A major roadblock on the way to IT modernization is the resolution of technical debt. Organizations over time have put certain items on the backburner to focus on priorities or other issues. This technical debt is a huge backlog of deferred maintenance that needs to be handled prior to moving forward with modernization. Some agencies in the federal space have a clear picture of the outstanding debt, while others may not have as mature of an IT strategy, in terms of managing all applications, tools, systems, etc. It is a known fact that some agencies are working with applications that are decades old and do not meet 2023 security and compliance requirements. The resources required to gather the information, strategize how to overcome the challenges, manage the work, and personnel with the knowledge and skillsets, can be daunting when trying to internally execute an effort like this.
CRI’s IT solutions fill that gap. We partner with our federal clients to plan, build, and follow the path to IT modernization. Resolving an agency’s technical debt is not a quick fix, and in most cases is a multi-year effort that works best when a consistent, trusted partner is involved. CRI’s nearly 30 years of experience partnering with federal clients to solve some of the most challenging problems is testament to our capabilities to meet the government where they are with the changing landscape of IT. Our team understands what it took to get where we are today, and has the vision, foresight, and skills to help the government get where it needs to be tomorrow. We are able to build on our experience, incorporate lessons learned from previous enterprise-level work, and support the government in achieving its goals and objectives. We are a nimble small business with a streamlined leadership structure and a robust technology partner network, resulting in reliable success for our federal clients.
PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
We work with programs that manage and maintain applications, tools, and systems to document the existing state, and guide them to a future state that is in harmony with the rest of the enterprise. CRI’s management consulting team focuses on the strategic planning, business process, and overall portfolio/program/project management aspects, while our technology team provides insight to the recommended products, services, tools, and information assurance components needed to achieve a modernized state. Our participation in technology partner networks allows us to rapidly leverage technology solutions and products that drive the changes our clients require. We help our federal partners plan for the future by understanding their today, and how to get to their desired tomorrow.
Once CRI and its clients understand the overall technical debt, we can make progress towards resolving it. We use repeatable processes to formulate plans that align with agency strategies and mandates. CRI has both consulting and operations teams. We help come up with the plans, and then work hand-in-hand to complete the work. For example, a large CRI customer had a technology product that was keeping their program from achieving their desired state, as it was unable to meet the agency’s evolving security and virtualization requirements. CRI proposed replacing the technology with a solution that provided a better command and control platform, improved situational awareness, and more modern technology overall. Our team helped the agency plan for the massive rollout of the new solution from the business/governance, training, and technology perspectives, and then performed the operational tasks to deliver on the plan. The program is extremely successful as a result, and CRI continues to help them move forward with modernization efforts.
Our planning and support extend beyond the technology realm. One of the barriers to IT modernization efforts is funding. Agencies do not always receive funding to meet federal policies, standards, Executive Orders, and mandates, but must meet them regardless. CRI has experience helping agencies determine available funding sources, and using our in-house acquisition subject matter expertise to obtain that funding. We help agencies determine the best procurement strategy, request funding from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), help plan and request multi-year funding/appropriations for enterprise planning projects, and obtain financing from working capital funds. CRI supports clients through the financial planning, requesting, managing, and close out stages..
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
CRI believes sharing knowledge helps strengthen partnerships, which is why we put a heavy emphasis on training agency IT staff on the modern technologies used throughout their enterprise. The more knowledge an IT team has, the better architected their solutions will be, resulting in achieving a more optimized state. Our goal is to help strengthen our federal partners’ enterprise, and we are passionate about success on that front. We currently provide quarterly and ad hoc training on a global program to our federal counterparts. This includes how to use the system, updates made, security features, and how to maintain the system. We want to share what we know and what makes modern IT great. The more our clients understand what is available and what is possible, the more we can help them do.
CRI is a trusted partner for the federal government, and we are ready and excited to help clients achieve their goals. The first steps to get there may seem daunting, but we have the knowledge, skills, abilities and vision to help. We are passionate about our clients’ success, and looking forward to overcoming the challenges ahead.
ABOUT CRI
Communications Resource, Inc. (CRI) is a Minority and Woman-Owned small business with nearly 30 years’ of experience providing integrated security solutions and innovation through partnerships with our clients. CRI provides end-to-end enterprise information management services focused on electronic physical security, full-scale management of small, mid-size, and global programs, and compliance with Federal regulations. We are proud to stay on the forefront of technology modernization, with strong roots in our experience thus far.