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Migration to
Transformation:

Delivering on Federal Missions Using Technology

MeriTalk | AWS

MeriTalk, in partnership with AWS, surveyed 150 Federal Civilian IT managers in November 2020 to catalog agencies’ digital transformation progress.

Safeguarding Civilian Missions

of Federal Civilian leaders say they’ve accelerated digital transformation efforts in response to the surge in telework and urgency to adapt citizen services

The percentage of agencies with a defined digital transformation strategy more than doubled since this shift

41
Up from

%

87
To

%

How is the pandemic impacting digital transformation?

IT is core to the mission and no longer ancillary. Now that IT is getting a seat at the table, what are you going to do? You have to be responsive

Federal Chief Technology Officer

Critical Component

Most impactful change on agencies’ digital transformation journeys?

Investing in
Cloud

Other Important Steps

  • Automating time-consuming manual processes
  • Adopting an agile development approach
  • Using data to create models for better optimization and efficiency
  • Shifting to a data-centric mindset
85

%

are adopting a more holistic view of cloud migration to support digital transformation

&

88

%

feel prior cloud investments helped them deliver on their mission throughout the pandemic

How are agencies using cloud?

Our agency is currently using cloud to increase efficiency and innovation

Federal Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer

The cloud helps us keep everything more secure and safe from cyberattacks

Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer

We are using cloud for remote operations

IT Systems Engineer or Administrator

We deployed our ID visa system to the cloud, simplifying our workflow

Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer

How are agencies using cloud?

Challenges Remain

Despite progress and urgency, just

say digital transformation is a top priority in their agency

83

%

say their agency’s digital transformation strategy is not adapting fast enough to keep pace with rapidly evolving environments

Biggest Digital Transformation Challenges?

47
%

Security concerns

34
%

Time constraints/ length of the migration process

33
%

Workforce skills gap

33
%

Too many competing priorities

33
%

Inflexible legacy networks

Technology for the Citizen

Going forward

feel digital transformation is essential to offering a seamless citizen experience

Agencies are accelerating digital transformation efforts with investments in:

Cloud Computing 59%
Machine Learning 43%
Open-Source Technology 37%
Internet of Things 33%
Artificial Intelligence 31%

And

80%

have experienced benefits to their mission, including:

#1

Increased Efficiency

#2

Increased Collaboration

#3

Increased Innovation

Making the Mission Possible

Aside from funding, what do Feds need to move beyond digital transformation barriers and innovate on behalf of the citizen?

45%

A culture that supports innovation

43%

Training for IT workforce

41%

User groups to share best practices

41%

Collaboration with private sector

Advice for advancing digital transformation?

Misconceptions about cloud remain, but [agencies] need to embrace it and use cloud in a prudent manner

Federal Chief Technology Officer

Automate everything and re-write governance around automation

Federal Chief Technology Officer

Adopt an agile approach to thinking

Federal Chief Technology Officer

Encourage your organization to make really frequent, small changes since they are lower risks than larger changes

Federal Chief Technology Officer

Advice for advancing digital transformation?

Embracing Digital Transformation

Rethink Culture

Proliferate a digital transformation mindset by establishing a culture that supports innovation. Senior leadership should adapt a technology-first philosophy and provide continued education to the workforce to keep pace with changing environments.

Automation

Accelerate Automation

Advance digital transformation through automation and artificial intelligence. Re-write governance policies around automation to deploy frequent, small changes to reduce risk, not impact.

Cloud is Critical

Investing in a flexible IT system is essential to successful digital transformation. Effectively scale cloud on behalf of the citizen by taking a more holistic view to cloud migration and investing in next-gen tech to support the transition.

MeriTalk | AWS

AWS provides secure, scalable, and cost-efficient solutions to support the unique requirements and missions of the Federal government.  Our cloud services can be deployed to meet mandates, reduce costs, drive efficiencies, and increase innovation across civilian agencies. To learn more, visit:  https://aws.amazon.com/federal/.