About Kerry Rea President of GovEvents

Twitter: @Kerry_Rea | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kerryrea/ I am a business and marketing professional with an extensive background in company start-ups. I have 20+ years direct experience in the information technology, government, franchise, and construction industries. Having a passion for business, I love brainstorming, collaborating and strategizing on the best ways to achieve our clients' and partners' business objectives.

Cloud Computing Rains Down Added Benefits

Cloud computing has long been heralded as a more efficient computing model that allows resources to be quickly scaled up and down as needed to achieve cost savings. Initial fears about security--namely the idea of trusting a third party with network access and data--have been overcome as individual organizations have been unable to keep up with the complex threat landscape. Increasingly, these organizations have turned to cloud providers to gain the security expertise and the resources needed to protect their data and systems. As the use of cloud has increased, benefits beyond cost savings and security have emerged in some surprising areas.

Attracting and Retaining Talent

As organizations, particularly government employers, look to fill critical talent gaps both in technology positions and in operational roles, they have to provide a modern work experience. The best way to do that is by being a "cloud native" organization--one that embraces cloud services to build and deliver digital solutions. Today's workforce is used to managing their personal lives with digital applications, and expects to be able to do the same in their work lives. A recent poll showed that 83% of government leaders expect the transition to digital government to improve employee job satisfaction and engagement within their organization. Continue reading

Blockchain on Your Block

Beyond its use for cryptocurrency, Blockchain is proving to be a valuable technology to help modernize government service delivery. The key quality of blockchain is its ability to record transactions immutably. Managing transactions is a key function of state and local governments, and as such, they are looking for ways to incorporate blockchain as part of their digital modernization processes.

The decentralization of blockchain provides a level of transparency and accountability not typically associated with government. It can give citizens more control over their data and let them more easily check the status of requests they've made of their state and local governments. Continue reading

DHS’s Commitment to Innovation

Under its umbrella mission of "securing the nation from the many threats we face," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines several mission areas critical to meeting this goal. These include countering terrorism and preventing threats, securing and managing borders, administering immigration, securing cyberspace, building resilience, and responding to incidents, as well as combating crimes of exploitation. To support these areas, the DHS Innovation, Research & Development Strategic Plan defines eight scientific areas as focal points for research:

  • Advanced sensing
  • AI and autonomous systems
  • Biotechnology
  • Climate change
  • Communications and networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data integration, analytics, modeling, and simulation
  • Digital identity and trust

In a previous post, we looked at DHS's work with artificial intelligence (AI), digital identity, and climate change. In this post, we'll take a look at the activity happening in more of these eight areas. Continue reading

8 Facts About Presidential Inaugurations

Every four years, the United States swears in the incoming president with a ceremony steeped in tradition, history, and pageantry. The presidential inauguration is not just a power transfer but a moment reflecting the nation's resilience, unity, and continuity. Over the years, this ceremony has featured memorable, quirky, and sometimes downright astonishing moments. Let's dive into some fun facts about presidential inaugurations!

1. The First Inauguration

The very first inauguration took place on April 30, 1789, when George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States. The ceremony was held in New York City, the nation's capital at the time, on the balcony of Federal Hall. Washington, known for his humility, reportedly trembled with nervousness as he took the oath of office. Continue reading

AI in 2024 and Beyond

Driven both by genuine need and by Executive Order, agencies across government made great strides in 2024 to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their IT systems and business processes to increase efficiency and introduce new insights for data-driven decision-making.

AI is widely used across government in a variety of capacities, including fraud detection at the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration, public health data analysis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, powering chatbots to improve customer service at General Services Administration and Veterans Affairs, and more. Continue reading