The Power of Convergence

CHAPTER 5The New Face of the Public Sector: How Governance Leads to Greater Government Efficiency

THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT is arguably the world’s largest consumer and patron of technology. In 2010, federal agencies—including the military—spent nearly $82 billion on information technology assets, services, and administration. Since the dot-com era of the early 2000s, the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations have made technology modernization a priority in their domestic agendas. Politicians and bureaucrats alike see technology as a giant panacea for inefficient government functions ranging from health care and social services to homeland security and national defense. In 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—Congress’s fiscal ...