The recent launch of the federal government’s online health care portal, HealthCare.gov, was wrought with glitches, errors and user frustration. As a result, the implementation of new health care policies and options that many organizations have been planning for months failed to be introduced in a timely manner.
Not only has it delayed the adoption of health care reforms for many companies, it’s proven to be a major expense for American taxpayers. The online system cost $196 million to develop, according to The Washington Post, and additional investments are sure to come as the government scrambles to fix the malfunctioning website.
Exactly why HealthCare.gov saw such a disastrous launch has its roots in a problem that is negatively impacting private and public organizations: A significant lack of talented IT professionals within the government. The source reported that federal groups need better developers, engineers and general IT specialists in order to meet the demands placed on their technology infrastructures.
IT training for government workers
In order to close this talent gap, improved recruiting policies are certainly needed, so increasing access to IT training for government tech workers can also be beneficial in this regard. With the right Microsoft certification courses, federal IT professionals will be able to leverage a number of Microsoft enterprise-grade products that can help them better manage overly complex legacy infrastructures that are the norm in Washington.
The National Journal reported that the government tends to have tight regulations for developing tech software and websites, which hampers its ability to launch quality technologies. In the case of HealthCare.gov, the source noted that federal officials chose to keep the back-end development of the website a secret, which made it challenging for the already under-equipped IT staff within the government to build a quality enrollment portal.
Because of the sensitive nature of many government-related IT initiatives, keeping certain developments classified is necessary. However, this only increases the need for additional Microsoft training, as outside help is often not viable.
By using quality products such as SharePoint and Lync, the federal government may actually be enhancing the security of federal systems. Many of the world’s largest private firms that are tasked with managing vast amounts of sensitive data turn to Microsoft to provide solutions to combat the constantly evolving threat landscape of today. For this reason, government leaders should consider investing in Microsoft training courses for federal IT employees.