Microsoft’s Toni Townes-Whitley on Agencies’ Move to Cloud, Zero Trust Infrastructure

Toni Townes-Whitley, president of U.S. regulated industries at Microsoft, told Federal News Network in an interview posted Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted agencies to advance the move to the cloud to facilitate remote work and the transition to a zero trust model.

“Well, now what you really see is moving to a zero trust infrastructure, which is hybrid in nature, right. It is the on-prem and cloud, I think you’ll hear some words coming through this pandemic, that will stay with us,” she said on FNN’s Federal Drive with Tom Temin. 

“We saw a mindset shift from security, to resiliency, sort of security and motion under crisis, underpinning sort of more agile, flexible development and very quick decision making. … So you will hear more and more about not only security and hybrid, but the fact that the platform really matters and having secure platforms to do this work is going to be very significant going forward,” Townes-Whitley said.

When asked about the future for digital services within the government, she cited the “tech intensity” concept or the ability to rapidly adopt technologies and develop digital skills.

“And a hybrid work environment where digital fluency has increased as individuals working remotely have had to learn new tools, have had to been engaged online, you’re going to start to see the demand side of the equation from not only citizens but also government employees, for more digital services,” Townes-Whitley said.

She also shared her thoughts on the Trusted Internet Connection 3.0 initiative and tech procurement process.