SAIC’s Mark Forman: CIOs Should Help Agency Leaders Recognize Need for Digital Tools

Mark Forman, vice president of digital government strategy at Science Applications International Corp., wrote in a commentary published Monday on FCW that government chief information officers should help agency leaders understand the importance of adopting cloud, artificial intelligence, big data analytics and other digital government tools as they transition from response to the recovery phase during the coronavirus pandemic.

Forman said there are four areas where agencies must implement digital government platforms and one is the use of data analytics and algorithms in administering loans and grants during the COVID-19 recovery phase.

He cited logistics accounting as another area and discussed the use of robotics, e-discovery and records management systems to help “quantify spending by funding source.”

Another area where digital platforms could play a role is performance and financial management. “To manage trillions of dollars of stimulus and public health spending, agencies will need extensive investment in open application programming interfaces, robotics and AI or overhaul their modern financial systems,” Forman wrote.

He said the government should field a “tiered digital architecture” that leverages cloud, APIs and virtualization techniques in support of a virtual federal workforce and recognize CIOs as a partner in the COVID-19 response phase to help advance digital transformation during the recovery phase.