The pressure is on for agencies to make the move to cloud – just 13 percent of Feds say they can deploy new systems as fast as required. However, agencies know cloud is here to stay.  When it comes down to it, Feds are optimistic – 70 percent say increasing their cloud adoption pace will improve IT’s ability to innovate. That said, flying through the cloud procurement process is no easy feat. Making the cloud move is proving to be more complex than expected – but with the right planning and strategic moves, Feds can ensure they undergo a surprise-free move. […]

The secret to the Small Business Administration’s success in going from cloud launch to receiving an authority to operate (ATO) in less than three months was to burn the bridge back to the old way of doing things and commit completely to cloud migration, according to SBA Deputy CIO Guy Cavallo and CTO Sanjay Gupta. […]

The Federal Acquisition Regulation, the guidelines dictating how Federal agencies procure goods and services, is not flexible enough to keep pace with modernizing agencies, according to Jennifer Hoover, DevOps program manager for the Transportation Security Administration. […]

One of the drives for agencies to move to a mobile, cloud environment is to attract millennials, who are used to having their data on demand. […]

Cloud helps organizations focus on the important parts of their mission, rather than wasting their time on maintenance and compliance, according to Peter Cutts, senior vice president of hybrid cloud platforms at Dell EMC. […]

How do agencies tackle cloud adoption? Everyone has a different story but the challenges are similar across state and local government.   Learn how other states are navigating the challenges of modernizing IT and how these organizations have found success in adopting the cloud. […]

As the needs of Federal employees push agencies to move more and more services to the cloud, join MeriTalk and Government Acquisitions Inc. for the Federal Focus: The Cloud Generation event on July 12 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., to discuss the best practices and results of Federal cloud migration. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., co-author of FITARA and IT reform advocate, will keynote the lunch session at the event. […]

Cloud computing allows both small and large manufacturers to use new production systems, including 3-D printing, high-performance computing, and the Internet of Things, and robots, an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report found. […]

As agencies navigate cloud, they continue to leverage and build upon lessons learned. And, it seems to be working: According to a recent MeriTalk study, 75% of Federal cloud decision-makers say their workforce is somewhat or very comfortable with moving its systems to the cloud.

But, how did they get there and what’s really the first step of a successful migration? Knowing your IT environment is important – but even more essential is ensuring you have a cloud-ready workforce. […]

Cloud computing services can keep pace with the fast-moving nature of private sector workplaces, according to Conrad Unciano, systems engineering manager for CSRA. He said CSRA recently migrated four of its key applications using Amazon cloud services. […]

Federal IT executives are focused on the future.  And, as agencies consider modernization strategies and options, most agree that cloud will be a foundational component.   While cloud conversations have been ongoing for many years, widespread use of cloud models remains a challenge.  There is still confusion about choices, migration paths, and which cloud offerings are available for different types of workload.  Fortunately, the burgeoning relationship between government and industry partners helps agencies cut through this cloud confusion. […]

Eighteen technology company CEOs are expected to attend the White House Tech Summit on June 19 to talk about modernizing the government’s tech infrastructure and keeping its computers safe from cyberattacks. The technology leaders could benefit if the government moves to modernize with the help of their hardware, software, and cloud-computing services. […]

When moving to the cloud, government customers must think about the many moving parts that make up such a project including the resources they need to sustain their applications as well as the resources required to complete the actual migration. They also must consider the architecture, security policies, and model for operations and maintenance, as well as scope the size of the environment. […]

Over the past few years, the department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has started using cloud computing services. Michael Giardinelli, a senior software engineer and technical team lead at PNNL, said the lab’s 16 counterparts across the nation have embarked on similar cloud journeys. “A lot of them are moving in same direction as us,” Giardinelli said. “One key thing is collaboration amongst labs, like when working through the power grid.” […]

