Richard Spires: CIOs Need More Infrastructure, Business System Control

Lawmakers need to draft a stronger information technology procurement reform legislation that gives agency chief information officers greater control of the infrastructure and business systems, former DHS CIO Richard Spires writes in a column for FCW.

He noted that the Obama administration’s HealthCare.gov website woes have thrust the business of buying and managing IT to the forefront.

“Given the current focus on IT issues in government, now is the time for Congress to act and aggressively pursue legislation that can pass and be sent to the president,” he writes in the op-ed piece.

According to Spires, now principal at Richard A. Spires Consulting, there are many challenges to migrating to a modern, consolidated infrastructure that fosters a more secure, efficient and effective IT supportive of agencies’ missions.

He believes legislation may not be a cure-all for addressing key issues in IT management and acquisition but the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act may be a step in the right direction.

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