamline access to government services, making the processes more favorable for customers.

Trust in Government

While providing customer support is important, creating effective solutions is equally vital for customer trust. Regardless of how emphatic an interaction is, if it results in an undesirable solution, then the public will lose trust in government agencies.[2] Trust must begin with adequate service, and so customer service must offer effective solutions to taxpayer problems.

Finding the right solution for each customer can be difficult. However, with continuous and effective communication, taxpayer’s needs can be fulfilled. Agencies can provide proper aid to help this process. Documents should be processed quickly and available on a multitude of platforms to reach the widest audience possible. Pensions and benefits must be properly paid out to their respective parties including veteran benefits, insurance or health care.

Customers need to be met on their own terms. For example, customer questionnaires should be straightforward and offered in the customers’ native languages. This eliminates any confusion or frustration on the customer’s part. When agencies use comparative analysis and satisfaction scores, they ensure the services are being provided in the desired manner. After gaps in service are found, the agencies must strategize to improve their training and deliverables. Agencies should use channel shifting such as email alerts to notify customers about updates, or when their document was properly submitted. They should also utilize reminders to alert taxpayers to finish documents. Agencies should not wait for customers to come to them to repeatedly address concerns. Employees must be proactive and engaging with their responses. Ultimately, no amount of communication is too much. Agencies should work to foster a trusting bond with customers.

The Importance of Fostering Trust

Through deploying proactive and diverse customer service, properly implementing technology and creating effective solutions, public sector agencies can provide a desirable customer experience that is both effective and efficient. With these adjustments, taxpayer’s trust in government will increase, allowing agencies to fulfill their duty to the people.

 

View the Government Customer Experience and Engagement Summit sessions to learn more about building trust to improve customer experience.

 

[1] “Tech Modernization Fund Launches Fresh $100 Million for CX Projects,” Nextgov, https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2022/06/tech-modernization-fund-launches-fresh-100-million-cx-projects/368273/

[2] “Experts Call for More Chief Customer Officers in Government,” FCW, https://fcw.com/digital-government/2022/06/experts-call-more-chief-customer-officers-government/368563/

Delivering Customer Service in the Federal Sphere

Posted on by
Reply

Customer Experience (CX) is vital to the government’s duty to serve the public. While each federal agency is unique, all must find a strategy that works for them in administrating customer service. The most helpful approach for the federal government is to make customer service accessible, friendly and beneficial across diverse agencies.

Customer Service is a Vital Part of Agencies

For customers, the main deciding factor in how they interact with an agency is their trust in it. To properly serve customers, agencies must improve the experience of taxpayers. Agency services should be straightforward, simple and quickly processable for customers. This will encourage customers to interact with agencies and to trust them with their information. Originally, the most accessible medium for government aid was physical papers. Many agencies still rely on this method. However, as the technological space changes, agencies must make government services accessible on a variety of different platforms, including computers and mobile devices. This way, government agencies can reach the greatest number of taxpayers possible.

Building Trust between Customers and Staff

Because of the diversity of the taxpayer base, customer service cannot be approached in a single, straightforward way. Instead, agencies must dedicate time to training personnel to create a multi-faceted approach. For example, delivering quality solutions allows agencies to focus on problem-solving to integrate customer feedback into their business strategies. They should enhance user experience so that customers can trust in the government.

Carahsoft CX Summit Series Blog Embedded Image 2022It is also important to take an internal approach. Quality customer service is equal parts providing the best personnel service and procuring proper solutions. Government services tend to be ad hoc and optimized, with a steady workflow that is processed swiftly and smartly. Typically, having a unique solution for each scenario is unrealistic in the government sphere, as it tends to lose work efficiency. On the other hand, having a standardized process tends to leave some customers without a desired solution. When outcomes feel suboptimal for customers, customer service strategies should come into play. Staff should be trained to handle a diverse customer base in an appropriate and varied manner. If staff handle grievances in an emphatic manner, that will build trust between the agency and the taxpayer, providing the most optimal service.

