How a Federal Telework Bill Can Help Modernize and Secure Remote Work

As federal telework continues, agencies are looking to allocate funds and modernize remote environments for the future. The Pandemic Federal Telework Act, if passed, would direct federal agencies to allow eligible employees to telework full-time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would also add muscle to the Technology Modernization Fund, where an additional $125 million was requested in the 2020 budget.

In a recent FCW article and interview with MeriTalk, I discuss the Pandemic Federal Telework Act and what it means for federal IT modernization. As federal employees continue to work from home — and will do so for the foreseeable future — agencies need modern and secure work environments to continue to do business outside of the office.

Agency leaders must rethink how IT administrators manage and secure the new distributed workforce.  Building long-term resiliency requires a generational step forward. Agencies must take a collective approach toward IT modernization and consider how to ensure staff can work effectively and efficiently from anywhere. That begins with shifting how IT administrators manage and secure operational environments. Agencies cannot afford to limit productivity or sacrifice security to accommodate legacy management and security solutions.

Implementing an endpoint management platform that integrates both endpoint management and security will help unify teams. This will effectively break down silos and close the accountability, visibility and resiliency gaps that often exist between IT operations and security teams. It also helps agencies to leverage a modernized approach for end-to-end visibility across end-users, servers and cloud endpoints. As a result, agencies will be able to identify assets, protect systems, detect threats, respond to attacks and recover at scale.

The Pandemic Federal Telework Act, if passed, would keep federal employees safe while continuing to deliver vital services to citizens. This legislation not only promotes innovation within remote IT and the modernization of the federal government, it is also a nod to the future of telework.

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Please read my full MeriTalk interview and FCW article to learn more about how Tanium can help federal agencies securely and efficiently deploy remote workforces.