This week, IDC Government Insights introduces a concept that we’re calling the Tagged Data Authority Engine (TDAE).  We’re also issuing a call for government-wide coordination that can help build the actual set of solutions that the TDAE proposes.

The idea behind the TDAE is to improve the quality and accuracy of data that is shared between federal agencies and also between local, state and national government entities. The need for this type of solution is increasingly important as the government expands its use of data fusion centers, shared service centers, and cloud services. Right now, these centers could be importing outdated data without realizing it.

Our TDAE idea evolved out of multiple conversations with government IT administrators, who told us, quite frankly, that when data is shared between agencies it is often done in a way that eventually leads to incorrect or outdated information. The main issue? Once sets of data are exchanged they often are not updated in a routine way, and it’s not always possible for the agency that receives a file to know how old a set of data is, or who controls it.

Are you exploring shared services for your government agency? If so, here’s a troubling fact: If you were to gather a roundtable of government tech experts, with the intention of discussing and planning for shared IT services, one thing would quickly become apparent. Every participant is likely to have a slightly different definition of “shared services,” and some significantly different ideas on how such services should be implemented.

That's challenge one, ambiguity.

Challenge two is inertia.

“Infrastructure management as a service.”  That might just be the next wave to emerge from the movements known as software as a service (SaaS) and “everything as a service.” System consolidation and spiraling complexity are the catalysts that are starting to make infrastructure management an actual subscription utility, and this is especially true for government IT operations.

In theory, system consolidation should make day-to-day operations easier for government IT managers. But the reality is different. Technologies such as virtualization, distributed computing services, cloud computing and the ever-growing SaaS actually can make operations seem more complex and out of control, especially as agencies plug new services and machines into their networks. That’s why it’s important to build systems management plans into every part of a network and into an organization's applications and servers.

To do this, IT managers need the right tools to help simplify the management of their operations, including solutions that provide a view into all sorts of network details. This is particularly critical at a time when cloud computing and virtualization require automatic provisioning, which is making government networks more elastic than ever.

Xerox executives told IDC analysts at a recent meeting that the company’s acquisition of ACS could be complete by the end of this year. I very much expect that the combined company to quickly emerge as a powerful pair of players in the U.S. federal government IT services market.

Apple's iPhone App Store consistently tells you "there's an app for that," no matter what your question might be. Find a restaurant? Check your stock quotes or the weather? Yup, there's an app for that. More than one in fact.

Apple may be the most vocal promoter of cell-phone based applications, but it's far from alone. Some government agencies have developed their own phone and address book apps. I have a pocket full of apps that run on my Google Android phone, and there's a growing market for applications created to run on BlackBerrys, Sidekicks and other handheld devices.

But I'm increasingly convinced this isn't a good thing. I want a better hand-held browser, not more phone apps.