IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Sure, President George Bush has stated collaboration within government to be a top priority. And, yes, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched an initiative a year ago to encourage the adoption of cross-agency services. The tool of choice to make those things happen? Technology. But for true consolidation of IT processes to happen at the federal level, a select number of VARs will have to work with the government to win over those on the Hill with low-risk, cost-effective solutions, said a panel of government executives at Fose this morning. "In the past, we haven't done a good job of communicating benefits to Congress," said Timothy King, associate administrator for e-government and information technology at OMB, at the breakfast discussion sponsored by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM). "They want to know, 'What's in it for me? How will this get me re-elected?'"

To efficiently communicate that message, agencies need ammunition from the private sector. VARs need to clearly outline how solutions and services can solve problems, satisfy constituents and save money; they also need to come clean about why other solutions have failed miserably, such as the FBI's Virtual Case File system, which has taken so long to implement that the technology planned for use has become obsolete.

"Industry has to understand that to be a true partner, there has to be not only shared success, but shared risk and failure," King said. "Not often enough do [integrators] come in and say, 'This is where we failed.' We are leaning on industry, and we need best practices and lessons learned."

Projects will come in the form of consolidating and streamlining systems; the amount of work associated with those initiatives now and moving forward will provide great opportunity for those able to provide services and expertise.

"Industry is a big winner in cross-agency services," said Charles Havekost, CIO and deputy assistant secretary for information resources management at the Department of Health and Human Services. "Every time there's a migration, there's a lot of money spent -- maybe not in a software perspective, but certainly in services. Until now, systems would start off embodying policy, but then become the box in which policy lived. Fewer and more common systems allow us to have fewer policies, and to more readily improve processes through more advanced solutions."

Autor: Jill R. Aitoro

Quelle: VARBusiness, 07.04.2005