What We Learned at NASCIO 2025 Midyear: Workforce Pressures, Budget Realities, and Cloud Modernization Top the List
We had a great time at the NASCIO 2025 Midyear Conference, connecting with state technology leaders from across the country. After dozens of great conversations, a few clear themes stood out—challenges that state IT teams are facing right now and opportunities where we know we can help.
A recurring topic was the ongoing cyber workforce shortage. Many leaders were looking for creative, sustainable ways to build talent pipelines and close the skills gap. That led to a number of conversations about our student-powered programs—especially our student Security Operations Center (SOC) model—to both support stretched teams and upskill the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
We also heard a lot about AI—how it’s being explored to support service delivery and boost operational efficiency. In the context of student SOCs, AI is playing an increasingly important role in helping students learn to work alongside automation and advanced tools, making it a vital part of modern upskilling efforts.
Staffing is Stretched Thin and Getting Thinner
It’s no secret that good people are hard to find. But what we repeatedly heard is that even when states find great talent, they struggle to afford to keep them. Competing with private sector salaries isn’t realistic for most states, so teams are often left doing more with less—and running the risk of burning out their best people.
We also heard from several leaders who are investing in local Centers of Excellence to build talent in their own communities. It’s a long-term play, but one that makes sense.
This is something we help with every day, whether it’s helping build workforce programs, supporting teams with co-managed services, or bringing in experts to fill immediate gaps.
Modernization is All About Cost and Risk
Every conversation we had around modernization came back to one thing—budget pressure. Leaders told us they need to cut costs, but they also see an opportunity to improve performance and service delivery if they can modernize the right way.
Moving to the cloud, updating legacy applications, and reducing infrastructure costs are top priorities, but nobody wants to add risk to their operations while doing it.
That’s why we focus on practical, low-risk modernization strategies that help states lower costs without disrupting critical services like we did in our public-private partnership with LSU and our technology partners Splunk and AWS, tapping into tomorrow’s emerging workforce.
Legacy Oracle Workloads Are Still a Pain Point
We heard a lot about Oracle workloads, and not in a good way. These systems are expensive, complicated, and in many cases, risky to touch because of outdated code or licensing issues. But that doesn’t mean leaders are ignoring them.
In fact, many states are actively looking for ways to reduce their Oracle costs and modernize these workloads, they just don’t always know where to start.
We’ve helped states do exactly that: assessing their current environment, mapping out licensing risks, and building realistic migration plans that reduce costs and improve flexibility.
What’s Next
We left NASCIO with a clear takeaway: states are ready to move forward, but they need the right partners to help them do it safely, affordably, and realistically.
We’re ready to help, whether that means building a stronger workforce, modernizing legacy systems, or cutting costs through smarter cloud strategies. Let us know how we can support your team.