Ep. 6 Overcoming Challenges to Federal Cloud Transition

April 26, 2022

Jay MacMillan, Executive Vice President at Booz Allen shares his ideas on overcoming federal challenges to cloud transition, what some say is digital transformation for the federal government. The interview covers the role of the cloud, citizen experience, and the steps to take for the federal government to move forward.

When it comes to moving to the cloud, Jay Macmillan observes that many agencies get transfixed by point solutions. He suggests that a better approach is to take a comprehensive view to the issue of cloud architecture. When that is done, the concerns of ending up in a point solution silo can be avoided.

Further, when an agency adopts the wider view, it gives them the ability to structure systematically. The idea here is to expect a change in future enterprise architecture renditions. That way, costs will be reduced when applications move in or out of a hybrid cloud.

"Every agency is at a different timeline in on a different journey, as it relates to cloud"

Jay MacMillan Booz Allen Tweet

When it comes to citizen experience, today’s federal websites must consider the entire experience of the citizen. This starts with user experience but moves too much more serious issues. For example, when a platform is part of a solution, a citizen’s experience can be improved by giving access to information promptly.

Further, a holistic view of the agency’s goals can give federal leaders true insight into how to manage something as complex as a hybrid cloud. Jay’s experience at Booz Allen leads him to believe that technology providers can only achieve success when they pull together with agency to reach the mission.

That way, government innovation may move forward despite challenges like COVID restrictions or the many-faceted cyber-attacks that all agencies are experiencing.

If you enjoyed this podcast, you may want to listen to episode #3 Network Strategy for Federal Systems