Small Business Administration Completes Successful CDM Pilot

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has long been a leader within government agencies on cloud migration. With employees across the country, the administration has dedicated significant resources toward ensuring agency components have access to secure and up to date technology. SBA just completed a continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) pilot program with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure data on all devices are secure.

Using a data analytics tool, SBA and DHS created a cybersecurity dashboard which provides an “around-the-clock look at every agency device that’s connected to its network, all the way down to mobile devices,” according to Federal News Network.

The SBA used a “cloud first” approach to ensure each desktop and server can get the latest software update. SBA Chief Information Officer Maria Roat also said the cloud-native tools allow the agency to stay “predictive” about activity on its network.

“If somebody goes on foreign travel and we don’t know about it, we can see people logging in from other countries, getting ahead of what’s going on in the environment,” Roat said in an interview with Federal News Network. “Whether it’s what threats might be against SBA … being able to see our entire inventory, who’s on our network, what they’re doing, how they’re using our networks, and having visibility into that environment – that’s something we did not have before.”

Roat also says that the new cloud architecture will provide a “360-degree view” of customers. SBA hopes to integrate the cloud technology with artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to help the agency anticipate the needs of more than 30 million small business owners.

“If somebody gets a loan, and then they’re looking at business plans, I can start using AI, if I have that customer model, to be predictive [and say] ‘Oh, by the way, customer, here’s what you might need next,’” she said.

SBA is currently working to implement an IT workforce strategy completed in May 2018.

“Enterprise transformation, there’s multiple pieces and parts to it, because it’s not just about putting one tool in place. It’s looking at the entire ecosystem of technology, as well as the people and processes to really drive that digital transformation that we are in the midst of,” Roat said.