Federal agencies suffer in many ways from their “overwhelming dependence” on outdated IT, a report says, adding that “aging systems are expensive to maintain and they put critical data at risk, leaving limited funds and time to devote to IT modernization and digital transformation.”
In a survey of federal government IT decision makers done for the Dell company more than half reported that their agency runs computer operating systems that have exceeded their official end of life. Fifty-three percent said their agency uses software or operating systems no longer supported by the vendor.
They listed IT infrastructure systems and file storage/collaboration systems as most in need of modernization or replacement; desktops, servers, network routers, network switches and laptops are among the oldest hardware.
“Agencies can address the issues revealed by the survey by investing in modernized IT systems and committing to becoming future ready. Established on software-based environments, cloud technology and secure mobile devices, a future-ready agency is more responsive to user demands and better equipped to meet mission requirements in innovative ways. Future-ready technologies can help agencies become more secure and efficient, and can drive savings through reduced maintenance costs, making the transition away from legacy IT easier,” a summary said.
