OMB sent a clear message with the release of its Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) – it wants to see clear, measurable cost savings from agency data consolidation efforts and it wants to see them soon. But where will these agencies realize these savings? OMB calls out energy metering, PUE, and facility utilization – but what about storage? Industry analysts peg storage costs at nearly 30 percent of overall data center cost...

IoT – Unleash the Power of Big Data to Improve Government Outcomes More than any other tech trend, IoT will fundamentally change our society — from healthcare to law enforcement to environmental protection to transportation to defense. And, the implications for cyber security cut both ways. More than a pipe dream, IoT’s already in action in government. How are agencies deploying data normalization, analytics, and visualizatio...

Data centers get a bad rap. Too old, too many, too inefficient, too expensive – we’ve heard it all. But data centers are still the life blood of operations and missions in government, and aren’t going anywhere. With a renewed focus from both the Hill and OMB to reform IT and meet aggressive metrics, now is the time for IT leaders to accelerate data center transformation. How can agencies operate their facilities effectively a...

Cyber Marathon – Hitting The Wall? It’s been a year since the OPM breach — and the 90-day cyber sprint has turned into a cyber marathon. CDM and CAP Goals giving way to CNAP and CSIP initiatives in the front of the pack. FedRAMP appears to have stumbled getting out of the blocks. Which cyber initiatives will empower agencies to make the final kick to the finish line? And what efforts are the lactic acid in the government...

Delivering Next-Gen Threat ProtectionAs government embraces digital innovation, so do our cyber adversaries. Agencies must tackle the ever-changing threat landscape with next-gen cyber strategies. From the exponential increase of endpoints to new Federal mandates, agencies need to restructure and expand security strategies to detect and prevent cyberattacks.Join leading government, cyber, and industry professionals for an interactive one-day c...

The novelty of cloud is now reality across all corners of Federal IT. As the march toward modernization continues, we’ve seen cloud powering change and driving progress. Join MeriTalk for our fifth annual Cloud Computing Brainstorm on Wednesday, June 15th at the Newseum. We’re celebrating the five year anniversary of FedRAMP and the two year anniversary of FITARA with a full program featuring cloud professionals from across DoD, ci...

Safeguarding a Dynamic Government – End to End Security for your Agency Today’s public demands a high performance -- and safe -- web experience from government and public organizations. And public IT leaders require flawless web protection to securely meet that demand. Join leading government cyber, IT, and web professionals at the 2016 Akamai Government Forum, an engaging one-day discussion, where we will dialogue on the critical...

Join OMB’s FITARA team, GAO, and former Federal CIOs for a deeper dive into the FITARA guidance and agencies progress made towards implementation – before the December 31 deadline. Hosted by MeriTalk in partnership with OMB, the FITARA Forum provides the platform to get the inside track on the new law – and what it means for your agency. Will agencies meet the deadlines? What are the common opportunities and challenges? How w...

Join MeriTalk's Big Data Exchange for the third annual Big Data Brainstorm on Thursday, November 19, 2015 at the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. From acting on real-time analysis to predicting the future, the power of data is limitless. Data analytics are transforming how agencies view the world and get things done, and forcing agencies to reevaluate how they store its data – the way data is protected is key t...

There are two types of people – those who know they’ve been hacked, and those who don’t. Federal agencies, companies, and individuals are under attack every day from hackers, and our wealth of data is the ultimate prize. With outdated government data centers taking much of the blame in recent attacks, agencies are increasingly turning to the cloud for security. Still, no defense is impenetrable, and it’s only a matter o...