Transitioning to Go.gov: Moving Agencies through Change

Jennifer Miller, GO.gov Program Management Office (PMO) Training Lead, GSA

Clare Cartheuser, GO.gov PMO Customer Operations Manager, GSA

Brian McAuliffe, IBM Organizational Change Management (OCM) Lead, IBM

Alex Abrosimov, IBM Customer Experience Management (CXM) Lead, IBM

Summary

This GovTravels 2026 panel explores the rollout of go.gov, the federal government’s new end-to-end travel and expense platform, designed to replace the legacy ETS2 system and modernize civilian travel management. Led by representatives from the General Services Administration (GSA) and IBM, the session emphasizes that go.gov is not just a technology upgrade, but a large-scale transformation in how federal agencies manage travel.

A key driver for this transition is the inefficiency of the current decentralized environment, which includes dozens of systems, configurations, and financial integrations. This fragmentation increases costs, slows innovation, and limits visibility. In contrast, go.gov introduces a unified, cloud-based “system of systems” that integrates booking, authorization, expense management, and reporting into a single platform.

Panelists highlight that successful implementation depends as much on people and change management as on technology. Organizational change management strategies—such as training programs, agency-specific customization, and change champion networks—are critical to ensuring adoption across more than 100 agencies. Early lessons from initial deployments underscore the importance of clear communication, adaptability, and continuous feedback.

The platform is designed to remain “evergreen,” continuously evolving with new features such as mobile capabilities, automated credit card integration, centralized service support, and AI-driven compliance checks. These innovations aim to reduce administrative burden while improving accuracy and user experience.

Financially, go.gov is projected to deliver significant value, including over $500 million in annual cost savings through system consolidation and reduced administrative overhead, along with additional savings from preventing improper payments and increasing efficiency.

Ultimately, the panel positions go.gov as a foundational shift toward a more integrated, data-driven travel ecosystem. By centralizing systems, enhancing user experience, and leveraging real-time data insights, the platform enables agencies to reduce costs, improve compliance, and focus more effectively on mission execution.