Delivering on Customer Service Promises

It is important to implement real efforts in improving customer experience. Government agencies can ensure valuable customer service by providing accountability in CX through an office or official that specializes in CX accountability. The federal government and select federal agencies that handle customer experience, such as high impact service providers, should have chief CX officers to provide accountability in service delivery initiatives across the fed landscape and agency level.[1] That way, agencies must continue to emphasize CX in federal government initiatives.

The federal government must commit to CX. The presidential administration agenda has validated these efforts by prioritizing user experience improvement. To jumpstart this effort, the federal government has allocated $100 million of the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) toward improving CX for civilian end users that interact with U.S. government digital services. Some of these funds will go to cutting waiting time, eradicating duplicative administration paperwork, and streamlining access to government services.[2] The administration hopes to improve delivery, which, according to the Federal Chief Information Officer and TMF Board Chair Clare Martorana, has previously not kept pace with the needs and expectations of the public. Efforts to improve this include deploying secure technology that will reduce costs for agencies, eliminating burdens on workforce, and meeting the public’s expectations.

Moving Forward

Customer service is a vital way to build trust between an agency and customer. In the federal government, genuine initiatives to improve CX must be addressed. This can be as simple as training personnel on handling customers, or as encompassing as creating a CX office. And as the world changes, the best approach to delivering CX will include tangible solutions, modernization and emphatic customer service.

 

View the Government Customer Experience and Engagement Summit sessions to learn more about delivering on customer experience promises amongst federal agencies.

 

[1] “Experts Call for More Chief Customer Officers in Government,” FCW, https://fcw.com/digital-government/2022/06/experts-call-more-chief-customer-officers-government/368563/

[2] “Tech Modernization Fund Launches Fresh $100 Million for CX Projects,” Nextgov, https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2022/06/tech-modernization-fund-launches-fresh-100-million-cx-projects/368273/

The Technology Modernization Fund’s Projects for Zero Trust Innovation

Posted on by
Reply

In the wake of the 2019 pandemic and its long-lasting effects, most agencies have begun adapting new security standards to meet changing needs. The 2017 government action plan, The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), aims to aid federal agencies with funding in order to accelerate the thorough completion of projects. While the TMF did not directly award grants for pandemic relief, many of its cybersecurity projects meet critical needs that were enhanced by the pandemic and working from home. Three of its major projects are centered around helping departments accelerate the transition to zero trust, the most effective security strategy. These projects focus on Zero Trust Architecture in the US Department of Education (EDU), Advancing Zero Trust with the GSA, and Zero Trust Networking with OPM.

Zero Trust Architecture

One project is the TMF’s funding of Zero Trust Architecture for the EDU. The TMF will invest $20 million into the department over a two-year span to strengthen the zero trust architecture in order to increase the security of citizen data maintained by the department.[1] This includes over a hundred-million students and borrowers that the EDU supports. The project’s goal is to improve security of data through strategy, architecture, design, and implementation roadmaps. The department will also have a catalog of services with Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) technologies.

Advancing Zero Trust

The TMF has awarded $29,802,431 to go toward the US General Services Administration (GSA) for advancements in zero trust.[1] As the GSA’s shared services support millions of users and hundreds of facilities, it is vital for the agency to advance their cybersecurity architecture. Through its TMF funding, the GSA intends to focus on three main areas:

  1. Users and Devices: The GSA aims to replace directory designs to meet new demands of telework and multi domain, hybrid cloud architecture. It will implement virtualization with security strategies, (including a single-sign-on multi-factor authentication option,) in order to:
    • Increase cybersecurity identification and protection
    • Add both equitable, online identity verification and in-person options for improved accessibility to vulnerable populations
    • Reduce the barriers to Login.gov by expanding the website features for both current and future users.
  2. Networks: By leveraging SASE solution and upgrading public buildings’ security network, the GSA hopes to add micro segmentation to secure networks.
  3. Security Operations: The GSA intends to adopt increased machine learning and artificial intelligence driven algorithms. This would help connect diverse data sources, highlight system threats, and provide managerial oversight.

