Modernization News

Nextgov (August 14, 2019)

The Energy Department is upgrading its toolkit for measuring how effectively organizations protect themselves against cyberattacks. The department on Aug. 14 announced it would update the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, a framework that helps federal agencies and private companies better assess the strength of their cyber defenses. The model was last revised in 2014, and the latest version reflects recent advances in both digital threats and protections .

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Nextgov (August 14, 2019)

The Federal Business Opportunities, or FedBizOpps, website will be shutting down before the end of 2019, as the comprehensive database of government contracting opportunities moves to a new location. By the end of next year, 10 acquisition-focused websites managed by the General Services Administration will be merged together under the new SAM.gov. Here’s what you need to know about the transition.

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Nextgov (August 12, 2019)

The Trump administration is pushing agencies to report all their IT spending through a standardized framework and is now standardizing the acquisition of the tools in support of that effort. OMB has already required by 2022 that all IT spending flowing through federal agencies must be categorized using a specific accounting framework called Technology Business Management (TBM), a schema used to map spending to outcomes. Now, OMB is requiring all TBM tool procurements to flow through GSA’s IT Schedule 70, and the agencies are establishing a TBM Task Order Review Board, or TORB, that will review all pending tool purchases.

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FCW (August 13, 2019)

The IRS, which still regularly uses software and systems that are more than 60 years old, is hoping a new pilot program to acquire new technology will help change that.  A draft solicitation released August 2 seeks proposals for a Treasury-wide Data Governance and Analytics Initiative that will make use of a new procurement vehicle rolled out last year, dubbed Pilot IRS, to develop new ways to automate and refine departmental contract data. It will also serve as an overarching framework for multiple technology pilots down the road as officials essentially attempt to create a sandbox for innovation inside the agency that is unmoored from the traditionally sluggish and bureaucratic federal procurement process.

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FedTech Insider (August 5, 1019)

The modern IT environment is changing. Applications are no longer strictly locked in data centers, and users are no longer always onsite. 

Hybrid cloud, multicloud and mobile environments create new opportunities for efficiency and new cybersecurity challenges for federal agencies. These include increased attack surfaces, a poor user experience and unreliable visibility and control over who is accessing sensitive applications and data.

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FedTech Insider (May 23, 2019)

The Justice Department has a clear vision for where its technology is headed in the next few years, and it is squarely focused on driving innovation and enhancing cybersecurity at the same time.

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GCN (May 28, 2019)

Driven by the consumerization of IT, agencies at every level of government are struggling to respond to the demands of a new generation of users for more open and flexible service delivery. Consumers want their agencies to deliver the same ease-of-use and on-demand responsiveness they have with their own devices and social media platforms

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Washington Times (June 2, 2019)

The federal government has wasted hundreds of billions of dollars over several decades by building its information technology from scratch rather than buying off-the-shelf systems, public watchdog groups say.

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Nextgov (May 20, 2019)

Over the last 25 years, the federal government has “likely wasted” $345 billion—more than $2,000 per every American household—by not embracing commercially available information technology products, according to a report from the Alliance for Digital Innovation.

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Real Clear Defense (April 10, 2019)

The great power race to dominate advanced computing technologies – cloud applications, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) – is intensifying. China is seeking to replace the U.S. as the dominant player in these areas. The United States, in general, and the Department of Defense (DoD), in particular, are responding to these threats by increasing investments in advanced computing technologies. But time is of the essence, and any delays in moving forward on creating an enterprise-wide cloud for the Pentagon could put national security at risk.

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