Outgoing OPM CIO Reflects on Two-Year Cloud Sprint

Former Office of Personnel Management CIO Guy Cavallo migrated almost a hundred legacy, on-premise data centers to the cloud during a two-year sprint before announcing his retirement earlier this month. OPM was the third federal agency Cavallo led to the cloud, he told GovCIO Media & Research in a recent interview.

“I have a set strategy and the timeframe, which is faster than anybody normally would think, and I’ve proven it three times, so I know that it works. The cloud is the future for everyone,” said Cavallo. “If you want to do AI with large datasets, it’s a lot better if you have the datasets in the cloud already, [and] the cybersecurity protections, not needing to patch servers again, is a big asset.”

Cavallo assembled teams of three to eight people to design the cloud architecture and complete the framework within 90 days. Once operational and with sufficient connectivity, Cavallo worked to eliminate servers and databases that require patching.

“Instead of using open server functions, and having to worry about version upgrades and patching wherever we could, we used native server functions on the cloud,” said Cavallo. “The same thing with databases. Instead of putting an Oracle or a SQL server database in the cloud, we went with cloud databases that are patched around the clock by the cloud vendors, so that we could always have the best version and the best cybersecurity.”

While CIO, Cavallo also successfully launched a new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program, a key initiative under the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.

This legislation required OPM to create a separate health insurance system for nearly 2 million postal workers and retirees. Unlike the rest of the federal workforce, who remain on the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, postal workers and retirees under the PSHB program are also mandated to enroll in Medicare.

“So instead of trying to modify a 20-year-old system that needs to be replaced, we decided to build a new one in the cloud, not on-premise. The timeframe did not give us time to build something from scratch, so we had a competitive RFP,” said Cavallo. “Because of Obamacare and the state exchange experiences, a number of vendors had built systems to do health insurance. So one of those went out in the RFP, and then we just modified that to meet the postal requirements.”

During Cavallo’s time as CIO, OPM faced budget and workforce challenges. He launched new avenues, like the Pathways Internship Program, to up-skill the workforce, increase tech adoption and recruit new talent. By the end of his nearly four-year career at OPM, a third of the tech workforce were new recruits. He also enacted mandatory training for every manager.

“Every current employee took two hours of minimum training a week. Then, I made unlimited training available to every employee, and we went from a handful of cloud certifications to having well over 100,” said Cavallo. “You need to invest in the workforce to be able to keep up with the speed of technology, and we did it both ways: we invested in the current employees, but also, when people retired or decided they didn’t want to go on a new journey, we were able to bring in a new workforce to join the team.”

Cavallo didn’t share many details about what’s in store for the next chapter of his life, but said even though he’s retiring from the federal government, he will still be around.

“I will be returning to the private sector shortly. I’m going to take a short break here, and then I’ll be going to a full time job that I’m very excited about, but I’m going to wait and release that a little bit later, because I want to make sure my time at OPM really gets the spotlight,” said Cavallo. “I’m looking forward to helping other government entities accelerate their move to the cloud, or to AI, or any other new technology that’s coming out. I’m definitely not done yet.”

OPM’s Press Office confirmed to GovCIO Media & Research that Greg Hogan will succeed Cavallo as OPM’s next CIO. Melvin Brown II, who briefly served as OPM’s CIO after Cavallo announced his retirement, will now serve as the agency’s deputy executive director for human capital data management and modernization, according to his LinkedIn.