The Next Four Years in Government IT will be about Implementation

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.

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. That steady course where priorities are concerned might be accompanied by steady hands at the helm. Government IT watchers told Nextgov they’d heard no speculation that either Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel or Chief Technology Officer Todd Park planned to leave office at the end of the president’s first term. Both men have served at their posts less than 18 months so far. Neither responded to Nextgov messages inquiring about their plans.