Under tight budget restrictions and capital expenditure scrutiny, government agencies are finding it difficult to keep pace with mandates to modernize technology infrastructure. Technology Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offers a direct path to IT modernization, efficiency and control. This white paper details the driving forces behind the shift to IaaS as well as the benefits of moving to a consumption economics model for IT. It also details best practices, specific strategies and the five (5) key principles in contracting for IaaS as well as a glossary of IaaS related terms, so that government agencies can efficiently and effectively utilize what is fast becoming the preferred, proven method of contracting for and implementing IT capacity. […]

Cloud infrastructure may be the safest place to store an agency’s most sensitive data, department of Justice officials said at an AWS Public Sector Summit. “I’d say it’s a pretty good place to put your crown jewels,” said Karl Mathias, chief information officer for the United States Marshals Service, adding that commercial clouds may end up being safer than an agency’s own data centers. […]

Amazon Web Services will open a new GovCloud Region in 2018 on the U.S. East Coast, the company announced at its annual Public Sector Summit on June 13. […]

Cyber AdAPT, a company that markets a platform that analyzes network traffic in real time for signs of malicious activity, was named the Gartner Cool Vendor for 2017 at the Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit on June 12. […]

As cloud adoption matures across government, many agencies are realizing that this new IT model is much more than a technology decision. It’s a business decision that has had significant impacts on the way agencies buy, manage and deliver IT capabilities internally and to citizens. The challenge, however, is mapping the best path forward to move from legacy operations to a future state that supports faster, more reliable applications that power financial, workforce, security and other operations governmentwide. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach for moving every IT application to the cloud. […]

Government, industry, and the Hill got together for a collaborative powwow about government cloud progress, and specifically FedRAMP, the standardized cloud security certification, at the MeriTalk Cloud Computing Brainstorm on June 7 at the Newseum. The session reviewed progress to date and the path forward for the once-embattled GSA program–and revealed new transparency and important […]

Congress will be busy with future tech initiatives and members have high hopes for the potential of current programs, according to two congressmen who spoke June 7 at MeriTalk’s Cloud Computing Brainstorm. Congressional IT leaders Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Gerry Connolly, D-Va., talked about the future of major IT initiatives such as FedRAMP, the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, FITARA, and executive leadership, offering insight into the shape of IT developments in the coming months. […]

Josh Ziman, technology product manager within the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, said agencies need to evaluate their biggest constraints before big efforts. He and his team addressed the question of how much space was in their data centers by automating their records system. […]

Whether it’s the impression that everyone already has a cloud or very real Federal technology mandates, many organizations are feeling intense pressure to “Buy a cloud.” But do you really want to buy a cloud? It’s more likely that you want to solve a very real business problem, stretch your budget or resources, or enable new capabilities within your organization. In this eBook, we’ll explain why buying a cloud shouldn’t be an end-goal in and of itself. […]

A broad range of experts in FedRAMP, Cloud, and IT Modernization will gather at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on June 7 to discuss the future of cloud acquisition in the Federal government. MeriTalk’s “The Modernization Movement: Cloud for Next-Gen Government” event will take an in-depth look at the trajectory of Federal cloud acquisition and what it means for government and industry. […]

With growing data, shrinking budgets, and a goal to close 52% of all data centers by 2018, Feds are turning to cloud, “as-a-Service,” and OpEx vs. CapEx dollars. Agencies can “buy what they use” vs. “buy what they forecast,” improving cost control, asset management, and capacity planning across the enterprise. […]

A horse named Cloud Computing won the Preakness Stakes on May 20, covering the mile and three-sixteenths race course in 1 minute, 55.98 seconds. The race brought an unexpected awareness to the IT solution. […]

Cloud identity management provider Okta has received FedRAMP certification with Department of Justice sponsorship, meeting compliance requirements of more than 300 controls. […]

Adobe wants citizens to love their government through better customer experience and security, according to John Landwehr, Adobe’s vice president and chief technology officer for the public sector, and Karen Terrell, Adobe’s new vice president of public sector. […]

Rep. Will Hurd’s Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on Wednesday. […]

Increased migration to and applications in the cloud make it more difficult to identify insider threats, according to 59 percent of government employees that responded to the MeriTalk Inside Job survey, underwritten by Symantec and released on May 15. […]