NASCIO’s State CIO Priorities for 2026 places artificial intelligence as the biggest concern of this year’s CIO strategies, policy issues, and management processes list. Cybersecurity and modernization remain among the top priorities. All items reflect the need for secure, reliable, high-performing applications and APIs.
In 2026, state and local government IT organizations face a pivotal moment: their success will depend on how well they protect, scale, and modernize the applications that power digital government across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
AI is no longer theoretical. States are deploying it across citizen services, analytics, and internal operations. But AI dramatically expands the attack surface, adding new APIs, sensitive data flows, unpredictable traffic, and higher expectations for trust and transparency. Scaling AI requires highperformance, secure, and resilient application infrastructure.
F5 helps state and local governments secure and scale AI workloads by:
F5 enables responsible AI adoption, without compromising trust, privacy, or reliability.
Even as AI becomes top priority, cybersecurity remains critical. Government agencies face sophisticated threats targeting applications, APIs, and identity workflows. Perimeter security alone is no longer enough, and fragmented tools with inconsistent policies increase risk and slow response times.
F5 enables ‘defense in depth security’ by:
F5’s proactive security platform approach helps states strengthen resilience while supporting modernization and innovation.
In 2026, fiscal pressure shapes every technology decision. IT teams must modernize while controlling costs, yet tool sprawl, redundant services, and operational complexity continue to drive inefficiency.
F5 ADSP supports fiscal discipline by:
By simplifying architectures and reducing duplication, F5 supports cost control withing governments without sacrificing performance or security.
Learn why a consolidated application delivery and security platform matters ›
Modernization is not just about replacing legacy systems; it’s a continuous improvement. Legacy and cloud‑native apps will coexist to avoid disruption to mission‑critical services.
F5 supports low-risk, phased modernization by:
Hybrid IT environments are now the norm, not the exception.
Learn how to modernize IT without disrupting critical services ›
As citizen expectations increase, state and local government must ensure that digital services are just as reliable as those provided by the private sector. At the same time, agencies must balance usability with compliance.
F5 helps states deliver secure, high-performing citizen digital services by:
F5 helps build citizen trust while increasing adoption of government digital services.
“In 2026, applications are the mission: AI, cybersecurity, modernization, and digital services all depend on secure, high performing applications and APIs.”
Accessibility is a core requirement for 2026. Service outages, latency, and instability disproportionately impact residents who rely on assistive technologies
F5 supports accessibility outcomes by:
By ensuring reliable digital services, F5 helps ensure accessibility commitments are met in practice, not just in policy.
Digital services are expanding rapidly, and identity is the new perimeter. States must secure access for citizens, employees, and partners across distributed environments.
F5 strengthens IAM strategies by:
This enables secure, seamless access at scale.
AI and analytics depend on secure, reliable access to data. Underperforming and insecure data pipelines can derail AI initiatives and undermine trust.
F5 helps protect data by:
F5 helps states state and local governments to unlock the value of data without increasing risk.
Consolidation is once more a priority as states pursue efficiency, consistency, and enterprise-wide visibility. Fragmented tools and architectures increase cost and risk.
F5 enables consolidation by:
F5 helps state and local governments to operate more like an enterprise by consolidating networking and security services, and centralizing management.
As cloud adoption grows, IT-leaders are focused on governance, security, cost control, and interoperability across multiple cloud providers.
F5 enables secure hybrid and multi-cloud operations by:
F5 allows state and local governments to adopt strategic cloud approach.
“From accessibility and identity to data, consolidation, and cloud, states need consistent application delivery and security to reduce risk, control cost, and scale with confidence.”
The 2026 NASCIO priorities confirm what state agencies already know: applications are the mission. AI, cybersecurity, and digital services, all converge at the application layer. By prioritizing application-centric security, performance, and reliability, teams can focus on innovation while managing risk, cost, and complexity.
With the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform, states and local governments gain a consolidated platform for delivery and security, unified policy and visibility across hybrid and multicloud environments, and the confidence to innovate without increasing risk.