Carahsoft TMF Zero Trust Blog Embedded Image 2022Zero Trust Networking

Finally, the TMF has allotted $9.9 million towards accelerating the adaptation of zero trust networking in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).[1] The OPM hopes to improve cybersecurity architecture across data, identity, devices and endpoints, network and environment, and application workload areas. They aim to use the TMF funds to reduce the surface area for attacks and increase managerial visibility over networks. In doing so, they will improve the security of data and privacy protections for over two million civilian federal employees.

Increased financial assistance allows companies to implement vital security measures. In 2015, OPM experienced a security breach for their personnel systems, which led to the loss of more than 20 million personnel records.[2] In order to solidify their systems, the OPM conducted research on zero trust before ever receiving funding. As a result of the TMF’s aid, the OPM can now implement this latest security architecture faster than anticipated. OPM has created five different teams to execute this: architecture engineering, cloud operations, service management, service automation, and migration.[3]

Government Services for the People

TMF is vital to accelerating and improving agency projects. With the extra funding, organizations can afford better oversight measures, such as non-company experts. The variety of security measures, such as managerial oversight, smaller attack surface areas, micro segmentation, and identity verification, that TMF aids are all vital to the changing work landscape. Even features such as expanding website attributes will enhance public connection to government agencies in a post-COVID-19 landscape. With this increased connection, the federal government can better achieve its goal of being for and by the people.

 

View Adobe’s Experience Cloud Demo page for more insights on Technology Modernization Fund and cybersecurity.

 

[1] “Investments: Advancing Zero Trust” The Technology Modernization Fund. https://tmf.cio.gov/projects/#advancing-zero-trust

[2] “The Awards Focus on Zero Trust and Include a Major Investment in the Login.gov Federal Digital Identity Solution,” FCW. https://fcw.com/security/2021/09/7-new-tmf-awards-include-one-classified-project/259192/

[3] “Technology Modernization Fund support awarded to 7 new agency IT projects,” FedScoop. https://www.fedscoop.com/opm-speeding-zero-trust-tmf/

Modernizing Cybersecurity & MultiCloud Services with TMF

Posted on by
Reply

What is TMF?

The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) is an action plan created as part of the 2017 Modernizing Government Act. The goal is to have a funding vehicle that would aid agencies in accelerating project completion. This is enacted via a loan which will be repaid based on individual project agreements. In order to implement and perfect technology modernization, the Technology Modernization Board (TMB) prioritizes projects that engage several agencies at once, address security gaps, and improve the public’s access to services. The TMB is responsible for eighteen different projects across ten federal agencies, seven of which were awarded American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to address urgent IT modernization challenges.

How it Works

The fund is overseen by the TMB, which is comprised of government IT officials and cybersecurity experts with expertise in technology, transformation, and operations. The board reviews IT-related project proposals submitted by government agencies to determine which projects deserve funding, and how much. Priority is given to proposals which meet certain criteria [1] such as improving security, increasing operational efficiency, and adapting scalable technology. Since its inception, the TMB has loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to agencies and programs such as Foreign Labor Application Gateway and Farmers.gov. Technology modernization proposals are sent to the board through a two phased approval process.

The first phase is the Initial Project Proposal (IPP). IPPs act as a low burden prescreening for both agencies and the Board. Agencies submit a rough outline of their project proposal, while only approved and unique projects go to the Board for review. In their proposal, agencies must discuss a general plan process and whether project funding has been explicitly denied or restricted by Congress.

The second phase, the Full Project Proposal (FPP), is submitted directly to the Board. FPPs must have a comprehensive description of the proposal, project milestones, and a funding schedule. Agencies should also have a pitch presentation prepared for the Board.

Once funded, TMF projects are reviewed quarterly by the Board to ensure milestones and schedules are met. Corrective action is implemented when necessary to help agencies remain on track, and technical experts are there to provide support to teams to improve capability and fix troubleshoot issues.

