Modernization News

Washington, DC – October 17, 2022 – The Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), which works to bring state-of-the-‎art information technology to the U.S. government for enhanced efficiency and security, welcomes Okta, one of the leading independent identity and access management providers, as its newest member. 

‎“We are thrilled to add Okta to our organization’s growing membership,” said ADI Executive Director Ross ‎Nodurft. “We look forward to partnering with them to help federal and state governments invest in innovative technology to make their operations more efficient and secure.”‎

“Federal, state, and local government agencies are building the pillars for Zero Trust security by putting modern identity and access management technologies at the foundation of their digital transformation,” said Jim Green, Okta’s Vice President, Global Government Affairs. “Okta is proud to join ADI to work alongside our public and private sector partners to advance our nation’s cybersecurity posture.”

ADI’s key priorities include:

1. Enabling public sector entities to invest in modern, cloud-based technology that underpins critical public sector missions and creates a more digital government.
2. Ensuring that public sector acquisition practices allow for and encourage investments in emerging technology.
3. Building smart cybersecurity policies, practices, and programs that leverage and promote modern technology and practices.
4. Helping government agencies attract and grow the right technology talent to capture the efficiencies and opportunities created by use of a modern, cloud-based technology.

Learn more about ADI: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

About Okta

Okta is one of the leading independent identity providers. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to securely connect the right people to the right technologies at the right time. With more than 7,000 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta provides simple and secure access to people and organizations everywhere, giving them the confidence to reach their full potential. More than 16,400 organizations, including JetBlue, Nordstrom, Slack, Takeda, Teach for America, and Twilio, trust Okta to help protect the identities of their workforces and customers.

Washington, DC – September 26, 2022 – The Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), which works to bring state-of-the-‎art information technology to government for enhanced efficiency and security, has launched a new initiative to support the adoption of innovative technology by state governments. The effort will be led by Dan Wolf, Director of Cybersecurity Services at Venable LLP, who most recently served as Deputy Chief Information Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). Wolf will now serve as ADI’s Director of State Programs.

In 2022, technology solutions are central to the success of nearly every new government program. State and local governments are projected to spend $130.5 billion on information technology (IT) this year, according to GovTech. ADI’s new state program will focus on enabling and empowering states to implement cloud-centric technology solutions and adopt modern approaches to cybersecurity, IT procurement, and IT workforce development.

“Government agencies and their constituents deserve the same technological experience as they enjoy in their personal and professional lives,” said Ross Nodurft, Executive Director of ADI. “This new state-level initiative complements and builds upon ADI’s work at the federal level to support IT leaders who are driving innovation and emerging technologies into government.”

“I am thrilled to join the ADI team and continue the great work that we started in Virginia to modernize legacy IT systems and transform state government,” said Wolf. “Technology is the foundation through which government delivers services to its citizens, so states must innovate to meet their needs—not just today, but in years to come.”

With fifteen years of experience in state government, Wolf will provide valuable insight to ADI members on issues related to IT modernization, cybersecurity, state IT procurement, and IT workforce development. During his time at VITA, Wolf helped lead the agency’s innovative transition from a legacy IT service provider to a multi-supplier sourcing model that added business value, flexibility, and new services for state agencies. Prior to joining VITA, Wolf also served at the Virginia Department of Transportation and as Assistant Attorney General in the Commonwealth.

ADI’s key priorities include:

      1) Enabling public sector entities to invest in modern, cloud-based technology that underpins critical public sector missions and creates a more digital government.

      2) Ensuring that public sector acquisition practices allow for and encourage investments in emerging technology.

      3) Building smart cybersecurity policies, practices, and programs that leverage and promote modern technology and practices.

      4) Helping government agencies attract and grow the right technology talent to capture the efficiencies and opportunities created by use of a modern, cloud-based technology.

Learn more about ADI: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Executives from Google Cloud, DocuSign, and VMWare Join Twelve-Person Board

Washington, DC, September 19, 2022 – The Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), which works to bring state-of-the-‎art information technology to government for enhanced efficiency and security, has elected three new members to its board of directors. The new directors join the organization’s twelve-person board which includes executives from the IT, cybersecurity, cloud, and digital technology sector.

The new board members are:

• Troy Bertram, managing director, Google Cloud’s public sector partner ecosystem
• Carrie-Anne Mosley, area vice president – federal, DocuSign
• Rob Riegle, senior director, federal pre-sales engineering, VMWare

“We are pleased to welcome Troy, Carrie-Anne, and Rob to ADI’s board of directors,” said John Wood, CEO and Chairman of Telos, who has served as ADI’s board chair for three years. “Each brings extensive experience that will advance ADI’s mission to drive government’s adoption of innovative information technology.”

“The addition of the new board members, along with the retention of many high caliber, public sector technology leaders demonstrate our continued investment in ADI,” said Stephen Kovac, Global Head of Compliance and Public Policy at Zscaler, who has served as ADI’s vice chair for the last year. “Over the next year, we anticipate growing the organization and continuing to shape the public policy discussions on Capitol Hill and in the Administration so public sector organizations can modernize their enterprises and access innovative technology.” 

