Huge Federal IT Organizational Challenges Ahead

Before the Feds adopt cloud computing or Web 2.0, they need a plan to recruit and retain qualified IT staff

Since his appointment earlier this year, Federal CIO Vivek Kundra has been a refreshing whirlwind of excitement. Kundra has personified Federal IT, admitted some historical shortcomings, and proposed an aggressive plan to move forward.

It seems that Kundra is delivering his message everywhere -- in the media, at trade shows, on Twitter. And Kundra is talking about all kinds of cool things that the Feds can do like Data.gov, cloud computing, new procurement processes, Web 2.0 apps, etc. A potpourri of new and visionary uses of technology.

Reaction to Kundra has been overwhelmingly positive -- especially in the tech industry and personally I like the leadership and voice within the Federal government. My problem however is that all this tech vision isn't really what I'd expect from a Federal CIO. Sure, it makes great PR and media attention but Federal IT is challenged by more fundamental problems than what the next compute architecture should be.

Case in point, Federal IT is extremely challenged at the most basic level, its people. According to a new report published by the Partnership for Public Service this week, the Federal government will have to hire an additional 11,000+ IT workers within the next few years to keep up with the growing Federal workload. At the same time, 29% of the Federal IT workforce will be eligible for retirement by 2012. The Feds will have to fill a large percentage of these 16,000 jobs as well.

This data suggests that there is a fundamental labor shortage but it only tells part of the story. Another Partnership for Public Service report titled, "Cyber Insecurity," points to problems with Federal IT skills development, recruiting, and competing for talent with the private sector. Granted, this was focused on security professionals but it is safe to assume that there are similar problems across the IT spectrum.

If the Feds can't attract good talent, they have no choice but to delegate the work to an army of government integrators -- an expensive and disorganized alternative that we all pay for in the long run.

My point is this: While I truly enjoy the discussion about next-generation technology, the Partnership for Public Service data suggest that the Federal government does not have the skills or staff to pull it off. With all due respect, I believe that Mr. Kundra must address this issue and articulate his plan before getting too carried away with whiz-bang blue sky projects.

• federal government
• Vivek Kundra