Reigniting Modernization: Why Modernizing Government is an Imperative, Not a Choice

Modernization in government hasn’t been without its challenges. Agency chief information officers (CIOs) work hard to balance the mounting technical debt and lack of cost transparency while trying to make sense of the emerging technology landscape. Today’s CIOs ultimately have to balance priorities, using limited budgets and resources — effectively doing more with less.

When looking at the current state of the federal IT landscape, 28 federal IT systems are at least 25 years old, and 11 are 35 (or more) years old. In 2018, the IRS’ most important system — the 60-year-old Individual Master File — went down on Tax Day, affecting most of the agency’s public apps and prompting the acting commissioner to extend tax season an additional day.