Harrisburg, PA – Following historic, year-over-year investments by the Shapiro Administration to strengthen cybersecurity and improve online services, Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver announced that the Office of Administration (OA) has achieved $37 million in cost savings by modernizing legacy technologies and applying smart financial management.
“The Shapiro Administration is investing in technology to make state government more responsive and move at the speed of business,” said Secretary Weaver. “As we invest in new services, we are also optimizing how we operate with a strategic focus on efficiency.”
OA manages the information technology (IT) network for agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction and hosts thousands of online applications and databases that support services for residents and Commonwealth business operations. Many of these systems were purchased or developed decades ago and have become increasingly costly and complex to maintain, making it harder to adopt newer technologies. Strategic investments to modernize or replace outdated systems — paired with more efficient operations — are helping foster innovation while slowing the growth of technology costs.
OA achieved the $37 million in IT cost savings and cost avoidance through efforts that included reviewing and rightsizing recurring IT procurements, increasing the use of cloud hosting and storage, securing vendor discounts, and insourcing projects using existing Commonwealth staff and technology resources. This total includes $10 million in savings by the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA). These savings help offset rising costs for IT products and services and the technical debt required to maintain legacy systems.
CODE PA savings include:
- $1 million in savings on Discover State Grants, a tool with information on over 300 grant programs across 24 state agencies. Users can search for, sort, and filter information about grants based on the type of applicant (business, individual, non-profit, public agency, school, etc.), category, application deadline, location, and other criteria. The search results include links to each program, including information on who the funding is intended for, the application process, key dates and deadlines, eligibility criteria, and where to apply.
- $835,000 in savings on the Track Your Permit Application for DEP, which allows applicants to easily track the progress of their permit from submission to decision. The DEP tracker builds on the Shapiro Administration’s proven track record of improving the Commonwealth’s permitting processes, reducing wait times for businesses, workers, students, and the general public — making Pennsylvania more competitive by ensuring the Commonwealth is moving at the speed of business.
- $800,000 in savings on PAyback, a first-in-the-nation online money-back guarantee system to bring increased accountability and transparency to Commonwealth permitting, licensing, and certification processes. Residents, businesses, charities, and schools can see the standard processing time for each type of application and request a refund if theirs is not processed within that timeframe.
“Aging infrastructure and applications are more costly to maintain, riskier to run, and slow the pace of innovation,” said Bry Pardoe, Commonwealth Chief Information Officer. “By focusing resources on modernization, we can realize meaningful cost savings while moving faster to deliver secure, reliable digital services to Pennsylvanians.”
OA is also responsible for cybersecurity for agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction. The Commonwealth’s cybersecurity program uses layered monitoring and defenses, a robust framework of industry best practices, and ongoing training and education to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive information.
The 2025–26 budget that Governor Shapiro signed into law last year includes $10 million in new funding to enhance protection of the Commonwealth’s IT systems from increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats. This funding builds on investments made over the past two years in advanced tools that strengthen the Commonwealth’s cybersecurity posture and help keep pace with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, including malicious attacks driven by artificial intelligence. These tools support continuous monitoring across the Commonwealth’s network and increased automation, allowing IT staff to focus more on strategic priorities.
This fiscal year budget also includes approximately $11.5 million for CODE PA, a 40 percent increase over the prior fiscal year. This funding will support continued development of enterprise platforms for grants and permits and a single, secure online login that residents can use to access services across agencies. In 2025, CODE PA received five national awards for digital services innovation and leadership, including for redesigning PA.gov and partnering with the Department of General Services to modernize IT procurement. Learn more about how CODE PA is making digital services more user-friendly and accessible at CODE.pa.gov.
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