September 23, 2025
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The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the middle of a sweeping technology transformation. Eddie Pool is Performing the Delegable Duties of the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer and is leading the charge. In a conversation with Fed Gov Today with Francis Rose, Pool explains how VA is retiring outdated systems, rethinking cybersecurity, and redesigning processes to better serve veterans.
Pool brings a unique perspective to the job as both a longtime VA leader and a veteran himself. “I know some of the pain points of the organization from the inside perspective, as well as from an outside user perspective,” he says. When he stepped into the CIO role, his first priority was aligning VA’s IT organization with the administration’s goals and returning it to what he calls a “world-class IT delivery organization.” That meant reducing administrative overhead, focusing on mission delivery, and freeing up resources to invest directly in technology solutions.
One of Pool’s biggest milestones so far has been retiring 29 legacy systems, which he sees as just the beginning. He and his team are reviewing every process and asking where work can be shifted to department-wide shared services so that VA IT can stay focused on building tools that directly improve veterans’ experience.
Standardization is central to Pool’s strategy. He describes aligning the priorities of the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and National Cemetery Administration under a single IT vision. The consolidation of contact centers is a
Pool also sees enormous opportunity in automation and AI. Too often, he says, technology has simply replicated paper processes. Now, he is challenging his team to eliminate unnecessary steps altogether. “Do we have enough data to automatically conclude their eligibility and auto-adjudicate those decisions?” he asks. The goal is to reduce repetitive data collection, streamline workflows, and deliver benefits faster.
Cybersecurity is another top priority, and Pool is bringing a bold approach. He introduces the concept of “cyber dominance,” which means moving beyond compliance-driven security to real-time, risk-based defense. “We’re spending a lot of resources, a lot of money, on those [audit] activities. Those don’t do a significant amount in terms of protecting the actual attack surfaces,” he says. While compliance will still be met, Pool is reallocating resources to activities that directly harden VA’s infrastructure and improve its security posture.
Looking ahead, Pool says VA is entering a “golden age” of technology modernization, with standardized enterprise platforms and stronger infrastructure in place. The department, he says, is ready to deliver world-class, cost-effective, and secure services for veterans — and to do it faster and more efficiently than ever before.