Time’s run out for TikTok with government contractors

New FAR and state rules clamp down on the social media platform

By Skyler Handl, Corporate Counsel Public Sector

You’ve likely heard the rumblings in the news, at both the federal and state levels, regarding national security concerns and the popular social media application TikTok, owned by ByteDance. On August 6, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order 13942 banning the use of TikTok in the United States. TikTok received a preliminary injunction that prohibited the enforcement of the executive order, and President Biden rescinded the executive order in 2021. In early 2023, Congress acted to renew the effort to restrict TikTok. Their action included a prohibition on TikTok in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 which directed the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) to further implement the ban. OMB released guidance (M-23-13) on February 27, 2023, extending the prohibition to federal contractors.

On June 2, 2023, the FAR council published FAR Case 2023-010 ( Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application). This interim rule amends FAR part 4, adding a new subpart 4.22, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application, with a corresponding new contract clause at 52.204–27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application. The FAR clause at 52.204–27 prohibits contractors from having or using a covered application, including TikTok or any successor application of TikTok, on any information technology owned or managed by the federal government or on any information technology (IT) used or provided by the contractor under a contract, including equipment provided by the contractor’s employees.

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Debt ceiling deal impacts IT budgets

What federal IT contractors need to know about the legislation

By Grier Eagan, Senior Market Intelligence Analyst

With the expected passing of the debt ceiling legislation, which locks in federal civilian spending until January 2025, contractors who sell IT to the government face a shifting landscape. While the Federal Civilian FY24 IT budget will cap at $56.4 billion, identical to the budget passed in FY22, opportunities still exist for those nimble enough to adapt.

Despite this cap representing a $6.9 billion decrease from the IT budget originally requested for FY24, IT vendors should take solace in the fact that the FY25 budget will see a marginal 1 percent increase. However, considering the current annual inflation rate of 4.93 percent as per the Consumer Price Index, this means that the federal civilian government will have approximately 4 percent less buying power under the FY25 budget than the FY24 budget.

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Selling cyber now means understanding FITARA

Feds update FITARA metrics to include agency performance in critical cyber needs.

By Tara Franzonello, Program Development Manager

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) released its 15th  Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard in December 2022. This latest scorecard introduced a new category for cyber security. 

Agencies’ protests against enacting this key IT legislation have high visibility from agency chief information officers (CIOs) to the General Accounting Office (GAO) to Congress. Technology vendors have an advantage over their competition if they can help agency customers show progress in measured categories. This is now particularly important for FITARA because agency self-assessment for compliance happens every spring.

Why FITARA matters for federal cyber security sales

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FITARA Scorecard changes: What you need to know

By Tara Franzonello, Program Development Manager

How will changes to the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act affect government agencies and OEMs?

On Jan. 20, 2022, the Subcommittee on Government Operations discussed FITARA, the Modernizing Government Technology Act, and the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014. The purpose was to consider how to modernize the FITARA Scorecard, since many agency grades have remained stagnant. 

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Subcommittee, suggested that lack of progress was because of the methodology used to calculate metrics. Connolly believes there should be new ways to hold agencies accountable for IT modernization, including moving to the cloud.

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How TMF helps agencies fund IT Modernization

By Tara Franzonello, Program Development Manager

Improved cyber security is a priority for government agencies, which is why IT Modernization products and services are becoming so important. Unfortunately, agencies may not have sufficient funds for mission-critical IT.

That’s where the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) comes in.

TMF bridges the gap in IT Modernization between what agencies want and Congress expects. In the last several months alone, the TMF has approved seven new projects totaling over $300M in new funding.

To help address immediate security and capability gaps, suppliers must have a better understanding of the TMF. Agency customers will be better positioned for TMF money if you can explain how products and services map to TMF priorities, and how they provide solutions to pressing IT issues. 

Shaping the TMF proposal

TMF is an “innovative funding vehicle” authorized by the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017. It provides agencies with resources to secure systems and data, and to deliver services to citizens.

The Technology Modernization Board of TMF evaluates project proposals, provides funding recommendations, and monitors progress and performance of approved projects. Project proposals are submitted through a two-phased approval process – an Initial Project Proposal (IPP) and a Full Project Proposal (FPP). 

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Top Four 2021 State CIO Priorities

By Charles Castelly, SLED Analyst

The release of the Top Ten Priorities for State CIOs in 2021 in December by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), places digital government at the top of the list for the second year in a row. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of certain technologies by government as they look to provide quicker and more efficient services to citizens and employees.

Looking at the year ahead, state governments recognize that they will continue to need technology solutions that support digital modernization for applications that enable remote workforce accessibility and online interactions with citizens. Here are the top four technology priorities that CIOs are looking for:

(1) Cloud Solutions

With the migration of traditional in-person services online, cloud technologies are crucial to deliver services en masse. Cloud solutions allow agencies to operate more efficiently, delivering services to a larger number of citizens. However, agencies will need vendor assistance to help them through the migration process so that services are migrated seamlessly, with no loss in uptime.

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2 Myths About Federal Data Center Optimization

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

5 Years Later and FITARA Remains Relevant

By Tara Franzonello, Contracts Manager

FITARA, also known as the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act, was enacted by Congress in December 2014 with an aim to reform government’s management and acquisition of IT. Although agencies have made progress over the last 5 years, there remain significant challenges in working toward FITARA compliance.

What does this mean for technology providers? Opportunity! Read more of this post

Summing Up the Government IT Sales Summit

By Tim Larkins, Director, Market Intelligence

The 2018 immixGroup Government IT Sales Summit has come to an end. Despite an unwelcomed surprise from mother nature, hundreds of suppliers, partners, systems integrators and government employees flocked to the event to attend sessions, share knowledge and network. A diverse array of topics was discussed, and while content varied from room to room, many consistencies were noticeable.

Among them were government agencies’ imperatives for modernization, optimization and meaningful use of data. About half of the agencies are funded with new appropriations in FY19, with the other half on a CR through early December. Of the agencies with new money, most of them are seeing an uptick in their IT budgets – with which they will be purchasing COTS software and hardware to help them meet the aforementioned imperatives.

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How Can Technology Tackle the Lengthy Immigration Process?

By Kevin Shaker, consultant

The United States Digital Service (USDS), founded in 2014 to provide innovative ideas to agencies around IT modernization, is aggressively attempting to streamline the immigration process by implementing electronic forms and doing away with paper-based applications. The goal is to shorten the lengthy process immigrants endure when applying for citizenship and make it less burdensome on government employees as they process immigration and green card applications.

USDS is now working with United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), the DHS agency that handles immigration and naturalization, to reform their application analysis process. The USDS team working on the project is more focused on developing technologies for IT and operations process redesign than pushing immigration policy through Congress. Their goal is to also collaborate with agency higher ups and end users to design and create automated systems that alleviate redundancy.

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