The White House American Technology Council IT modernization report, released Aug. 30, emphasizes the need for updated IT infrastructure and shared services. The ATC said that the Federal government should invest in two to three cloud platforms to support all of the agencies. […]
CSRA announced Aug. 23 that it will test the Navy’s enterprise level integrated pay and personnel system operating on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform. CSRA will test the viability and flexibility of the human resource management (HRM) system. […]
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials tapped IBM to bring Watson into their software. APCO recently announced that APCO International’s new guide card software called APCO IntelliCommä will use IBM Watson Speech-to-Text and Watson Analytics to improve the scripts used by 911 operators. […]
Wipro announced that its big data analytics platform will be offered on Microsoft Azure. Wipro and Microsoft have collaborated on parts of the solution, including engineering, solution enhancements, and market strategy. […]
The Department of Defense is following the Federal push to move toward an enterprise structure by using Defense Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS), an effort by the Defense Information Systems Agency to acquire Software-as-a-Service at a DoD enterprise scale. DoD plans to move 4.5 million users to the cloud, using this approach. […]
The IEEE Standards Association recently announced that it will be teaming up with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop principles for cloud interoperability or federation. […]
Today, just 13 percent of Feds say they can deploy new systems as quickly as required. And, it’s no secret agencies are being pushed to make the move to cloud – whether it’s data center consolidation initiatives, flexible performance to meet constituents’ on-demand requests, simply the desire to increase overall IT efficiency, or the demands of the current regulatory environment. So where do agencies start as they evaluate their cloud options? Enter the Great Cloud Debate. […]
The best way for agencies to begin their transition to the cloud is to talk to agencies that have been through the same experience. “It’s always good to talk to people who have gone through it,” said Craig McCullough, vice president of Commvault Federal. […]
Federal agencies that amass multitudes of data because of drone use have had to think about how to store and protect that data. Agencies that use drones are caught between following the regulations in place for aircraft and following the regulations for IT systems, since drones contain properties of both categories. […]
To score a home run, you have to cover all the bases. But getting from start to finish is harder than it looks. For Federal agencies, hitting IT out of the park is even more difficult due to budget constraints, lengthy procurement processes, and staffing difficulties. And, as agencies continue to spend 79 percent of IT budgets – or $62 billion annually – on legacy systems, the window for innovation decreases every day. So how can agencies stay ahead of the curve? […]
The General Services Administration is close to awarding a $50 billion contract for its Enterprise Infrastructure Solution (EIS), Bill Zielinski, assistant commissioner for category management at GSA, announced July 13. […]
More than one-third of the Small Business Administration’s 120 circuits are overloaded. To resolve this issue, chief information officer Maria Roat plans to modernize SBA’s infrastructure by moving to a “pure Ethernet backbone.” She said Ethernet will help employees with Skype and virtual counseling, and will extend to all of the agency’s field offices. […]
The pressure is on for agencies to make the move to cloud – just 13 percent of Feds say they can deploy new systems as fast as required. However, agencies know cloud is here to stay. When it comes down to it, Feds are optimistic – 70 percent say increasing their cloud adoption pace will improve IT’s ability to innovate. That said, flying through the cloud procurement process is no easy feat. Making the cloud move is proving to be more complex than expected – but with the right planning and strategic moves, Feds can ensure they undergo a surprise-free move. […]
The secret to the Small Business Administration’s success in going from cloud launch to receiving an authority to operate (ATO) in less than three months was to burn the bridge back to the old way of doing things and commit completely to cloud migration, according to SBA Deputy CIO Guy Cavallo and CTO Sanjay Gupta. […]
The Federal Acquisition Regulation, the guidelines dictating how Federal agencies procure goods and services, is not flexible enough to keep pace with modernizing agencies, according to Jennifer Hoover, DevOps program manager for the Transportation Security Administration. […]
One of the drives for agencies to move to a mobile, cloud environment is to attract millennials, who are used to having their data on demand. […]
Cloud helps organizations focus on the important parts of their mission, rather than wasting their time on maintenance and compliance, according to Peter Cutts, senior vice president of hybrid cloud platforms at Dell EMC. […]
How do agencies tackle cloud adoption? Everyone has a different story but the challenges are similar across state and local government. Learn how other states are navigating the challenges of modernizing IT and how these organizations have found success in adopting the cloud. […]
As the needs of Federal employees push agencies to move more and more services to the cloud, join MeriTalk and Government Acquisitions Inc. for the Federal Focus: The Cloud Generation event on July 12 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., to discuss the best practices and results of Federal cloud migration. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., co-author of FITARA and IT reform advocate, will keynote the lunch session at the event. […]
Cloud computing allows both small and large manufacturers to use new production systems, including 3-D printing, high-performance computing, and the Internet of Things, and robots, an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report found. […]
As agencies navigate cloud, they continue to leverage and build upon lessons learned. And, it seems to be working: According to a recent MeriTalk study, 75% of Federal cloud decision-makers say their workforce is somewhat or very comfortable with moving its systems to the cloud.
