An Office of Management and Budget official announced broad reform in government IT, Nov. 19 at a Northern Virginia Technology Council breakfast in McLean, Va. The new strategy aims to improve purchasing, increase workforce productivity, promote the adoption of cloud technologies, and trim weak agency programs and bloated inventory of data centers. (Scroll down to the media player to listen to NVTC event.)

"Government IT needs to be more agile and responsive to evolving technologies, and more accountable and focused on delivering outcomes," said Jeffrey Zients, acting director and deputy director for management at OMB. "What we need to do to make this happen isn't the stuff of controversial frameworks, or radical new approaches. It's about removing the barriers that get in the way of consistent execution."

Zients announced five structural changes to governmentwide IT strategy. Office of Management and budget will work with agencies to:

• Align budget and acquisitions with the technology cycle;
• improve program management;
• streamline governance and increase accountability;
• increase engagement with the IT community; and
• adopt lighter technologies and shared solutions--including the adoption of a "cloud-first" policy.

To listen to his entire speech, followed by Q&A with Zients and Federal CIO Vivek Kundra, click the audio below.

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