Case Studies

We help federal agencies untangle complex, mission-critical IT systems - without breaking anything along the way.

Whether it's consolidating a decade of legacy telecom contracts, building a department-wide cybersecurity strategy, or keeping a network running for 75,000+ users during a major overhaul, our team has repeatedly stepped into high-stakes federal programs and delivered measurable results: hundreds of millions in savings, faster and more secure systems, and zero disruption to the people who depend on them every day.

Here's how that's played out on three of our recent programs.

Automation + AI + Cost Savings + Acquisitions

HHS EIS: Managing One of the Largest Telecom Transitions in Federal History

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Chief Information Officer

The Challenge

HHS needed to consolidate legacy telecom contracts across 8 HHS Divisions and transition more than 465,000 assets to GSA's new Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) vehicle (one of the largest telecom transitions in federal government history) without disrupting service to 90,000+ users, including mission-critical systems like CDC and CMS toll-free lines.

Our Approach

emerjence built and ran the EIS Program Management Office for HHS, standing up governance, risk, and vendor-accountability structures across all 8 HHS Divisions. The team authored a $2.5B EIS task order RFP and led a zero-protest source selection, then built Azure-based automation tools to handle pricing validation, billing reconciliation, and Fair-and-Reasonable determinations at a scale manual processes couldn't touch - ultimately processing 1.8 million billing lines a month. In parallel, emerjence developed HHS's enterprise telecom modernization roadmap, integrating Zero Trust, TIC 3.0, SD-WAN, 5G, and MTIPS architectures.

The Results

$1.056 billion in lifecycle cost savings, validated by the HHS CIO Council and OMB
HHS became the only large, federated federal agency to complete its EIS transition by GSA's deadline - with zero service degradation
Helped HHS earn an "A" FITARA score and GSA's recognition as the program's "Positive Poster Child for Transition"
4 rounds of vendor negotiation cut annual telecom spend from roughly $160M to $72M
Automation tools recovered $3M+ annually and cut manual billing errors by an estimated 80%
Earned Exceptional/Very Good CPARS ratings for quality, schedule, and program management

Zero Trust, Cyber, PMO

DHS Zero Trust: Building the Department's Enterprise Cyber Roadmap

DHS Headquarters, Office of the CIO

The Challenge

DHS needed a single, department-wide strategy to guide Zero Trust adoption across 14+ Components — each with its own infrastructure, maturity level, and pace of modernization — while staying aligned to Executive Order 14028 and OMB's Zero Trust mandates.

Our Approach

emerjence authored and operationalized the DHS Zero Trust Implementation Strategy, then built the Zero Trust Capability Framework: 46 measurable capabilities mapped to a CMMI 0–5 maturity scale, giving every Component a common language for where they stood and what came next. The team chartered and led a DHS-wide Zero Trust Integrated Product Team spanning 150–200 stakeholders, including every Component CISO and DCISO, and built Power BI dashboards so leadership could track maturity in something close to real time.

The Results

All 14 Components showed measurable Zero Trust maturity gains within 18 months - 21% cyber maturity increase across DHS components
Strategy formally approved by the DHS CISO Council and published publicly at dhs.gov
Zero Trust Capability Framework adopted department-wide, cited in a 2026 GAO report as DHS's stated path forward
Framework achieved 100% alignment with CISA's Zero Trust Maturity Model v2
Recognized by the DoD Zero Trust Program Management Office as a model for structured, enterprise-scale implementation

"You did more with no full-time leadership in 14 months than many organizations have done in 3+ years." - Director, DHS National Cybersecurity Programs

Telecom Engineering, Cybersecurity, Cloud Modernization

DOI Enterprise Network: Keeping 75,000 Users Connected During a 13-WAN Consolidation

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Office of the Chief Information Officer

The Challenge

DOI needed to consolidate 13 separate, independently managed bureau-level wide area networks into a single, centrally governed architecture — supporting 75,000+ employees and 200,000 volunteers across roughly 800 sites — without interrupting network access for a single one of them.

Our Approach

emerjence took over as prime for DOI's Enterprise Services Network, completing a transition with 100% key personnel retained and zero service disruptions. The team rebuilt and stabilized DOI's FortiClient EMS infrastructure to support Zero Trust Network Access rollout, modernized gateway and core infrastructure across five regional locations, and began consolidating bureau-specific Wi-Fi systems into one standardized, centrally managed platform.

The Results

Onboarded 1,600+ remote users within four weeks after remediating a critical Ivanti remote access vulnerability
Applied emergency security patches across five gateways in under four hours of a zero-day vulnerability disclosure
Supported a high-visibility, department-wide live event for 10,000+ attendees with zero connectivity incidents
Rebuilt nine FortiClient EMS servers to establish a stable, scalable Zero Trust access foundation
Migrated 27,000 users off legacy SASE to GlobalProtect in 10 weeks with zero service disruption, delivering an estimated $39M in cost avoidance over five years
Multiple contract extensions and bridge awards granted based on sustained performance
Team brings 60+ combined years of DOI enterprise network experience, with zero institutional knowledge loss through transition

"I want to extend sincere appreciation to [the team] for their exceptional work... this small but highly effective team played a central role in migrating over 27,000 DOI staff... This transition was not only executed swiftly and smoothly, but it also delivered significant strategic and financial benefits... Their work directly contributed to an estimated cost avoidance of $39 million over five years." — DOI Client