innovation

Rise Of Big Data Issues Spurs Industry Commission

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The explosive growth of data emerging from social media, mobile applications and other sources is creating new challenges in terms of how to harness and obtain value from it.


The federal government’s recently announced $200 Million Big Data Research and Development Initiative is prompting new and higher profile attention from industry on how to better address the explosion of big data.

The latest example is the decision by TechAmerica Foundation, announced late last week, to create an expert commission on the big data issues.

“Big Data is one of the biggest issues that the technology industry has to tackle in the near term and we want to bring together the leading thinkers on the issue to provide the path forward,” said Jennifer Kerber, President of the TechAmerica Foundation.

Kerber cited the fact that more than 90% of the data that has ever existed was created in the past two years, according to a report in Fortune Magazine. Yet, the notion of what actually constitutes big data from the ongoing flood of information, and what new opportunities are emerging around big data, remains vague and not well understood, she said.

With the world’s data doubling every 18 months, the real question is how to make intelligent decisions based on that data, and that’s a question that is critical for government and industry to answer, she said.

The government of course has been dealing with big data issues for many years and has a variety of major initiatives already underway.

But the explosive growth of data emerging from social media, mobile applications, machine sensors and other sources is creating new challenges in terms of how to harness and obtain value from it.

Kerber said the new commission will seek to explore what capabilities are required to succeed with big data; how to use big data to make intelligent decisions; how will agencies effectively govern and secure huge volumes of information, while protecting privacy and civil liberties; and what value will it really deliver to the U.S. Government and U.S. citizens.

The TechAmerica Foundation said it is currently accepting applications for commissioners.

 /  Published May 7, 2012 at 11:17 AM

The Federal Leadership Challenge

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Leadership is difficult in any environment, but leading in the federal government comes with unique challenges, and frankly, government leaders aren’t receiving rave reviews from their employees.

An analysis of Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® data by my organization, the Partnership for Public Service, reveals that leadership in the federal government is one of the lowest ranked out of 10 workplace categories, with a score of only 54.9 out of 100. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 4, 2012 at 2:29 PM

White House CIO Office Issues Shared IT Strategy

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The White House Office of Management and Budget issued new guidelines to federal agencies Wednesday on ways to share information technology services.

The Federal IT Shared Services Strategy, provides federal agency Chief Information Officers and key stakeholders takes aim at IT services as way to eliminate waste and duplication and reinvest in innovative mission systems. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 3, 2012 at 9:52 AM

Security Sensors That Can See Through Walls

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Imagine a real-life version of Harry Potter’s magical Marauder’s Map, which showed the location of everyone prowling throughout Hogwarts castle. That’s what startup Xandem is building: a new kind of all-seeing motion-detection system that’s poised to shake up the security market.

There are many different ways to track motion, but most commercial systems rely on optical beams that require uninterrupted sight lines. Heat-sensing infrared systems don’t have that weakness, but they’re prone to false alarms and can be blocked by anything that insulates body heat. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 20, 2012 at 9:30 AM

New Age Data Centers Pivotal To Microsoft’s Cloud Future Says Ballmer

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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 →

 /  Published April 19, 2012 at 1:31 PM

Feds Express Appreciation for Attrition

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With Baby Boomers exiting the workforce and budgets becoming increasingly strained, there will continue to be a high level of employee turnover in every sector — and government is no exception.

High attrition rates are often considered negative indicators of an agency’s health, but last week GovLoop blogger Doris Tirone wondered: “Is there an upside to high turnover?” Keep reading →

 /  Published April 12, 2012 at 9:13 AM

National Public Alert System For Mobile Phones Goes Live

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A new, first-of-its-kind, national alert system in the U.S. that allows the public to receive major emergency alert notifications on their mobile phones without having to sign up or pay for them went live this past weekend, according to a report from Government Technology.

The new Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) was developed through a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission and wireless phone carriers in what is seen as an important step forward to increase public safety nationwide, according to FEMA officials. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 11, 2012 at 11:36 AM

FDA Launches Mobile Device To Find Tainted Eggs

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The Food and Drug Administration has turned a mobile tablet that it calls the “Egg Pad” into a virtual detective squad to uncover the presence of tainted eggs and health violations during farm inspections.

Using a Panasonic Toughbook and software developed for the FDA by Booz Allen Hamilton, the Egg Pad guides inspectors through a series of questions. Based on the answers, the device brings up additional questions and information the inspectors need to answer. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 9, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Cloud Tools Could Level Campaign Playing Field

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Officials at ElectionMall Technologies Inc. are counting on cloud computing to help achieve company’s the goal of giving candidates-from those running for national positions to candidates in school board elections-the tools they need to manage efficient and effective political campaigns.

The company, founded in 1999, has migrated its suite of Web-based campaign and election applications to Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform and formally released Version 2 of the suite, called Campaign Cloud, this week. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 6, 2012 at 10:00 AM

FOSE Panelists Predict ‘Cloud Supermarket’ In 21st Century

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Several panels of technology experts at the annual FOSE convention in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday predicted the present hodge-podge of cloud deployments in government will eventually lead to more agility, mobility and big changes in the business model.

“Cloud computing is…increasing the agility of [government] IT,” said Ravi Kumar, group marketing director at VMware, whose virtualization products are designed to build cloud infrastructures. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 5, 2012 at 9:00 AM
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