Welcome to the second blog in our government modernization series.  

In our first blog, Rethinking Government Modernization in the Efficiency Era, we highlighted the importance of modernization in eliminating key technical debt (tech-debt) to achieve federal mission efficiency, optimization, and resilience.  

The actions of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has forced a fundamental rethinking of the federal government’s traditional approach to modernization and its impact on government operations and efficiency.  

The DOGE Era Impact on Government Modernization 

The primary emphasis of the January Executive Order (EO) establishing and implementing the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) was “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” Specifically, the EO initiated a “software modernization initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.”   

The criticality of this modernization mandate became clearer when it was coupled with the February  Workforce Optimization Initiative EO, which focused on federal Reductions in Force (RIF) and agency reorganization plans. Bringing further clarity to these efforts was amplifying guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regarding Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans (ARRPs). One of the key areas of emphasis in this guidance was that agencies “implement technological solutions that automate routine tasks while enabling staff to focus on higher-value activities.” In addition, the more detailed agency plans were to “outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward” and feature “plans to reduce costs and promote efficiencies through improved technology, including through the adoption of new software or systems.”  

Alignment with Other Federal Guidance

When addressed in an enterprise-wide, cross-architectural approach, modernization can be transformative for improving risk management, optimizing Zero Trust results, and enhancing agency mission outcomes. This is particularly true regarding the security and resilience of federal networks and other critical infrastructures.   

EO 13800 Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure holds “heads of executive departments and agencies accountable for managing cybersecurity risk to their enterprises”.  And highlights that “effective risk management involves more than just protecting IT and data currently in place. It also requires planning so that maintenance, improvements, and modernization occur in a coordinated way and with appropriate regularity.” 

Modern infrastructure is recognized as a critical element in delivering the most mission impactful Zero Trust outcomes. EO 14028 Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity further frames the modernization challenge when it defines a Zero Trust Architecture as embedding “comprehensive security monitoring; granular risk-based access controls; and system security automation in a coordinated manner throughout all aspects of the infrastructure, in order to focus on protecting data in real-time within a dynamic threat environment.” And the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Binding Operational Directive 23-01, Improving Asset Visibility and Vulnerability Detection on Federal Networks “applies to all IP-addressable networked assets that can be reached over IPv4 or IPv6 protocols” and includes both “information technology” and “operational technology” assets. 

Potential for DOGE Transformational Impacts 

The DOGE-related EOs prioritizing modernization are unsurprising, considering the strong emphasis within Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan guidance on enhancing efficiency while significantly reducing the workforce needed to carry out essential mission support functions. Concentrating DOGE modernization efforts across essential agency cross-architectural solutions and services can vastly improve the enterprise automation and orchestration of federal agency operations, and thus enhance agency resilience and improve overall mission efficiency and effectiveness.  

Not only does enterprise automation and orchestration significantly reduce the amount of labor required to optimally operate and more effectively secure enterprise networks and infrastructure, but with the arrival of advanced AI/ML algorithms (including GenAI assistants), more junior personnel can effectively perform many of the needed infrastructure “run” management functions.   

Bottom Line Results

A modernized, enterprise-wide, software-defined infrastructure is essential in helping deliver the outcomes that the Department of Government Efficiency is trying to realize and perpetuate by significantly reducing the costs of operating mission critical infrastructure (the most expensive component), as well as future-proofing software-defined infrastructure capabilities with new features and functions being delivered with each new version release.   

It’s Prime Time for Governmental Efficiency 

NWN Federal’s innovative modernization methodology aligns with DOGE’s modernization emphasis by delivering infrastructure solutions that automate and orchestrate capabilities, reduce costs, and boost productivity. This helps agencies meet EO and ARRP-driven modernization needs and requirements.  We invite government agencies to reach out for further discussions on modernization, resilience, and a new way to partner with industry to acquire modernized enterprise infrastructure designed for this new DOGE era.   

Connect with a federal expert at NWN Federal for a follow-on conversation.   

And please join us for the third and final blog in our Government Modernization Series when we’ll look at modernization strategies optimized for success in government agency brown field environments.