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THE STATE OF AFFAIRS OF FEDERAL IT MODERNIZATION

How Agencies Can Achieve Straight A’s

▸ As federal agencies strive to improve the citizen experience, IT modernization is a key priority, with security around cloud computing and identity management at the forefront. Yet with the focus on security, are agencies making equal progress in the process and technology factors that lead to success? To find out, Unisys commissioned Market Connections to conduct a study.

AUGUST 2017

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The State of Affairs of Federal IT Modernization: How Agencies Can Achieve Straight A’s 2

The blind online survey asked, among other things, about agency modernization priorities and how the respondents rate their agency against those priorities. The 200 respondents included IT decision makers from defense (50 percent) and civilian (50 percent) agencies. More than half are on teams that make contracting decisions or recommendations regarding IT modernization management solutions. Respondents also develop technical requirements for contractors offering IT modernization solutions (45 percent), manage or implement contractors’ IT modernization solutions (42 percent) and make the final decisions regarding contractors offering IT modernization solutions (28 percent).

The resulting self-ratings paint a clear picture of where agencies feel comfortable with their efforts, and opportunities for improvement.

Top Modernization Priorities And ChallengesAs security concerns continue to make headlines, it is not surprising that two-thirds of respondents rate cybersecurity as the top priority for agency modernization in the next 12 months. Application modernization, cloud and data analytics are also priorities with approximately one-third of respondents citing them. Interestingly, the proportion of respondents citing cloud as a priority nearly doubled to 64 percent among those who reported they have faced unanticipated difficulties associated with cloud services adoption.

Staffing and budget are, not surprisingly, key challenges for agencies. In the case of modernization, 42 percent of respondents feel they have the right amount of staff involved in these efforts overall, and 36 percent believe too many staff are involved.

Yet, when asked about staffing and budgets specifically related to critical infrastructure, more than one-third think they don’t have enough staff (38 percent), and almost half said they do not have enough budget (42 percent). For network security, those numbers are similar, at 33 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

agencies say‘Cybersecurity Tops List of Priorities

for IT Modernization’

64%

YETfor those reporting unanticipated di�culties with

cloud adoption, cloud computing is the top priority

62%Cybersecurity

37%Application

Modernization

36%Cloud

Computing

32%Data

Analytics

other top priorities

top priority

Not Enough Resource Allocation for Sta� and Budget for Security of Critical Infrastructure and Network

4 in 10critical infrastructure

and network

budget

4 in 10critical

infrastructure

1 in 3network

staff

The State of Affairs of Federal IT Modernization: How Agencies Can Achieve Straight A’s 3

Modernization Impact on SecuritySix in ten respondents think their agency’s IT modernization efforts have resulted in an increase in the IT security challenges they face — more than twice the proportion estimating a decrease (25 percent). Even in the face of the widely held notion that increased security challenges go hand-in-hand with IT modernization, agencies feel the benefits are worth the risk. They agree that modernization boosts operational efficiency and helps agencies meet mission goals. “Having implemented many agency modernization efforts, we know the benefits outweigh the challenges for agencies,” said Unisys Federal President, Venkatapathi (PV) Puvvada. “These benefits include a modern and agile IT system that is better aligned to mission needs, built-in security context, and lower cost to operate and ultimately, improved citizen services.”

How Agencies Graded ThemselvesGiven agency priorities and challenges, the study asked respondents to grade their agencies’ efforts. Even among the highest-graded measures, such as improved cybersecurity, Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) compliance, improved infrastructure security, and data center consolidation, only 10–16 percent grade their agency an A in any area.

Low self-ratings point to the cause of agencies feeling modernization has increased IT security challenges: IT staff have difficulty supporting and completing all transitions, they lack familiarity with new systems, and they must understand and use complex management tools.

“Agencies have much to consider as they attempt to achieve all of these process and technology goals in today’s vulnerable cyber world,” said Puvvada. “For example, they must determine how to deploy new digital technologies to obtain higher levels of efficiency and speed while reducing privacy and security risks. Equally important, they must accomplish this with limited funds and without disrupting their vital missions.”

IT Security ChallengesRise as Result of IT Modernization

6 in 10report increase

in challenges

TOP REASONS INCLUDE

53%Di�culty for IT sta� to support and complete

all transitions

42% Issues related to increased

compliance reporting

41% Learning Complex new management systems tools

1 in 4report decrease

in challenges

56%Standardization

simpli�es administrationand management

56%New equipment replacing

legacy equipment

56% New so�ware replacing

legacy so�ware

TOP REASONS INCLUDE

PROCESS FACTORS grade ≤ C TECHNOLOGY FACTORS grade ≤ C

Pro�ciency to attain goals 55% Improve cybersecurity 43% Leveraging data to drive decisions 59% Improve infrastructure security 47% Quantifying potential impact (ROI) 63% Use of digital technologies 48%

Agencies Self-Grade Low on Modernization E�ortsOverall: ONLY about 10% grade themselves “A” in most factors.

