Mainframes, the giant computers that house many of state government’s most critical services, are continuing their crawl out the door, according to state technology leaders who responded to a recent survey. Data presented by the National Association of State Technology Directors at the group’s annual conference in Big Sky, Montana, this week revealed that challenges surrounding cost and workforce are continuing to push the technology out of government. Some surveyed said…

Fairfax County benefits from improved operational intelligence and cost savings from a reduced data center footprint, a new report says.

IT consolidation is considered a top priority of state chief information officers, but lawmakers in North Dakota have asked the state’s IT office to pump the brakes on its own consolidation project after they say they learned of major projects advancing without their approval. Chief Information Officer Shawn Riley said last week that he has paused consolidation efforts at the request of the state’s legislature, the Bismark Tribune reported, but that…

For some state and local governments, emerging technology brings just as many opportunities as challenges. Citizens continue to demand services on pace with what they can find in the private sector, while governments are struggling to embrace methodologies that will help them meet the opportunity inherent in this emerging tech. All the while, the difficulties of legacy modernization and cybersecurity continue to make it harder for state and local government…

The way government thinks about digital transformation needs to change, said Washington D.C. Chief Technology Officer Archana Vemulapalli. “The whole modernization concept has to change,” she said in a panel discussion Thursday at the Digital Transformation Summit, presented by Dell EMC and produced by FedScoop. “We always think about modernization as a separate one-off effort, but it’s a very core part of delivering service.” Government should take a page from other government agencies, Vemulapalli…