cloud computing

Five Tips For Secure Mobile Access

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The Department of Defense is taking a leadership role in leveraging mobile device technology to improve information sharing, collaboration and efficiencies. In a recent press release, Teri Takai, DoD’s chief information officer, said “As today’s DoD personnel become increasingly mobile, a wide variety of devices offer unprecedented opportunities to advance the operational effectiveness of the DoD workforce This strategy will allow mobile devices across the department to converge towards a common vision and approach.”

There are significant challenges that await agencies, like the DoD, that are looking to implement mobile strategies and “bring your own devices” (BYOD) policies – the most daunting being security. In order to overcome various security challenges, agencies must take several factors into consideration. The five tips found in this piece will outline crucial items for agencies to consider when adopting mobile practices for their employees: Keep reading →

 /  Published December 14, 2012 at 7:00 AM

How The Fiscal Cliff Will Impact Cyber Priorities in 2013

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My perspective on the outlook for cyber initiatives is quite different heading into the New Year than in past years.

While there are always budgetary uncertainties and looming cuts in government IT spending, this year, we face an unprecedented financial uncertainty as our nation stands on the edge of a fiscal cliff. That will impact not only the resources we have to invest in technology, but how people work and live. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 10, 2012 at 3:00 PM

How Multi-Layer Cloud Security Leaves Hackers In The Cold

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With the government’s Shared First initiative, the emergence of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and ongoing budget pressures, migrating to the cloud has moved from an ideal to reality for many government agencies.

However, along with the efficiencies and cost savings associated with cloud computing comes a number of information security risks that must be overcome. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 6, 2012 at 9:00 AM

10 Predictions For Government IT In 2013

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The relatively rapid adoption by government organizations of big data analytics, cloud computing social business and mobility is expected to propel the use of “smart strategies” in 2013, according to a leading research group.

IDG Government Insights, in its annual “Top 10 Predictions” for government information technology in 2013, predicted as a result that more than 40% of U.S. local governments will be in research and evaluation stage for “smart city” pilots/projects and 50% will begin implementation in 2013. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 5, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Giving Thanks For Mobility

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It’s easy to take all the comforts of our modern lives for granted. Cars are basically parking themselves these days, and Wi-Fi on airplanes allows us to watch our favorite shows as we zip across the country in a matter of hours. Mobile devices can talk to and interact with us like humans – not to mention letting us securely accomplish our work from anywhere and at any time.

We sometimes forget that things haven’t always been this way. December 17 marks the 10-year anniversary of the E-Government Act of 2002 – America’s first step toward a modernized and accessible IT infrastructure.
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 /  Published November 23, 2012 at 7:00 AM

VA Leverages Cloud To Develop Mobile App Library

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The Department of Veterans Affairs will stand up a series of internal and external mobile apps in January to deliver veterans programs and help employees do a better job of delivering benefits.

Up to 100,000 employees handling patients’ clinical information and veteran’s benefits eventually will be able to access the mobile apps to manage records while moving around units and facilities, VA CIO Roger Baker said, easing and streamlining processes and eliminating delays that have often characterized the VA’s handling of benefits. In addition, mobile apps for veterans will offer easy access to benefits and claim status. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 21, 2012 at 7:00 AM

VA Contracts To Move 600,000 Email Accounts To The Cloud

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a five-year contract to HP Enterprise Services to provide a department-wide, cloud computing based email and calendaring infrastructure to the VA’s 600,000 users, using Microsoft Office 365 for Government, HP announced today.

The agreement, valued at $36 million, was awarded under the Veterans Administration Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology (VA T4) program, the department’s information technology modernization contract. The modernization effort will begin with 15,000 people and expand agencywide to 600,000 people when all contract options are executed. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 13, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Big Data Tradeoffs: What Agencies Need To Know – NIST’s Peter Mell

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The power of big data – like cloud computing and mobility – has emerged as a transformational technology force, but one that poses a host of planning questions for senior government agency officials. Peter Mell, a senior computer scientist for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, devoted many months assessing the potential and the pitfalls of big data for NIST. He recently shared what he learned and what executives need to understand about big data in an interview with AOL Government’s Wyatt Kash.

Mell outlined some of the misunderstandings and tradeoffs associated with large scale data sets agencies are likely to encounter as they move beyond classic relational databases. He also talked about the importance cloud computing plays in facilitating big data analytics. And he shared with our readers a comprehensive slide presentation that puts many of the questions about big data and related security implications into perspective. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 12, 2012 at 9:00 AM

No More Copper Wires: Army CIO To Tell Odierno We Gotta Go to Cloud

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While Army forces in Afghanistan have more bandwidth and gadgetry than ever, bases back home still make do with archaic copper-wire telephone switches. As the war winds down and units increasingly operate out of the US, the challenge for the Army’s CIO is to move the whole service to a single set of compatible, cloud-based systems.

“How do we get the network right?” Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence, the Army’s Chief Information Officer, aka the G-6, asked at an Association of the US Army breakfast. “We’re going to propose that [cloud-based] strategy to [Chief of Staff] Gen. [Ray] Odierno on Saturday the 17th.” Keep reading →

 /  Published November 9, 2012 at 1:45 PM

Federal LPTA Contracts: Acceptable Is The Antithesis Of Innovative

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During this time of budget constraints, the federal government is seeking low-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) solutions to keep projects and innovation alive. In other words, agencies need to find ways to keep technological innovation moving forward, albeit with tighter purse strings.

As Lisa Mascolo, CEO of Optimos Inc., pointed out in her recent Washington Technology Op-Ed article on the topic of LPTA contracts, “When I hear ‘acceptable,’ I think adequate, good enough, not great but okay.” Keep reading →

 /  Published November 6, 2012 at 12:30 PM
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