ADI’s key priorities include:

1. Enabling public sector entities to invest in modern, cloud-based technology that underpins critical public sector missions and creates a more digital government.
2. Ensuring that public sector acquisition practices allow for and encourage investments in emerging technology.
3. Building smart cybersecurity policies, practices, and programs that leverage and promote modern technology and practices.
4.  Helping government agencies attract and grow the right technology talent to capture the efficiencies and opportunities created by use of a modern, cloud-based technology.

Learn more about ADI: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Join the Alliance for Digital Innovation for the first of two events tackling the challenges around building a 21st century workforce in the public sector. This first event covers recruiting, retaining, and developing the talent needed to leverage technologies and solutions that enable our public sector missions. Speakers include government policy makers and thought leaders who are working with federal departments and agencies to develop a human capital strategy that supports our public sector institutions in the changing world.

Held Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
National Press Club
529 14th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20045

Keynote Speaker

• Pam Coleman, Associate Director, Performance & Personnel Management, OMB

Panelists

• Toni Benson, Chief of the Cyber Defense Education and Training, CISA, DHS
• Victoria Houed, Associate at Schmidt Futures, Founder at BlackByte
• Julie Meloni, Sr Delivery Director – Technology at Slalom Federal

Washington, DC – November 17, 2021 – The Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), which represents a cohort of organizations in the IT, cybersecurity, cloud, and digital technology sectors, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Ross Nodurft as Executive Director.

Ross Nodurft comes to ADI with extensive experience in the public sector technology space, having worked across the security and technology landscape on issues including cybersecurity, digital identity, and security compliance. He has counseled technology and cybersecurity companies on business management, government policy standards, regulatory compliance, and incident response management.

Nodurft plans to work closely with ADI Members to advocate for key priorities, which include:
      1) Enabling public sector entities to invest in modern, cloud-based technology that underpins critical public sector missions and creates a more digital government.
      2) Ensuring that public sector acquisition practices allow for and encourage investments in emerging technology.
      3) Building smart cybersecurity policies, practices, and programs that leverage and promote modern technology and practices.
      4) Helping government agencies attract and grow the right technology talent to capture the efficiencies and opportunities created by use of a modern, cloud-based technology.

During his career in both the government and private sectors, Nodurft has worked closely with federal procurement officials and ‎other information technology leaders. He also collaborated on policies to advance modernization efforts and ‎adoption of cloud based technology‎. He has served as chief of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) cyber team in the White House overseeing federal government cybersecurity policy and federal agency incident response. In partnership with the White House’s senior leadership, he developed, implemented, and transitioned key cybersecurity and risk management policies and initiatives across two administrations, including the Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), the IT Modernization report and plan and the OMB breach memorandum. In his role at OMB, he led efforts to modernize federal IT systems and modernize risk management practices to ensure secure infrastructure across the federal government.

“I am thrilled to join ADI and work closely with the membership to engage on the critical topics of technology modernization, security, acquisition, and workforce. I look forward to advancing ADI’s mission by working with government leaders and policy makers to drive adoption of innovative technology that can advance the missions of our public sector partners,” said Ross Nodurft.

Nodurft also served as a legislative director for a U.S. House of Representatives member, a senior policy advisor for a U.S. senator and a professional staff member with the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where he started the cybersecurity/IT portfolio in the Small Business Committee.

“Ross is uniquely qualified to lead ADI,“ noted ADI Chair and CEO of Telos Corporation John Wood. “He possesses both the range of experience and the skillsets ADI needs to advance our mission and grow our organization and influence. We look forward to working with Ross to further ADI’s objectives.”

Learn more about ADI: Twitter, LinkedIn, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

The Washington Post (June 10, 2021)

The Biden administration on Thursday told federal agencies that more employees can return to their offices as the threat of the coronavirus pandemic ebbs, but it also laid out a permanent work-from-home expansion that will drastically alter the federal government’s workplace culture.

Federal agencies no longer have to limit the number of staffers allowed in their offices to 25 percent occupancy, the administration said in the first major announcement on pandemic staffing it has issued since January.

But the 20-page memo to federal agencies also maintains what started as an experiment in March 2020 to contend with the public health crisis — for the immediate future and potentially the long term.

As they make plans for a post-pandemic workplace, agencies across the government will be allowed to offer employees flexible schedules and remote work, depending on their needs, according to the guidance from the acting heads of the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration.

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FCW (May 25, 2021)

It can be hard to breathe in the federal IT space these days, with the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) taking up so much of the oxygen. Flush with $1 billion, courtesy of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the opportunity for agency digital transformation efforts has rarely been greater. Such a substantial infusion of capital into the TMF has rightly increased the intense focus on the TMF from both the White House and industry.

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Click on “Read the Article” here or below to view the PDF of the letter.

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Government Matters (May 9, 2021)

New guidance from the Office of Management and Budget gives agencies opportunities to pay back the loans over time or, in some cases, not at all. Matthew Cornelius, Executive Director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, said the minimal repayment option is beneficial because some very important, timely projects, such as cybersecurity improvements, might not generate cost savings. Cornelius said he applauds the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration for the “simple and yet sophisticated” rule changes.

New Technology Modernization Fund repayment rules expand opportunities for cross-agency efforts

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