Barbara Fast was among those on a CGI mobile securty panel at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. on February 16, 2012.
COMMENTARY: Cybersecurity in the mobile age is everyone’s responsibility, requiring strong partnership among businesses, governments and citizens. We are living in an information age that has changed the way we conduct business and share information. Keep reading →
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service today announced the 33 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists – outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans.
The finalists (see the full list below) will be honored in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday as part of Public Service Recognition Week. The Service to America Medals have earned a reputation as the most prestigious awards dedicated to honoring America’s civil servants. Keep reading →
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 →
Greg Garcia is not one to sit and spin his wheels. He thrives on speed, a little danger and the overall chase. So it’s little surprise that the bicycling enthusiast gravitates toward the intersection of information technology security and government policy.
“It’s speed, it’s endurance, it’s tactics, it’s strategy, and then there’s the adrenaline,” Garcia said of IT security. He was referring to the race to stay ahead of what he called the “bad guys” by anticipating their next move, a race that’s ultimately about safety and protection. Keep reading →
In a technology-driven world, applications take center stage, running our personal lives (e.g. think iPhone and iPad), our businesses and our government. Indeed, according to research firm IDC – the government spent about $8 billion last year on software apps. And according to application usage management specialist Flexera Software – anywhere from 5-30% of that $8 billion (up to $2.4 billion) was likely wasted. Wasted on misunderstood license entitlements, wasted on shelfware because it wasn’t used or needed in the first place, or wasted on inefficient processes and high deployment costs.
As the government scrambles to cut federal spending in increasingly contentious budget hearings, finding the “low hanging fruit” that both parties can readily agree on – is a no brainer. Private enterprises have long understood that application usage management – which includes application readiness and enterprise license optimization — is critical. And it’s time for the government to follow suit and acknowledge the billions of dollars of waste hidden within its software budget – and do something about it. Keep reading →
A conversation about how technology allows leaders to “govern beyond the desktop” generated optimism and laughter as well as fear and skepticism Tuesday at the annual Federal Senior Management Conference in Cambridge, Maryland.
“People are dating online. Meeting people all over the world,” said Anthony Macri, who serves on the General Services Administration’s mobility transformation team. “You have to shift to a virtual mentality and the technology supports that. It’s a mindset of virtual connectivity.” Keep reading →
This is the third in a series of profiles of innovative leaders in government based on interviews for the book “Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government” by Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson. The book highlights the management lessons of 24 political executives during their first two years in the Obama administration.
Organizations, both in the public and private sector, have come a long way since the employee suggestion box of the 20th century. For much of the last century, the suggestion box was the major vehicle for soliciting input from within organizations. Other than receiving mail and perhaps conducting focus groups, organizations were also limited in ways that they received information and ideas from outside their organization. Keep reading →
It seems that “real time” is the Holy Grail these days for cybersecurity – everything on the network monitored, analyzed for concerns, and either fixed or at least quarantined in a moment’s notice. Obviously this is never completely possible, so we need to pick those areas that either lower risk or increase opportunity. The technology discussed in this article happens to offer both.
I recently attended a few briefings and watched real time patching and configuration management across all assets on a network. While this represents only part of the automated continuous monitoring and remediation processes needed on any network, I found it compelling because patch management and configuration management are fundamentals of security and can also be money savers. Keep reading →
President Obama’s new budget shows savings of $50 million annually by curtailing the production of unwanted $1 coins. As a former budget director for President Reagan, I know first-hand how difficult it is to cut spending and how important it is to guard against faddish programs that claim savings but actually add to federal spending and to the deficit – which is what you’d get if you let Congress replace the dollar bill with the dollar coin.
The latest proposals to do just that are all the more vexing, given that consumers overwhelmingly reject the dollar coin. Keep reading →
Recently, there have been several articles about companies moving to cut back or somehow control email, including an item on NBC News. Organizations are beginning to rebel against email’s constant, increasing presence – and realizing that by itself, email isn’t a solution to most business challenges.
Yes, email is great for communication. But too many organizations also depend on email for collaboration – and email provides no visibility. And many organizations also depend on email for execution – and email provides to tracking, no control, no auditability. Keep reading →