Key Takeaways

• Strong technology foundations remain essential for FY 2027. Agencies need secure infrastructure, trusted identity, resilient operations, and well governed data before they can successfully scale emerging technologies.
• AI adoption requires more than deploying new tools. Agencies must consider security, data, access, accountability, infrastructure, and operational readiness as AI moves deeper into mission environments.
• Shared services and consolidation can help reduce duplication while creating more consistent enterprise capabilities across agencies and programs.
• Cybersecurity must remain integrated into modernization. Identity, access controls, continuous monitoring, resilience, and rapid response are increasingly important as federal environments become more connected.
• Agencies should enter FY 2027 prepared to execute. Clear priorities, acquisition strategies, modernization dependencies, and measurable mission outcomes can help turn technology investments into results.

For millions of students, late summer means heading back to school. New schedules are taking shape, supplies are being purchased, and another year of learning is about to begin.

Federal technology teams are approaching a new year of their own. Fiscal year 2027 begins October 1, bringing another cycle of priorities, investments, acquisitions, and modernization initiatives. While agencies will pursue different missions and technology strategies, several themes are already shaping the year ahead.

The FY 2027 federal budget continues to emphasize secure and modern digital services, cybersecurity, interoperability, shared solutions, and replacing costly legacy systems. At the same time, recent federal actions are accelerating the use of AI while placing increased attention on securing the systems and infrastructure supporting it.

As agencies prepare for the new fiscal year, here are five lessons worth taking back to class.

Lesson 1: Get the Fundamentals Right

Every school year starts with the fundamentals, and federal IT modernization is no different.

AI, automation, analytics, and other emerging capabilities receive much of the attention, but their success depends on the infrastructure underneath them. Agencies need secure systems, reliable data, trusted identity, resilient operations, and the ability to integrate new capabilities with existing environments.

This is particularly important as modernization moves beyond individual applications toward enterprise capabilities. Weaknesses in identity, data, security, or infrastructure can quickly become barriers when agencies attempt to scale new technologies.

FY 2027 presents an opportunity to evaluate those foundations alongside the technologies being built on top of them.

Lesson 2: AI Comes with Homework

AI will continue to reshape federal technology in FY 2027, but adopting AI is only part of the assignment.

Agencies also need to consider where AI systems obtain their data, who or what can access them, how automated actions are authorized, how models and infrastructure are secured, and how performance and risk are monitored over time.

Recent federal actions illustrate how closely AI and cybersecurity are becoming connected. A June 2026 executive order directs actions to strengthen the cyber defense of federal systems while expanding access to AI enabled defensive capabilities.

The agencies best positioned to scale AI will be those that address the operational and security foundations alongside the technology itself.

Lesson 3: Don’t Study in Silos

Federal agencies have accumulated decades of technologies, contracts, systems, and processes. FY 2027 provides another opportunity to look for capabilities that can be shared rather than repeatedly built and operated in isolation.

Shared services can help reduce duplication, improve interoperability, establish more consistent controls, and allow agencies to focus resources on mission specific requirements.

The FY 2027 budget specifically identifies opportunities for shared tools and solutions as part of federal technology modernization, while broader federal policy has also emphasized consolidation of common procurement.

Identity is one example. Instead of maintaining disconnected authentication, authorization, directory, and governance capabilities across individual programs, agencies can increasingly consider how trusted services can operate across the enterprise.

Lesson 4: Cybersecurity Is a Core Subject

Cybersecurity cannot be an elective added after modernization decisions have already been made.

As agencies expand cloud environments, AI, automation, digital services, and interconnected systems, they also create new access points and dependencies that must be protected.

Strong identity and access controls, continuous monitoring, resilient infrastructure, incident response, and visibility into changing risk all contribute to a stronger security posture. Recent federal cybersecurity actions have similarly emphasized protecting federal information systems, improving resilience, and using shared security capabilities where appropriate.

Building security into modernization from the beginning can help agencies move faster without creating additional risk that has to be addressed later.

Lesson 5: Be Ready for the Test

October 1 should not be the day agencies begin preparing for FY 2027. Technology leaders can use the weeks leading into the new fiscal year to examine modernization priorities, acquisition strategies, dependencies, security requirements, operational readiness, and the outcomes programs are expected to deliver.

That last point matters. Modernization should ultimately be measured by mission impact, not simply by the technologies agencies deploy.

A new cloud platform, AI capability, identity system, or automation initiative creates value when it helps an agency operate more efficiently, strengthen security, improve service delivery, or accomplish its mission more effectively.

Ready for a New Year

As students head back to the classroom, federal technology teams are preparing for a new year of their own. FY 2027 will bring new technologies and opportunities, but many of the fundamentals remain familiar.

Strong foundations, secure systems, trusted identity, greater reuse, and a clear focus on mission outcomes can help agencies turn modernization plans into measurable results.

As your agency prepares for FY 2027, contact Makpar to learn how we help federal organizations modernize technology, strengthen cybersecurity and identity, and build secure, scalable solutions that support mission success.