PSC and Maximus Release Findings From the Federal CIO Survey

Arlington, Va. (Jan. 25, 2022) The Professional Services Council (PSC), in partnership with Maximus, a leading business process management and technology solutions company, has released the 2021 Federal CIO Survey report: Managing Investments for the Innovation and Workforce of Tomorrow. This report reflects insights from CIO and IT executives from across the federal landscape, who offered their thoughts on IT modernization efforts, technology innovation, cybersecurity, and workforce issues. 

PSC, Maximus, and volunteers from PSC member companies led discussions with federal IT leaders to understand their top priorities, the forces that drive technology and innovation, and key trends in how agencies develop and deliver solutions.

“This report highlights the vital roles that both federal CIOs and their industry partners play in supporting critical U.S. Government missions,” said PSC’s Executive Vice President Stephanie Kostro. “Information technology and professional services contractors helped their federal customers pivot quickly and repeatedly, as the government’s technology needs evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our report reflects this shared experience and explores the major factors that impact federal IT modernization.” 

Key highlights from the survey include: 
• IT modernization efforts and needs came into focus with the COVID-19 pandemic; federal agency officials recognize the need for resilience, as well as processes, technologies, people, and systems to meet fast-paced, evolving IT challenges.
• When dealing with third-party vendors and contractors, respondents are becoming stricter with reporting requirements to ensure they receive timely notifications whenever the contractor identifies a problem, threat, or vulnerability.
• Many agencies seek to transition from business processes that leverage manual interventions to automated, artificial intelligence-driven processes that may eventually include machine learning.
• Federal agencies experience recruiting and retention challenges in the field, especially given limited budgets.

“As a former federal CIO, I found it interesting to see the evolution of government IT management during the past year, supported both by advances in technology and the administration’s priority on cyber,” said Simon Szykman, Senior Vice President for Client Growth, U.S. Federal Services Segment, Maximus, and lead author of the report. “Yet at the same time, the workforce considerations – recruiting, training, and retaining people with the right skills – drive how IT is implemented and deployed in support of mission and business services. It’s imperative of the industry to keep pace with the evolving and shifting needs of the total workforce.” 

The full Federal CIO Survey report is at https://www.pscouncil.org/ciosurvey.  

For a PDF of this release, click here.

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Media Contact: 
Pheniece Jones 
Director, Media Relations 
703.875.8974 
media@pscouncil.org