Suzette Kent, federal chief information officer and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said there has been an expanded use of digital tools as more federal employees telework due to the coronavirus pandemic and that agencies can now begin to reassess their physical requirements, Federal Times reported Thursday.
“That gives us real data and real feedback — not ‘what if’ scenarios. Federal teams can now reconsider what their physical footprint needs to look like," she said Thursday during a keynote at the virtual Adobe Digital Government Symposium. "But more importantly for all of us, what continued investments we need in our technical infrastructure and what our future road map looks like of digital capabilities.”
Kent said several government agencies have 95 percent of their employees teleworking due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move that has resulted in an increased use of digital signatures. She added that working from home has not led to a drop in productivity at several agencies.
“In the future it will be mandatory to have a workforce that is technology-enabled, constantly connected and where human interactions can occur potentially without human contact,” she noted.
