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Dell State of IT Trends 2016 Study Reveals Alarming Reliance on Legacy Technology in Government
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 09:22:19 AM
 
Dell

Dell unveiled the results of its new State of IT Trends 2016 study focused on the federal market, which reveal the federal government’s overwhelming dependence on legacy IT. A little more than 70 percent of federal IT decision makers surveyed said their agency runs important applications on outdated IT systems. In addition, more than half of those surveyed in total reported that their agency runs computer operating systems that have exceeded their official end-of-life.

Reliance on legacy IT has potentially damaging consequences for agencies. Aging systems are expensive to maintain and they put critical data at risk, leaving limited funds and time to devote to IT modernization and digital transformation. These challenges were reflected by federal IT decision makers in the survey. Cybersecurity was the most frequently referenced concern associated with legacy IT, cited by 42 percent of respondents, followed by the cost of system support.

Other key research findings include:

  • Fifty-three percent of federal respondents said their agency uses software or operating systems no longer supported by the vendor.
  • The operating systems frequently referenced as out of date included Windows 7 (2009) or Windows 8 (2012) (61 percent) and Windows Server 2008 (34 percent), each of which have passed their end of life.
  • Federal respondents listed IT infrastructure systems (46 percent) and file storage/collaboration systems (39 percent) as most in need of modernization or replacement.
  • The five oldest elements of hardware and infrastructure utilized at respondents’ agencies are desktops, servers, network routers, network switches and laptops.
  • Federal respondents point to their agencies’ lack of knowledge about available solutions (24 percent) and conflicting digital transformation strategies (22 percent) as obstacles to IT modernization.

Agencies can address the issues revealed by the survey by investing in modernized IT systems and committing to becoming future ready. Established on software-based environments, cloud technology and secure mobile devices, a future-ready agency is more responsive to user demands and better equipped to meet mission requirements in innovative ways. Future-ready technologies can help agencies become more secure and efficient, and can drive savings through reduced maintenance costs, making the transition away from legacy IT easier.

 
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