DHS departure raises questions for cloud

The Department of Homeland Security's cloud computing efforts might have hit a bump in the road as one of the technology's most vocal champions leaves. But DHS watchers are confident that Keith Trippie's departure will turn out to be only a speed bump, not a roadblock.

A report by FedScoop, based on an internal email sent to DHS staff by Chief Information Officer Luke McCormack, said Trippie, executive director for the Enterprise System Development Office in DHS's Office of the Chief Information Officer, is set to leave the department for the private sector on March 7.

Trippie has been at DHS since the department was stood up in 2002 and has become one of its biggest champions for cloud-based services. He has been a key player in DHS's transformation from a laggard in deploying such solutions to a model for other agencies to follow, serving in a number of capacities at the agency over the years.

His departure, said a source familiar with his work, will leave a noticeable hole in the department’s cloud efforts, but not one that can’t be patched over. "Any time anyone closely identified with a projects leaves, that project can lose momentum," the source told FCW. "It's a real concern, but there are other competent people that can step in over there."

More troubling than Trippie's resignation, said another source familiar with DHS management, is a continuing gap in top management.

Some high-level replacements have recently filled top slots, including Jeh Johnson as DHS secretary and McCormack as CIO. But the list of vacancies and temporary fill-ins remains high. On Feb. 28, the department website listed 16 top positions across the department that have been temporarily filled and three that are vacant.

Trippie's resignation comes only a few weeks after Raphael Borras, the agency's undersecretary for management, left for the private sector. left the department on Feb. 21 after only five months on the job.