The Next Four Years In Government It Will Be About Implementation

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | November 7, 2012

President Obama’s two campaign themes -- change in 2008 and forward in 2012 -- could just as easily describe the government’s likely approach to information technology during his two terms, analysts told Nextgov on Wednesday. The president’s first term included major programs to make federal technology buying more agile, to shift large swaths of the government’s computing from legacy data centers to nimble computer clouds, and to make raw agency data more transparent and accessible.

Obama’s second term -- in the beginning at least -- is likely to focus on carrying those initiatives to fruition rather than on bold new plans, experts said following the president’s reelection victory late Tuesday. That steady course where priorities are concerned might be accompanied by steady hands at the helm...

If VanRoekel does leave the administration, one IT watcher said, he expects the president will search for a successor who wants to be a good steward of existing initiatives rather than launch new ones. That successor might be someone who’s already inside the federal IT community and understands the position’s responsibilities such as Veterans Affairs CIO Roger Baker or Homeland Security CIO Richard Spires, said the source, who asked not to be named...