Digital transformation, application modernization, faster service delivery – these terms are being thrown around so much that they’ve become so ubiquitous as to be meaningless.

What is digital transformation after all? For me, the best analogy is Blockbuster versus Netflix. Failing to anticipate the shift to on-demand and streaming entertainment, Blockbuster failed to futureproof its business model. It resisted digital transformation, and paid the price.

The Most Critical Skills Gap: Cybersecurity

Since Target’s hack back in 2013, cybersecurity has been top of mind for organizations, especially those with sensitive information. However, the talent pool of those who are skilled in intrusion detection, secure software development and attack mitigation is not growing at the same rate as the demand. Many reasons contribute to this disconnect, including a lack of training in higher education and a 53% increase in need.

“Responsibility for secure open software is, well, complicated,” writes Government Computer News. It’s not just complicated; it’s also perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of open source software development.

You’ve no doubt read that open source software (OSS) is more secure than proprietary software because the code is genuinely hardened thanks to reviewers in the open source community who have tested it, tried to break it, and then fixed the problems they uncover.

According to Federal Computer Week, federal agencies spend almost half of their annual IT budgets on supporting legacy applications. Even more worrying, about 47% of the government’s existing IT applications are based on legacy technology that needs modernizing.

While digital government innovation is on the rise, as evidenced by websites like Healthcare.gov and numerous state and local intra-agency and citizen-centric services, the underlying IT systems required to support these innovations – the middleware – is struggling to keep up.

This week in government IT news: The EPA Doesn't Know What Clouds It Has; GSA CIO Calls for Open Source to be Considered First; NIST Revising Key Security Controls Publication

Open government is not about releasing every bit and byte you’ve ever collected to the world. Without context and structure, that data will not be applied in ways that will most benefit you and your constituents. We have identified four steps to help your agency move along the data flow process.

This week in Technically News: Red Hat’s CEO Sees Open Source Cloud Domination; NIST Updating Mobile Forensics Guidance; Up to 70% of Government IT Staff Will Depart Within Five Years; DLT Solutions Ups Its Cloud Game With New Procurement Tool For Government Clients

This week in Technically News: Obama Signs Nation's First 'Open Data' Law; New NIST Guidelines Aim to Help IT System Developers Build Security in From the Ground Up; How Government Can Securely Leverage Cloud Environments; Open Source Lessons for Feds

This week in Technically News: Open Government Week Starts May 12; White House Big Data Report Earns Praise, Skepticism; The Converging Worlds of Technology and Government.

This week in Technically News: Red Hat Touts Virtual Containers as Next Advance in Cloud Computing; In The Wake of Heartbleed, Open Source Software is Under Scrutiny; The Future of Mobility Goes Far Beyond BYOD; Severe Shortage of Tech Talent in Government, Says Report; DLT Solutions Announces CODEvolved