Challenge & Solution: Becoming the Modern Federal Agency

There’s a tangible, real-life impact of not modernizing—it creates inefficiencies and backlogs that drag down agency services. Even more so, in times of crisis like a global pandemic.

“Just look at the number of government agencies and programs that have banners at the top of their websites that say, “Due to COVID-19, please expect a delay in the processing of….’” noted Kevin Albrecht, Senior Government Customer Advisor at Hyland.

With technology advancing at a rapid pace, aging systems are often unable to support upgrades required for future success − and also pose significant security risks, hinder interoperability with other systems and impact overall performance.

But undertaking modernization can appear to be a daunting initiative for an already stretched federal workforce. Industry experts cite the following top reasons projects fail:

• Lack of skilled staff: Limited budgets for hiring, acquiring and retaining relevant talent can be a hurdle for modernization
• Project complexity: As agencies move towards modernization, the complexity of IT environments can increase and the responsibility of managing both legacy infrastructure and upgraded systems creates a burden.
• Time management/communication and lack of leadership support: Time management, communication and leadership skills are essential for making modernization an agency-wide effort that accomplishes organizational goals.

Additionally, in terms of complexity, agencies often think in terms of replacing legacy systems, which can be costly, time-consuming and impractical.

But, that’s not necessarily what’s needed to modernize.

So how can agencies achieve the goals of modernization without biting off more than they can chew?

Solution: Integrate a Modern, Scalable Platform

For federal agencies to achieve modernization success, determining the right strategy and technology tools is crucial to avoid projects that fail and result in wasted time and dollars. Investing in multiple, disconnected applications will only compound or lead to different challenges that could actually make an agency less efficient.

The good news: An investment in a single, cost-effective modern content services platform can drive your digital transformation and modernization efforts.

This platform provides a flexible, scalable foundation for transforming agency operations and improving processes. It offers digital capabilities and configurable tools for automating processes and centralizing online access to information, so federal agencies can eliminate outdated, manual processes and siloed data in legacy systems that slow government down, create backlogs and frustrate constituents.

Agencies can also future-proof their operations to withstand even the most challenging times, such as a global crisis and the need to empower a remote workforce. By leveraging a secure, electronic repository and modern technology, federal agencies can provide staff with online access to ‘content in context’ from any location – whether employees are working in the office, at home or in the field.

This article is an excerpt from GovLoop’s recent report, “The Modern Federal Agency and Drivers for Transformation.” Download the full guide here.