Azure Government

Insights, how-tos and updates for building solutions on Microsoft's cloud for US government

Gartner - Azure Government

How can agencies address technical debt?

January 31, 2018 Jan 31, 2018 01/31/18
Karina Homme
The federal government has an estimated $7 billion in technical debt causing increased risk to government as this debt accumulates. Much of this is due to agencies that have deferred maintenance or reduced funding for initiatives due to budgetary constraints. This tactic, left unmanaged, can lead to significant costs later especially if it ...

Balancing government innovation with modernization (MGT)

January 29, 2018 Jan 29, 2018 01/29/18
Karina Homme
A 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Study found that federal government invests over $80 billion on IT annually—but 75 percent of that money is being spent to maintain old and legacy systems. Even with the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017 and the proposed IT Modernization Fund, Federal CIOs need to find the right ...

Strengthen cybersecurity with an enterprise risk mindset

December 6, 2017 Dec 6, 2017 12/6/17
Karina Homme
Cybersecurity is one of the biggest issues facing federal Chief Information Officers (CIOs). Evolving security is recognized across the board as an important challenge that needs to be addressed swiftly and in a continuous fashion. Security is always top of mind for CIOs, and one of the major challenges of introducing new technology is ...

Unlock data insights to drive agency mission

November 28, 2017 Nov 28, 2017 11/28/17
Karina Homme
Now more than ever, federal CIOs can leverage business intelligence (BI) and advanced analytics to simplify data management, unlock valuable insights, and use these insights to improve operations across their agencies. Advanced analytics allows CIOs to connect available data to their agency’s larger mission. Sophisticated tools and ...

Is Mission Driving Your Cloud Strategy?

November 16, 2017 Nov 16, 2017 11/16/17
Karina Homme
In working with federal agencies, we’re seeing a new level of maturity in terms of the ability to use the cloud to dramatically impact mission, achieving much more than just cost savings. For example, the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Access to Care allows Veterans, caregivers and the public to access wait time and quality of ...

Empower Federal Employees with Modern Technology

November 8, 2017 Nov 8, 2017 11/8/17
Karina Homme
In Gartner’s Top Seven Priorities for U.S. Federal CIOs, they maintain that revitalizing the IT workforce should be looked at as an opportunity for CIOs to improve the quality of employees their organization has.[1] One  way of doing this is by modernizing the workforce with new and innovative technology. CIOs can leverage updated ...

Elevating the Value of the CIO

November 1, 2017 Nov 1, 2017 11/1/17
Karina Homme
As the Microsoft Azure Government federal lead partnering with CIOs, I'm often asked: "What are the top priorities for modernizing government?" With new legislation empowering CIOs to take a greater leadership role in transforming the business of government, we're seeing new opportunities to innovate while reducing technology debt A recent ...