Technology has come a long way in the last 15 years but one of the main policy documents governing federal information management has not. In response, the Office of Management and Budget released an update to Circular A-130, "Managing Information as a Strategic Resource."

"Agencies depend heavily on information technology to successfully carry out their missions and business functions," OMB Chief Acquisition Officer Anne Rung, Federal CIO Tony Scott and Howard Shelanski, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote in an Oct. 21 blog post introducing the revised circular. "Thus the information technology environment, including the information systems, system components and supporting business processes must be dependable and survivable."

While security is a major focus of the revision, A-130 also lays out how IT should be budgeted, purchased and managed, including ensuring the privacy of sensitive data and personal information stored on federal networks.

The A-130 circular was last updated in 2000.

"Information technology changes rapidly and the federal workforce managing IT must have the flexibility to address known and emerging threats while implementing continuous improvements," officials said. "This update acknowledges the pace of change and the need to increase capabilities provided by 21st century technology while recognizing the need for strong governance and safeguarding of taxpayer funded assets and information."

The revised circular calls out sections of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) passed late last year, the most significant federal IT legislation to pass Congress to-date.

The circular mentions the main thrust of FITARA — increased communication between department CIOs and the rest of the c-suite, particularly agency CFOs — as well as codifying the CIO's leadership role within an agency.

The revision supports this shift, as well, requiring agencies to make sure "all IT systems and services operate only vendor-supported solutions." This would preclude agencies from building new apps in outdated languages or creating in-house solutions that don't follow commercial standards.

That same section goes on to say that agencies should plan and budget for migration to third-party platforms, reiterating the administration's drive to cloud and other as-a-service solutions.

  • First, to the use of available and suitable existing federal information systems, software, technologies and shared services and/or information processing facilities;
  • Second, to the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf components and/or software-as-a-service solutions; and
  • Third, to custom developed software and technologies.

Along with the main policy, A-130 includes three appendices covering privacy and protection of personally identifiable information, electronic transactions — including everything from signing contracts to accepting payments — and cybersecurity.

The draft revisions are up for public comment on CIO.gov for the next 30 days.

About Aaron Boyd

Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.

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