The State of Affairs of Federal IT Modernization: How Agencies Can Achieve Straight A’s 4

How to Improve the Grades

“A digital transformation that has security built in requires a combination of user-centered processes, robust services and technology solutions — in whatever configuration that works for the agency. While there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, there are best practices that fit across agency missions.”

PETER O’DONOGHUE Vice president, Application Services, Unisys Federal

Every agency faces unique challenges and needs unique solutions. However, proven methods to enhance security, improve operational efficiency, meet mission goals and comply with mandates/regulations can apply across organizations. Unisys has several recommendations for actions agencies can take now to start improving the self-ratings.

1. Develop Industry Partnerships

Study findings reveal the probable connection between stronger industry partnerships and greater government success leveraging cloud services adoption and/or avoiding difficulties related to cloud. Overall, 45 percent of respondents grade their engagement with industry partners an A/B. This proportion rises to 75 percent among those that also grade their leveraging of cloud computing an A/B. In addition, of those grading their engagement with industry partners an A/B, nearly half indicated not experiencing unanticipated difficulties associated with cloud adoption. This is a significantly higher than the overall response of 28 percent.

“This data suggests that strong industry partnerships result in greater success avoiding difficulties related to cloud services adoption. This mirrors what we have seen related to our successful cloud implementations with federal agency clients,” said Gary Wang, vice president, Cloud Infrastructure Services, Unisys Federal. 

2. Migrate More Services to the Cloud

Cloud migration and modernization provides business agility at a lower cost, more securely. These services give agencies a foundation upon which to consolidate, optimize and automate processes more securely.

In addition, adopting commercial best practices in implementing these cloud technologies can help agencies reduce costs while improving mission performance.

3. Adopt Proven Systems that Get Results

Every agency has a distinct mission, internal history and culture, differing personalities and leadership styles, staff commitment and available budget. While this makes every agency unique, there are universal solutions that work across environments. Implementing proven processes and tools that enhance security and improve operational efficiency can help agencies achieve their goals faster.

The State of Affairs of Federal IT Modernization: How Agencies Can Achieve Straight A’s 5

For agencies looking at a long-range vision, there are seven essential building blocks that support the transition to digital government:

ConclusionAgencies must address the risk of security breaches, as well as the investment of resources and budget to prevent them. Despite the perception of some respondents, experience tells that modernization does enhance security and also boosts operational efficiency and helps agencies meet mission goals. Therefore, despite the initial challenges of modernization efforts, these efforts will ultimately prepare agencies to face ever-changing security threats head on.

While modernization efforts are extensive, and can take time to implement, there are steps agencies can take now to raise the grade. Agencies can position themselves for success by implementing key tools and solutions and working with trusted industry partners who specialize in modernization and security — ensuring agencies continue to serve citizens well.

1. Hybrid IT environments that leverage public cloud, private cloud, and dedicated IT infrastructure assets to deliver IT services through unified management and security.

2. Security that extends protection and management controls efficiently into the expanding digital environment.

3. Advanced data analytics that exploit growing stores of data to improve citizen services, operational efficiencies and mission performance.

4. IT service management that provides a comprehensive, unified view of the hybrid IT environment for robust service orchestration and delivery, including end-user support.

5. Application services that leverage DevOps, reuse of common IT services and modularity to rapidly develop and deliver innovative solutions.

6. Mobility services that ensure rigorous management and security while providing users with seamless access to applications and data anytime, anywhere and on multiple devices.

7. User-centered design of interfaces and business processes that provide services government workers need to perform their jobs more effectively and citizens need to get quicker and better service.

The State of Affairs of Federal IT Modernization: How Agencies Can Achieve Straight A’s 6

ABOUT UNISYS

Unisys is a global information technology company that specializes in providing industry-focused solutions integrated with leading-edge security to clients in the government, financial services and commercial markets. Unisys’ offerings include security solutions, advanced data analytics, cloud and infrastructure services, application services and application and server software.

For more information on how we support the U.S. government, visit www.unisys.com/modernization.

ABOUT MARKET CONNECTIONS, INC.

Market Connections, Inc. delivers actionable intelligence and insights that enable improved business performance and positioning for leading businesses, trade associations and the public sector. The custom market research firm is a sought-after authority on preferences, perceptions and trends among the public sector and the contractors who serve them, offering deep domain expertise in information technology and telecommunications, health care and education.

For more information visit: www.marketconnectionsinc.com.

TO DOWNLOAD WHITE PAPER AND INFOGRAPHICS Visit www.unisys.com/modernization

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