But, how did they get there and what’s really the first step of a successful migration? Knowing your IT environment is important – but even more essential is ensuring you have a cloud-ready workforce. […]
Cloud computing services can keep pace with the fast-moving nature of private sector workplaces, according to Conrad Unciano, systems engineering manager for CSRA. He said CSRA recently migrated four of its key applications using Amazon cloud services. […]
Federal IT executives are focused on the future. And, as agencies consider modernization strategies and options, most agree that cloud will be a foundational component. While cloud conversations have been ongoing for many years, widespread use of cloud models remains a challenge. There is still confusion about choices, migration paths, and which cloud offerings are available for different types of workload. Fortunately, the burgeoning relationship between government and industry partners helps agencies cut through this cloud confusion. […]
Eighteen technology company CEOs are expected to attend the White House Tech Summit on June 19 to talk about modernizing the government’s tech infrastructure and keeping its computers safe from cyberattacks. The technology leaders could benefit if the government moves to modernize with the help of their hardware, software, and cloud-computing services. […]
When moving to the cloud, government customers must think about the many moving parts that make up such a project including the resources they need to sustain their applications as well as the resources required to complete the actual migration. They also must consider the architecture, security policies, and model for operations and maintenance, as well as scope the size of the environment. […]
Over the past few years, the department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has started using cloud computing services. Michael Giardinelli, a senior software engineer and technical team lead at PNNL, said the lab’s 16 counterparts across the nation have embarked on similar cloud journeys. “A lot of them are moving in same direction as us,” Giardinelli said. “One key thing is collaboration amongst labs, like when working through the power grid.” […]
Under tight budget restrictions and capital expenditure scrutiny, government agencies are finding it difficult to keep pace with mandates to modernize technology infrastructure. Technology Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offers a direct path to IT modernization, efficiency and control. This white paper details the driving forces behind the shift to IaaS as well as the benefits of moving to a consumption economics model for IT. It also details best practices, specific strategies and the five (5) key principles in contracting for IaaS as well as a glossary of IaaS related terms, so that government agencies can efficiently and effectively utilize what is fast becoming the preferred, proven method of contracting for and implementing IT capacity. […]
Cloud infrastructure may be the safest place to store an agency’s most sensitive data, department of Justice officials said at an AWS Public Sector Summit. “I’d say it’s a pretty good place to put your crown jewels,” said Karl Mathias, chief information officer for the United States Marshals Service, adding that commercial clouds may end up being safer than an agency’s own data centers. […]
Amazon Web Services will open a new GovCloud Region in 2018 on the U.S. East Coast, the company announced at its annual Public Sector Summit on June 13. […]
Cyber AdAPT, a company that markets a platform that analyzes network traffic in real time for signs of malicious activity, was named the Gartner Cool Vendor for 2017 at the Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit on June 12. […]