Commerce Department CIO Calls for Integrated Digital Portals to Access Government Services

Andre Mendes, the Department of Commerce’s chief information officer, has called for integrated portals enabling users to access government benefits and services from any device.

In a keynote address at a recent FedScoop event, he said such portals should be designed for people instead of the government to facilitate “navigable self-service.”

Mendes, a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker, emphasized that the United States is wasting resources by focusing on overly modifying commercial software and creating information technology strategies independently of industry. He suggested that agencies stop building their own systems and instead procure commercial technologies that require minimal configuration.

He added that the government should mimic the private sector’s focus on mobile applications that are constantly updated.

Mendes also recommended that agencies move away from running systems internally. According to the official, the government should prioritize merging applications and operations.

Mendes has called for an overhaul of “almost every online presence,” noting that agency websites tend to provide inaccurate or obsolete information, FedScoop reported Friday.