According to a brand-new study released by Information Services Group (ISG), a global technology research and advisory firm, public sector organizations in the United States are moving IT operations to private or hybrid clouds as a response to significant changes in work and technology.
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The COVID-19 pandemic’s increase in remote work is just one of several trends that are having an impact on how U.S. government organizations run their IT departments, according to the 2022 ISG Provider Lens Next-Gen Private/Hybrid Cloud – Data Center Services and Solutions report for the U.S. Public Sector.
Public sector IT requirements are also evolving as a result of rising cybersecurity concerns, a growing demand for edge computing, workforce shortages, and server systems that are nearing the end of their useful lives. The solution for many government organizations is to outsource more IT tasks to cloud service providers (CSPs).
Private and Hybrid Clouds
“Public sector agencies have maintained legacy IT estates well beyond their end of life. This is an unsustainable strategy that is no longer keeping pace with stakeholder demands,” said Nathan Frey, Partner at ISG Public Sector. “Private and hybrid clouds offer a way to modernize IT within the government’s budget and staffing limits.”
The public sector is grappling with the same trends other industries face, along with its own specific challenges, the ISG report says. The pandemic has forced government agencies to connect with employees and constituents online and it triggered the ‘great resignation,’ which has included many retiring public-sector IT employees.
Some emerging public-sector applications, such as environmental monitoring and roadside systems that communicate wirelessly with vehicles, would require the knowledge and expertise to roll out new edge computing technologies.
ISG’s research paper claims that many public sector companies in the U.S. continue to use outdated mainframes built on computer languages that only a small number of professional programmers are familiar with. Aside from outsourcing their labor to service providers or moving mainframe applications to new, cloud-native platforms, agencies don’t have many options when mainframe expertise retire.
According to ISG, the U.S. public sector faces challenges when employing personnel for cutting-edge technology because private businesses are better equipped to pay a premium for talent in today’s competitive labor market.
