Elodie Collins
The tech head of Hitachi Vantara Federal has recommended the addition of a procurement category in the next iteration of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard. Gary Hix, chief technology officer of the IT company, said in an article in Fed Tech Magazine that the new category would enable agencies to adopt new capabilities, such as cloud and artificial intelligence, at an accelerated pace.
Moving Toward Alternative Procurement Processes
According to Hix, to continue making progress toward IT modernization, agencies must explore alternative procurement methods to streamline the adoption of emerging technologies. He noted that many agencies are using other transaction authorities and cooperative research and development agreements for shorter acquisition and implementation timelines by reducing bottlenecks.
Modern approaches to technology procurement in government also offer greater flexibility compared to traditional processes, the executive added.
Hix said the Federal Acquisition Regulation remains essential but suggested that the process might be too slow to keep up with evolving technology needs.
Evolving FITARA Standards
The FITARA scorecard has introduced new categories over the years. The 15th iteration of the scorecard issued in December 2022 added a category evaluating agencies’ cybersecurity progress.
In September, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., also identified new categories that may be added in future versions of the scorecard such as federal AI workforce training and the use of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.
