b'IT MODERNIZATION IN THE ICHow do the ICs needs differ from those of other federal agencies?There are some similarities with other federal agencies that also have a global mission. Many have experienced an exponential increase in the need for worldwide bandwidth. But the IC also has some unique circumstances related to both security and timeliness.IC agencies are requiredBy definition, IC agencies are required toto operate in closed,operate in closed, secure environments secure environmentsboth physical and virtual. At the same time, their mission applications demandboth physical and virtual.lower latency and faster response times: For the IC, seconds actually do matter. In fact, its a challenge to implement commercial hardware, software and technologies. IT modernization requires an extra effort, because of their unique operating environments.How does IT modernization help the IC meet mission?Information technology allows the IC to keep its people focused on activities that are uniquely reserved for human intellect and brain power. With artificial intelligence, for example, they can analyze mountains of data with less manual processing. That creates improved effectiveness for both mission collectors and administrative support personnel.Theyre also focused on evolving and adapting their cybersecurity postures within the Zero Trust framework as outlined in the recent presidential Executive Order. The IC agencies are working to mitigate constant cyber threats, while also maintaining the high availability of their mission-critical IT infrastructures.The implementation of advanced telecommunications technologiessoftware-defined networking, 5G mobility and Internet of Thingscan help to improve the way these agencies operate, while providing flexible, elastic network capacity and highly secure access at the edge.3'