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This is not an official U.S. federal government website. The Federal Modernization Workbook is independent technical analysis. It does not represent the position of, and has not been reviewed or endorsed by, any federal agency.

Explainers

Explainers

Plain-language accounts of the concepts behind the books, for people learning the area

The Federal Modernization Workbook’s explainers: plain-language accounts of a concept, linked to the books that rely on it.

An explainer sets out one concept in plain language: what it is, why it matters and how it touches the books. It plays the part of a concept article on Microsoft Learn. Explainers sit beside the books rather than inside them, and each one links to the chapters that carry the design.

Each page keeps its status label (draft or in review) until it is reviewed and proved; see Status labels.

Title Status Reviewed Description
Certificates, Tokens and Keys Across the Hybrid Estate in review 2026-10-23 Research under review: a narrated explainer on how SQL Server token authentication, the cloud key vaults, PIV smart card sign-in and network access control get their certificates and keys today, during coexistence and after Active Directory retires, and how each meets CyberArk Certificate Manager.
DNS for HR-Driven Identity Across Clouds in review 2026-10-22 Research under review: a narrated explainer on DNS for HR-driven identity with Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, Microsoft Entra ID, AWS (including Amazon Connect), VMware and on-premises: public versus private names, government-cloud endpoints, cloud precedence differences, failure modes and the agency checklist.
Federal HR 2.0 Across Agencies and Boundaries: Shared Governance, FedRAMP’s 2026 Rules and What Oracle Publishes in review 2026-10-30 Research under review. It covers the forums Federal HR 2.0 provides for agencies to share implementation work and who runs them. It covers what the FedRAMP Consolidated Rules for 2026 require a provider to publish about its assessment scope, when those rules reach existing Rev5 packages, and what can stay restricted. It sets out where Oracle Fusion Cloud’s Marketplace record stands, what still limits HR data crossing from the platform to an agency system, FIPS 140 at Moderate, and Oracle’s .com government domains, with questions an agency can put to OPM and Oracle.
Governing and Buying AI Under M-25-21 and M-25-22 in review 2026-10-30 Research under review: what OMB M-25-21 and M-25-22 require of a civilian agency beyond the identity obligations covered in Book 17. It covers the Chief AI Officer, the governance board, the AI strategy and compliance plan, the high-impact determination process, and M-25-22’s requirements for buying AI: data and IP rights, vendor lock-in, privacy, performance-based acquisition, testing, contract terms and closeout.
Keeping Identity Correct After HR Becomes the Source draft 2026-10-24 Research draft: the day-two operating model for HR-driven identity. A catalog of the fixes that still happen after HR becomes the source of authority, the owner and lane for each, the roles and measures that keep it running, and the open questions.
What a Federal DDI Platform Must Do in review 2026-10-22 Research under review: a narrated, vendor-neutral briefing for CIOs, CISOs, network and DDI leads, and acquisition teams on what federal requirements demand of a DNS, DHCP and IPAM platform and how to delegate it to divisions.
Who Names the Device After AD? in review 2026-10-22 Research under review: a narrated explainer on device naming and DNS registration after Active Directory retires, the gaps that break things (IPv6, VPN clients, migration ownership records), and the agency checklist to keep names resolving.
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