https://fedtechmagazine.com/ en https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/how-compute-and-storage-infrastructure-support-federal-ai-adoption In government, there’s a lot more to delivering on artificial intelligence initiatives than simply plugging in a graphics processing unit and going to work. “How are you training those models? How are you getting those models distributed out? How are you maintaining those models?” asks Ken Rollins, chief AI technology strategist at Dell Federal. A misstep here can derail an AI pilot — and often does. In federal agencies, there’s an urgent need to scale up AI efforts, and that requires a new strategic approach, one that ensures alignment of data and infrastructure. Face Challenges to Scaling… Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:19:54 -0400 Adam Stone https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/how-compute-and-storage-infrastructure-support-federal-ai-adoption https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/how-nih-translating-70-years-health-data-speak-same-language The National Institutes of Health sits on one of the largest collections of biomedical research data in the world. Decades of federally funded studies on health issues such as heart disease, lung conditions, sleep disorders and genomics have generated petabytes of information. But for most of that history, the data was collected by different institutes and under varying standards. Historically, those disparate formats haven’t been easy to integrate. That dissonance is a problem when the goal is to train AI models that can accelerate medical research. Three NIH offices — the National Heart,… Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:23:45 -0400 Ashley Hackett https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/how-nih-translating-70-years-health-data-speak-same-language https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/how-federal-agencies-can-inventory-and-govern-ai-systems-ai-boms-perfcon Federal agencies are rapidly adopting generative artificial intelligence, AI-enabled enterprise software and AI coding assistants to improve productivity and modernize operations. But as AI becomes embedded across cloud platforms, Software as a Service (Saas) applications and development environments, many agencies face a familiar cybersecurity challenge in a new form: They do not have complete visibility into what AI systems are running, what data those systems can access or how those tools interact with the broader IT environment. That challenge is driving growing interest in the concept of… Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:06:48 -0400 Jessica Balen https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/06/how-federal-agencies-can-inventory-and-govern-ai-systems-ai-boms-perfcon https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/amid-historic-staffing-lows-ai-augments-federal-workers Nearly 238,000 federal employees left government in 2025 through layoffs, buyouts and attrition. The IRS, for example, lost more than a quarter of its workforce last year. What followed was predictable: Backlogs grew, overtime spiked 12% and the agency spent $27 million more on extra hours than the year before, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Frontline employees in Taxpayer Services now account for 87% of all overtime worked, with some logging mandatory weekend shifts just to keep up. New studies show the remaining federal workforce is… Thu, 28 May 2026 14:41:19 -0400 Ashley Hackett https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/amid-historic-staffing-lows-ai-augments-federal-workers https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/modernizing-government-it-while-protecting-controlled-unclassified-information Government agencies are eager to take advantage of the latest technologies to be more efficient. But there are hurdles. As agencies modernize, they need to secure Controlled Unclassified Information, while still using it effectively across distributed teams, contractors and systems. “The modernization effort can fail if the speed of the mission outpaces the speed of the compliance officer,” says Kate Fink, business development manager for Google Cloud and Google Security at CDW Government. With an artificial intelligence–enabled approach, agencies can secure CUI without breaking mission… Tue, 26 May 2026 14:56:01 -0400 Adam Stone https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/modernizing-government-it-while-protecting-controlled-unclassified-information https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/how-federal-agencies-can-strengthen-multicloud-security-without-adding-complexity As federal agencies expand their use of cloud and hybrid environments, we’re seeing a familiar pattern emerge: more capability, but also more complexity. Security architectures that once felt manageable are now fragmented across multiple platforms, tools and providers. The challenge isn’t just strengthening security — it’s doing so without adding operational burden. From my perspective, the path forward isn’t a complete overhaul. It’s about making smarter, incremental decisions that simplify security while improving protection. One of the biggest drivers of complexity today is the widespread… Tue, 26 May 2026 14:42:54 -0400 Phillip Simmons https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/how-federal-agencies-can-strengthen-multicloud-security-without-adding-complexity https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/agencies-question-security-protocols-amid-shift-post-quantum-cryptography The federal government's migration to post-quantum cryptography was supposed to be about preparing for a future threat. Instead, it may be surfacing a more immediate one. According to several experts in a recent PQC panel at the Federal News Network’s Risk and Compliance Exchange, many agencies can't say with confidence what type of cryptography is protecting their systems today. Experts described a PQC migration effort that has become, in practice, a stress test of federal security infrastructure — one that many agencies are struggling to pass. Agencies Struggle With Cryptographic Inventory… Thu, 21 May 2026 10:59:34 -0400 Ashley Hackett https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/agencies-question-security-protocols-amid-shift-post-quantum-cryptography https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/fedramp-20x-live-now-what The new FedRAMP 20x moderate pilot closed in early May, and authorized cloud service providers are already listed on the federal marketplace. But most federal agencies haven’t reviewed a 20x package yet, and many aren’t sure what to do with one. While speaking at Federal News Network’s Risk and Compliance Exchange 2026, Nicole Thompson, the General Services Administration’s FedRAMP security director, walked through the lessons from two rounds of 20x pilots and laid out what comes next for the program that governs how cloud service providers sell to the federal government. FedRAMP 20x Provides… Tue, 19 May 2026 11:59:48 -0400 Ashley Hackett https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/fedramp-20x-live-now-what https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/scale-enterprise-service-management-federal-agencies Federal agencies have made significant investments in IT service management (ITSM) platforms, yet many are still only scratching the surface of what those tools can do. In our work with agencies across the civilian landscape, we consistently see organizations using ServiceNow primarily as a ticketing system. And while that’s a strong foundation, it’s just the beginning. Enterprise Service Management (ESM) capabilities extend beyond IT departments to transform how entire organizations operate. Organizations can automate workflows across HR, finance, facilities and other business functions. The… Mon, 18 May 2026 12:03:22 -0400 Kim Giannini, Matt Petak https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/scale-enterprise-service-management-federal-agencies https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/how-federal-agencies-can-reduce-security-tool-sprawl-and-maximize-value Federal agencies have spent years investing in cybersecurity tools to defend against an ever-expanding threat landscape. But in many environments I encounter, the real challenge isn’t a lack of capability but the opposite: tool sprawl. Tool sprawl occurs when agencies have too many tools, too many vendors and too little integration to make everything work effectively. If agencies want to maximize the value of their security investments, the first step is acknowledging that more tools doesn’t always mean better security. The most practical place to begin is with a comprehensive inventory. I… Thu, 14 May 2026 12:44:42 -0400 Gregory Kushto https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2026/05/how-federal-agencies-can-reduce-security-tool-sprawl-and-maximize-value