sponsor content What's this?
![](https://cdn.govexec.com/media/img/cd/2017/09/19/iStock-519038634/860x394.jpg?1626837939)
The Need for Speed in the Federal IT Lifecycle
A government agency is only as effective as the technology that supports it. Too often that technology is trapped in the past.
Presented by
Dell_EMC
Today’s technology is evolving faster than ever, and the federal government cannot keep up. A government agency is only as effective as the technology that supports it — too often that technology is trapped in the past.
A recent Government Business Council poll on behalf of Dell found that 42 percent of federal respondents thought their agency was not very or not at all effective in managing its IT lifecycle strategy. This does more than just hold them back technologically, it hampers their budgets as well: some agencies are spending up to 90% of their IT budgets simply maintaining legacy systems. Agencies are forced to make their mission conform to the tools they have available, rather than the other way around.
There are many reasons for this IT lifecycle mismanagement. It is difficult for many agencies to make an investment in upgrading, particularly when so much of their budget is tied to maintaining what they already have. Often, individual IT components all depend on each other, and replacing one component requires updating several more for the full system to work. Additionally, the process of upgrading PCs can be a long one, and the federal government is already notorious for operating at a snail’s pace. Federal agencies — and the citizens and organizations that depend on them — cannot afford a potential disruption in services.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Bringing your technology into the modern day shouldn’t mean having to shut it down for extended periods of time. Private citizens regularly upgrade their technology with ease; many switch out their smartphone for a newer model each year. It should be just as easy for the public sector to keep up with the equipment of its constituents. Federal agencies need to be able to take advantage of modern tech without an interruption in services.
Those who dedicate their careers to service deserve the best tools possible to help them do the best job possible. Read the full white paper to discover how Dell suggests federal agencies manage and speed up their IT lifecycles, on both the development and operations side.
View the full white paper here.
This content is made possible by our sponsor. The editorial staff of Government Executive was not involved in its preparation.