As technology advances, the concept of the Modern IT enterprise is evolving. A main focus of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) is the modernization effort to improve citizen-facing services by moving to a more secure, agile, and cost-effective infrastructure, much of which will be provided by shared services.
As a shared service provider supporting more than half of all Federal grant programs, GrantSolutions recognizes the importance of IT modernization for its Partner agencies and was honored to join the discussion on The Shape of the Modern IT Enterprise at the AFCEA Bethesda IT Enterprise Roundtable on June 14, 2019.
Julius Chang, Program Outcomes Lead at GrantSolutions, joined Lionel Cares, Chief of Operations Branch at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for a conversation with industry members about the changing shape of the IT enterprise, and the promises and pitfalls that such change can bring. The discussion centered on evolving enterprise IT within the context of government-wide shared services, the current administration’s focus on shared services in the PMA, and follow-up implementation guidance from OMB.
“Industry is always looking for ways to be better prepared to meet changing Federal government needs,” Chang said. “This was an opportunity to learn about behind-the-scenes policies and implementation and understand what’s coming next in government so they can be informed and make strategic decisions around those changes.”
Evolving enterprise IT is a broad topic ranging from overhauling legacy IT systems to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Discussions at The Shape of the Modern IT Enterprise roundtable, focused on how agencies can use AI/ML to modernize business processes and improve program outcomes. Chang shared how GrantSolutions has implemented AI/ML capabilities to help grants staff manage and reduce risk by predicting audit issues for current grant organizations and progressively improve program outcomes through a new tool, Recipient Insight.
The IT enterprise discussion also focused on the PMA efforts to improve shared services. One initiative OMB has been working on to address shared services goals is the creation of Quality Service Management Offices (QSMO). QSMOs will drive shared services adoption by enabling agencies to focus on higher work value through quality shared service offerings. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been selected as a pre-designated QSMO for Grants Management and will be working with OMB over the months ahead to lay out a vision and strategy for its implementation.
