Outdated technologies, piles of paperwork, lengthy business processes, frustrated stakeholders, difficult to use systems, and complex government mandates are just a few reasons motivating federal agencies to modernize. Many government processes have adapted to the underlying IT systems, and consequentially over time, become brittle and inefficient. Agencies are trying to not only modernize their IT systems but fundamentally redefine their busi...

Agility is a journey with DevOps as a major component for building a well-oiled machine that continuously delivers value to support your agency’s mission. Every journey has a beginning with a varying path and no end. The path defines the journey and helps to achieve incremental maturity as you learn along the way. During this discussion, government and industry experts will explore their experiences - from getting started and the steps t...

Agility is a journey with DevOps as a major component for building a well-oiled machine that continuously delivers value to support your agency’s mission. Every journey has a beginning with a varying path and no end. The path defines the journey and helps to achieve incremental maturity as you learn along the way. During this discussion, government and industry experts will explore their experiences - from getting started and the steps t...

On February 13, shortly before the Covid pandemic, a USPTO executive team met with industry to discuss IT opportunities and challenges. CIO Jamie Holcombe and several colleagues shared their vision and anticipated journey, and invited industry to help address challenges in modernizing USPTO’s IT for its important mission. Mr. Holcombe and his team will share a six month update on progress made, and plans for the future. The team will she...

5G refers to the fifth generation of wireless networks and technology that will lead to improving data speed, volume and latency and will change the standard of public and private sector operations, from autonomous vehicles to smart cities. 5G will dramatically impact the future of global communication networks; enhance decision-making and strategic capabilities; link to multiple systems and devices while sharing information in real time; incr...

As the largest bureau in the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) executes just over $3B annually in contracts and financial assistance grants to support of NOAA’s missions. AGO has two major strategic sourcing acquisition programs, the NOAA Mission Information Technology Services (NMITS) contract program for IT services and the Professional, Scientif...

Category management is a strategic business practice that the Federal Government is applying to buy smarter and more like a single enterprise. It enables the government to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency, deliver more value and savings from the government's acquisition programs, and meet the government’s small business goals. Accordingly, the government-wide IT Category has a strong commitment to small businesses and wants to...

Quantum computing offers a more sophisticated computing model that has significantly increased computer power, is faster, and will lend itself to a Quantum-Smart workforce. Do you want your data to be safe and protected in ten or twenty years from now? Would you like a faster computing process in place to prevent attacks on data? Will Quantum computer threaten the current encryption infrastructure? What are the plans for using Quantum in the p...

Continuous Value Office: Enabling IT-as-a-Service In an article published earlier this year, Gartner states: “Government IT faces unprecedented change as digital drives technology optimization and modernization programs. Government CIOs must ready themselves, their operating models and their platforms to remain relevant and thrive.” From the perspective of any IT shop, IT and business service consumers need it all, “as-a-serv...

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides comprehensive health services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country; several non-healthcare benefits including disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, educational assistance, home loans, and life insurance; and provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries. The VA...