• Chris Betz

  Federal CTO

  Chris Betz is the Federal CTO at Omnissa, where he collaborates closely with customers, executive leadership teams, Omnissa Product managers and regional CTOs to align technology strategies with business objectives and deliver impactful outcomes. With a career spanning over 30 years, Chris brings deep expertise across the IT spectrum, beginning in helpdesk support and evolving through roles in IT administration, engineering, architecture, and executive leadership as a CTO and evolving into his current role. 

IT teams at the federal level are under immense pressure. They’re trying to figure out how to modernize legacy IT systems, strengthen cybersecurity, and support distributed workforces, all while staying within constrained and often unpredictable budgets.

The pressure is real and being driven by mandates like Executive Order 14028 and its expansion through Executive Order 14144, alongside OMB Memorandum M-22-09, which establishes Zero Trust as the baseline across government. At the same time, evolving OMB and FISMA-aligned guidance requires agencies to show measurable progress in risk reduction, not just intent, while Government Accountability Office findings continue to highlight the cost and risk of maintaining legacy systems.

Against this backdrop, agencies need a way to modernize technology without increasing spend.

Omnissa Horizon delivers that path—providing secure, high-performance virtual desktops and applications that improve efficiency, reduce costs, and support mission execution at scale.

1. Extend device lifecycles and reduce spend

By shifting compute to the data center or cloud, Horizon allows agencies to repurpose aging laptops, thin clients, and shared workstations.

The impact is immediate:

• Reduced endpoint hardware refresh cycles
• Quickly scale compute resources
• Better utilization of existing assets

In an environment where every investment is scrutinized, extending device life is one of the fastest ways to unlock savings, without sacrificing performance or user experience.

2. Centralize management to cut operational overhead

Horizon simplifies endpoint operations through unified policy, patching, and image management.

This means:

• Fewer manual endpoint updates and site visits
• Less time spent on routine endpoint maintenance
• More IT capacity focused on mission priorities

Instead of maintaining fragmented environments, agencies can shift resources toward modernization, cybersecurity, and higher-value mission support.

3. Consolidate security with built-in Zero Trust controls

Horizon leverages core security capabilities like MFA (multi-factor authentication), granular access controls, and a hardened architecture from a single Omnissa platform.

The result:

• Fewer point solutions to manage
• Reduced licensing and operational costs
• Consistent enforcement of identity, device, and session-based policies

As Zero Trust moves from strategy to enforcement, agencies are prioritizing platforms that simplify security, not add to it. Horizon delivers strong security outcomes while also supporting environments where continuous cloud connectivity isn’t guaranteed.

4. Enable flexible, cost-efficient hybrid work

Horizon allows agencies to deliver secure virtual desktops on demand, without provisioning a full device for every user.

Benefits include:

• Lower endpoint and provisioning costs
• Faster onboarding for employees and contractors
• Seamless scaling based on mission needs

This model supports a distributed workforce while maintaining consistent security and user experience, without over-investing in hardware.

5. Reduce business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) costs

With multi-site and hybrid deployment options, Horizon enables resilient architectures without duplicating infrastructure.

Agencies can: 

• Improve business continuity and mission assurance
• Avoid overbuilding for failover scenarios
• Maintain operations across diverse environments

The result is stronger resilience at a lower total cost. This allows federal agencies to modernize smarter, not just faster.

Ready to modernize while controlling costs?

Connect with our team to see how Horizon can help your agency do more with less.