Microsoft

Research in Motion’s BlackBerry phones have historically been the device of choice for secure mobile communication in the government market. BlackBerries offered unique business-oriented capabilities but lacked sex appeal to draw consumers to its products. Yet for government agencies that needed to supply their workers with a robust, secure cell phone, the business features won out over giving users a device that was “magical.”

Now with the rise of BYOD (“bring you own device”) in government agencies, RIM is suddenly no longer an appealing option for consumers who are now asked to buy their own device and bring it to work.
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This article originally appeared as a blog on “The New Information Economy.” For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.
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The Army’s migration to an enterprise-wide email system, after years of false starts and execution detours, is gaining significant momentum and appears on track to hit the 1.4 million user mark by March 31, Army program officials told AOL Government.

While enterprise email and communications systems are taken for granted at most organizations, Army soldiers and civilians – and most military personnel – have had to get by without the convenience of having a single globally-accessible email account, capable of communicating sensitive information securely anywhere in the world. Keep reading →


In an increasing era of mobile technology and BYOD, federal workers are often juggling work, personal and “classified” lives throughout their days. This can mean several devices with differing degrees of security coming into the government landscape.

While single devices are being configured to address mobile data needs, the cog in that wheel is the individual using the technology, experts say. Keep reading →

Dr. Stephan Fihn is sitting on the edge of a revolution at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where big data is becoming easily accessible for clinicians and analysts throughout its 160 hospitals.

Fihn (pictured above) is director of Business Intelligence and Analytics for the Veterans Health Administration and a practicing physician at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, where he is helping to develop as well as benefiting from the VA’s big data warehouse. Keep reading →

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently committed to a continued partnership with Microsoft Corp. to use emerging tools and technologies to harness the power of big data and drive efficiency, mobility and better service.

Spanning from the desktop to the data center and mobile devices, the renewed agreement will allow the VA to analyze big data the department has been unable to evaluate in the past. It also means continued investment in a groundbreaking data warehousing/big data analytics initiative. Keep reading →


Richard Spires, CIO of the Department of Homeland Security, received the top honor given to a leader in the public sector among awards given by the TechAmerica Foundation this week.

The foundation announced the winners of the 2012 American Technology Awards, celebrating their involvement and contributions to the technology sector. The awards were given at a gala event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Keep reading →

When you think of Pinterest, your initial perception might be people planning their future weddings, posting their perfect wardrobes, and pinning up their dream homes.

But is there a place on this social network for government? The answer is yes, according to many GovLoop community members. Keep reading →

Microsoft officials announced the official debut Wednesday of a new dedicated cloud computing service for government customers in the United States, called Office 365 for Government.

Office 365 for Government is a multi-tenant service that stores US government data in a segregated community cloud. Keep reading →

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a field hearing on technology and the federal government Friday in Northern Virginia, where they heard testimony from large and small information technology companies and government officials about the top technology issues affecting government today.

The hearing was meant to provide access to extensive private-sector IT expertise within Northern Virginia and the National Capital region. It was also an opportunity for federal officials and state and local government partners to share best technology practices amid top technology challenges, including cybersecurity, cloud conversion and data center consolidation, and look at innovative ways to promote efficiency in government IT operations. Keep reading →

The epic shift to cloud computing and need to process massive volumes of data are spurring a high-stakes race to build global data center capacity while making information available on whatever kind of device consumers want it, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a group of Northern Virginia technology executives Thursday.

“We need to think of data center capacity in real time,” he said, as part of Microsoft’s broader bet that businesses and government will use a combination of public and private clouds in the future, Ballmer said. He made comment in a series of wide ranging remarks about how technology is changing and the implications that will have for individuals, businesses, and government during an industry breakfast in McLean, Va., hosted by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Keep reading →

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