Trend Worth Watching: The Next Federal IT Opportunity May Not Be Software

For years, federal agencies invested billions in modernisation: new platforms, cloud migrations, digital transformation initiatives, system replacements. But a new challenge is emerging: how do you make all those systems work together?

That’s why a recent development at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) caught our attention. The VA has resumed deployments of its Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and plans to expand implementation across additional facilities as part of its modernisation roadmap.

At first glance, this looks like a healthcare technology story. But it signals something much bigger.

Why This Matters Beyond Healthcare

When people hear “Electronic Health Records,” they often assume the opportunity is limited to healthcare software providers. But modernisation efforts of this scale require far more than software deployment. They require agencies to:

• Connect systems
• Secure sensitive data
• Share information across organisations
• Manage operational change
• Train users
• Improve adoption

In other words:

The Real Trend Worth Watching

For years, modernisation meant:

• Replace the legacy system
• Deploy the new platform
• Move to the cloud

Today, agencies are increasingly asking a different question:

According to the VA, the Federal EHR is intended to support seamless information sharing across the VA, the Department of Defense, and other federal healthcare partners.

That’s not simply a technology challenge. It’s an interoperability challenge. And interoperability is becoming one of the most important topics of conversation in Federal IT.

Where Opportunities May Emerge

This trend extends far beyond traditional Health IT contractors. Think about what’s required to support modernisation at scale:

1. Cybersecurity
2. Cloud Infrastructure
3. Systems Integration
4. Data Management
5. Analytics
6. Program Management
7. Change Management
8. Training & User Adoption

For many organisations, these capabilities may become just as important as the technology itself.

What Contractors Should Be Watching

New contractors often assume Federal Health IT opportunities are reserved for healthcare-focused firms. We don’t think that’s the case.

If your organisation supports:

You may already have the capabilities to move into the next phase of modernisation. For experienced contractors, the conversation may gradually shift from implementation toward optimisation, interoperability, security, and long-term operational success.

Our Take

We don’t think the most important question in Federal IT is:

We think it’s:

Federal agencies have spent years modernising technology. The next decade may be about integrating it. And if that’s true, the organisations that understand interoperability, security, and operational adoption may be best positioned for what’s next.

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