TMF’s Importance Today

The TMF process is helpful as it provides greater flexibility to agencies and funds technology modernization efforts by allowing repayment options and payback terms for up to five years. Across the board, government agencies have accelerated modernization efforts because they no longer need to wait for funding. Now, agencies can act and gain funding as the project goes on. Oftentimes, company departments that are overlooked by either the government or their own agency will go through the TMF to gain adequate funding for important projects. This financing shows that accountability and oversight make a difference. It allows agencies to provide new capabilities in a timely manner in a rapidly changing environment. Without the TMF loans, these contributions, delivery, and improvements would not be possible.

Modernizing Zero Trust

One of the eighteen funded projects allows the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to modernize legacy network systems and implement an advanced zero trust architecture [2]. Through technology modernization funds, the GSA will advance zero trust architecture by improving zero trust blocks. Firstly, the GSA will replace directory designs to meet the new expectations of hybrid cloud architecture. These updates will be multi-domain and multi-cloud applicable. Secondly, it will develop modernized enterprise single-sign-on that will include multi-factor authentication. This way, security will be improved by a micro-segmented authentication system that adheres to a zero trust strategy. Lastly, the GSA will add artificial intelligence and machine learning driven algorithms to help detect threats to systems. All together, these measures will help protect government clients’ sensitive information from bad actors.

Carahsoft Cybersecurity & MultiCloud TMF Blog Embedded Image 2022Data Modernization

Another project goal is to modernize the Department of Labor (DOL)’s enterprise data management and analytics capabilities. The aim is to improve the availability and analytic capabilities of data to developers, journalists, researchers, and other federal agencies. Currently, the DOL faces issues with data consistency, quality, and availability. Proposed improvements include incorporating predictive analytics software to report capabilities to the DOL’s IT department, and implementing data management capabilities and to support application programming interface (API). This would share data with both the DOL and the public. These efforts could aid in cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved services [2].

TMF and Multicloud Services

One initiative that the TMF has provided funding for is cloud-based security enhancements. So far, these include funding for:

  • The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to complete migration to the cloud for all applications ($500 thousand)
  • To the Department of Energy (DOE), to migrate enterprise emailing to the cloud ($3.7 million)
  • To the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to move critical business systems from on-premises databases to the cloud ($13.8 million) [3]

Single clouded services have limited control and less flexibility. With the combination of two or more public clouds, private clouds, or a combination of both, an agency will gain better control and oversight on the cloud. This will allow a customer’s sensitive information to be better protected. This is especially important in light of 93% of businesses are moving to multi-cloud architecture [4].

The Future of TMF

With the Technology Modernization Fund, government agencies are able to improve their cybersecurity, increase data management capabilities, and support the public they are created to serve. TMF acts as a mitigated process to gaining funding for projects. Due to the implementation of the TMF, improvements in security such as multi-factor authentication, API, zero trust, and segmentation were enacted in the federal government. Because of TMF, government agencies are better able to serve customers by keeping their information secure and meeting their constituents and employees’ needs in a modernized, efficient, and scalable manner.

 

View Adobe’s Experience Cloud Demo page for more insights on Technology Modernization Fund and cybersecurity.

 

[1] “Awarded Projects,” The Technology Modernization Fund. https://tmf.cio.gov/projects/

 [2] Miller, Jason. “Special Report: Benefits of Technology Modernization Fund Validated,” Federal News Network. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2020/11/special-report-benefits-of-technology-modernization-fund-validated/?_sm_au_=iVVnDfDJW3W3ZHZskN1JRKsp6MH81

 [3] Wiggins, Don. “Advance Your Government Mission with Secure Hybrid Multicloud,” Equinix. https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2021/02/16/advance-your-government-mission-with-secure-hybrid-multicloud/

[4]  Parmar, Dipti. “Why Organizations Need a Multicloud Strategy and How to Create One,” The Forecast by Nutanix. https://www.nutanix.com/theforecastbynutanix/technology/why-organizations-need-multicloud-strategy

3 Ways to Maintain Your Agency’s Focus on IT Modernization

Posted on by
Reply

Congress set the stage for IT modernization across the federal government by passing the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, allowing agencies to apply for a loan from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to update their legacy systems.

The theory states, with access to TMF funds, agencies can now improve innovation, enhance efficiencies, and strengthen their security postures. Continue reading →