Newly inaugurate U.S. president, Joe Biden and his team have provided a plan for the first 100 days in office which describes great changes in policies and programs. U.S. federal CIOs should prepare for newly appointed leadership with new priorities, which will have significant implications for IT.
We askedMichael Brown, senior research director at Gartner, how the new administration’s initial agenda might affect IT programs, operations and priorities.
Q: In general, the incoming Biden administration plans sweeping change. What should CIOs initially be watching for?
A:A new set of priorities will be embodied by a new set of leaders. The top leadership of departments and agencies will be different and, perhaps, new to government. In some cases, that may mean new CIOs where the role is filled through political appointment, as is the case for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State. Career CIOs and IT executives must not miss the opportunity to both learn the expectations of new leadership and, where necessary, help temper those expectations with objective, transparent reporting on the status quo.
IT organizations will have to adapt to a workforce that may be increasing in some agencies and decreasing elsewhere. There are indications of changes in civil service personnel management that CIOs and all federal hiring managers should watch for. In many cases, such as immigration and taxation, policies, rules and statutes are incorporated into software, which will have to change — possibly in short order. Budgets may become more bountiful in some agencies and will be diminished elsewhere. CIOs must be prepared with clear plans for new resources in agencies where policy favors budget expansion, as in the case with climate change. Likewise, CIOs must have well considered cost optimization approaches where funding is reduced, as it may be for border enforcement.
Q: President Biden announced a new COVID-19 task force during the transition period and has begun working on a new coronavirus aid package. What could be the impact of the task force and increased desire to provide more Federal assistance to state and local governments and minority communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?
A:用一个新的工作组管理联邦响应e to the pandemic, datasets and sources of information will change, if only due to an increased focus on vaccine distribution, requiring additional analytic services and IT capacity. Additionally, pushing forward with a new coronavirus aid package could alter relationships, services and grant programs at federal agencies, shifting any related IT support.
Q: President Biden has pledged to make the U.S. an international leader on climate change and signed an executive order to reenter the U.S. immediately into the Paris climate accord of 2015. What impact could this have on IT?
A:A new perspective on climate change, such as reentering the Paris climate accord, pursuing netzero carbon emissions and a focus on environmental and climate justice, alters operational priorities at agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science
Foundation and Departments of Energy, Interior, Justice and State with technology changes where previous policies have been incorporated in systems and software.
CIOs should pay attention to energy consumption policies that could affect data center operations, with stronger consolidation policies, more aggressive cloud adoption requirements and continuing need for large scale telework infrastructure.
To learn more about some of the implications to IT from the Biden Administration’s 100 Day Plan, Gartner clients can read“What to Expect from the New U.S. Administration.”
Learn more about emerging trends, expected challenges and next steps for CIOs and IT leaders in 2021 in the Gartner ebookTop Priorities for IT: Leadership Vision for 2021.