Shifting Priorities in the Upcoming FY21 Budget

May 28, 2020 by Leave a comment

Lloyd McCoy Jr.

By Lloyd McCoy, Market Intelligence Manager

With the start of the FY21 fiscal year just a few months away, the debate between the executive and legislative branches over priorities and tradeoffs in the FY21 budget will soon begin in earnest. At the heart of the discussion will be on what changes need to be made to the FY21 budget request presented in February, given the current environment.

Areas like artificial intelligence already have seen increased funding support in the request, but we’ll see more focus on areas specific to robotic process automation, security analytics and data mining — due to the ways agencies have had to adapt to conduct their missions.

It’s safe to say that every federal department will ultimately receive a budget that reflects the changing times. Additionally, it’s also safe to say that the priorities reflected in the upcoming budget will be needed indefinitely — to remain vigilant against future threats.

Here are some of the primary federal players that could see the biggest changes in the makeup and composition of their FY21 budget request: Read more of this post

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Remote Work Is Here to Stay in SLED

May 15, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Charles Castelly, Analyst

This year’s NASCIO’s mid-year was full of insightful information on how states are adjusting to the new environment and how they plan to move forward during the upcoming fiscal year. One of the topics discussed was the transition to remote work and how each of their states are managing the change.

As part of this transition, CIO’s explained how they handled the immediate demand for more laptops and VPN capacity. Beyond the nuts and bolts of working remote, many CIOs also addressed their future workforce plans once restrictions are lifted. Here are some examples of what Maryland, Georgia and Missouri are doing, which may lead to other states following suit:

Maryland — Creating a Virtual Agency

Michael Leahy, Maryland’s Secretary of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, stated that remote work is likely going to be a major component of his staffing strategy going forward. Leahy said that he has given serious thought about having his staff work remotely full time, creating a “virtual agency.” A virtual agency would enable his department to save on real estate and help ease the pressure from expected budget cuts in the upcoming fiscal year. Read more of this post

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2 Myths About Federal Data Center Optimization

May 7, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Jessica Parks, Market Intelligence Analyst

One major initiative driving IT modernization at federal civilian agencies continues to be the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI). This program impacts every civilian agency and continues to influence broader modernization efforts. Agencies are making progress, some (such as Department of Justice) more so than others, and they continue to incorporate their optimization goals into their budget and strategic planning.

Do you know where your target agencies are at in this process? If you are still formulating your strategy, here’s some high-level myth-busting to guide you. Read more of this post

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DOD ESI BPAs: What CETA Is and Why It Is Important

May 1, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Derek Giarratana, Supplier Manager

Many of you are familiar with DOD ESI BPAs, but you’re probably not as familiar with the CETA designation and what it means.

Only one vendor has received the CETA designation thus far. Recently, the Navy PEO-EIS designated the Tanium DOD ESI BPA, held by immixGroup, as the first DOD Core Enterprise Technology Agreement (CETA). The CETA designation means that this purchasing vehicle is mandatory for all DOD customers who want to procure Tanium products and services.

DOD Enterprise Software Initiative

Before we dive into CETA and what it means for DOD procurement, let’s briefly talk about the DOD ESI program, managed by the PMW 290 Project Office. Read more of this post

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Top Trending Technologies in DOD for 2020

April 24, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Toné Mason, DOD Senior Analyst

FY20 has truly been the year of technology acceleration within the Department of Defense. Our world has never been more capable technology-wise than it is today. The arrival of 5G and the new challenges brought on by a rapidly expanding remote workforce have catapulted the adoption of new and innovative technologies.

The DOD is at a point where they are looking to gain a better understanding of currently available technologies and applying them where it makes the most sense. Below are some of the key areas the DOD is focused on right now.

Data Integrity

Data integrity is one of the essential areas. As the need for transparency increases and desire to expand more into AI and machine learning, there has been more of a realization that DOD’s data is not consistent, not all data is being recorded and data is incomplete. Read more of this post

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Cyber Insurance Is Not an IT Strategy

April 17, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Rachel Eckert, SLED Manager

Ransomware attacks on our state and local governments’ IT infrastructure are increasing at an alarming rate and our customers are looking at cyber insurance to mitigate risk. But cyber insurance shouldn’t be confused with a sound cybersecurity strategy that guards against attacks in the first place.

Here’s what you need to know about cyber insurance and how you can work with customers to develop cyber strategies that will serve them for the long term. Read more of this post

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TIC 3.0 Is Shaping Government Network Security to the Edge

April 1, 2020 by Leave a comment

By Jessica Parks, Market Intelligence Analyst

In an increasingly interconnected world, we often take for granted the availability and security of networks whenever we sign on to our devices. Agencies are now taking a closer look at the bandwidth and security of their networks and the Department of Homeland Security has been ahead of that curve — working on updating its Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) policy.

Draft guidance on TIC 3.0 is in process, with new documents expected to be published this spring. TIC policy aims to standardize security rules for networks, so you can bet federal agencies will be paying close attention to this guidance as it is released. Here is a look at TIC 3.0 and what it means for you.

Security Moving Out

With more agencies moving away from traditional network perimeters and into complex cloud environments, TIC 3.0 is defining where to secure these networks. One thing is for sure, as TIC 3.0 Program Manager Sean Connelly pointed out at the FCW Cloud Security Workshop in February, TIC 3.0 is moving security tools towards the users and applications themselves.   Read more of this post

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