An article in The NY Times describes the efforts of Megan Smith to bring technology practices in the White House into the 21st century (they still use floppy disks there for example).
My prediction is that Ms. Smith will largely fail. Large, stodgy companies may be somewhat slower to adopt technology than those in Silicon Valley, but they do so at lightning speed compared to government. They don't do it to be "cool". They do it because it makes them more efficient. They do it because they are competing against other companies. They do it because it is profitable. None of these drivers are at play in government.
Instead, what drives government are political considerations that are often counterproductive. Exhibit A. In this article we learn that Ms. Smith is greatly concerned about what? Recruiting more female technologists. Can someone (Ms. Smith?) please explain why if the primary objective were to introduce technology for greater efficiency it would make one iota of difference what chromosomes are possessed by those designing the systems and writing the code? No doubt there will also be a push to recruit black technologists, Hispanic technologists and homosexual technologists. All of whom will continue to use floppy disks.
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