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GITEC 2012: “If I Only Had $1 …”

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:46:39 +0000

We asked attendees of GITEC 2012 how they would spend their last IT dollar.
Two common themes: Security is a good place to spend resources, and $1 won’t go very far.

For more news on GITEC 2012, visit the FedTech GITEC coverage page.

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What Do IT Officials Have to Say About Shared Services?

Jimmy Daly — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:50:33 +0000

“I like to equate shared services with electricity. Very few people care how electricity is generated, where it's generated or anything like that. What they care about is availability, reliability and cost.” — John Kost, Gartner

That was the consensus at GITEC 2012. IT leaders understand the need for the Office of Management and Budget's strategy for implementing shared services, but the concept is easier to swallow than the details associated with actually implementing changes. Among them are security, communication between agencies and resistance to change from employees. Simon Szykman, CIO of the Commerce Department, addressed that issue:

“I think the biggest challenge is always the cultural change and the change management. Not in a technological perspective, but really just getting people on board and thinking about services in a different way.” — Simon Szykman, Commerce

For IT personnel, the focus should remain on cost and return on investment so the front office can focus on mission-critical strategy. As Joseph Klimavicz, CIO of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, points out, the savings are very real:

“We moved a total of 25,000 mailboxes to the cloud. Going to a shared-service environment resulted in a 50 percent cost savings, [compared with] if we had to build a similar capability in-house." — Joseph Klimavicz, NOAA

As shared services progress, success will hinge on the details.

“Typically, there is no resistance to adopting a shared service at any level if you can show somebody that you will get the same service or better at a reduced cost.” — Klimavicz

Check out videos, photos and more coverage of GITEC 2012.

GITEC 2012: Security Is an Essential Element of IT

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:10:50 +0000

The techniques of attackers are always changing, so agencies must adjust.
Continuous monitoring is critical to maintaining an effective security posture.
Threats range from criminal hackers to sophisticated attacks from nation-states.

For more news on GITEC 2012, visit the FedTech GITEC coverage page.

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GITEC 2012: Cloud Computing Comes of Age

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:15:50 +0000

GSA saved $15 million over five years by moving its email to the cloud.
Opportunities for cloud migration range from small projects to enterprise implementations.
Agencies must address security concerns every step of the way.

For more news on GITEC 2012, visit the FedTech GITEC coverage page.

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GITEC 2012: Mobile Computing Boosts Productivity

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:35:38 +0000

Agencies are implementing smart phones, tablets and notebook computers.
Mobile technologies lets workers accomplish their missions far outside the office – such as when flying through a hurricane.
Agencies are experimenting with different uses for mobile technology

Participants: Horace Blackman, CIO of Veteran Affairs Central Office; Shawn Kingsberry, CIO of Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board; Kimberly Hancher, CIO of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Joseph Klimavicz, CIO of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association; Simon Szykman, CIO of Commerce Department; William Lewis, Program Director of Workplace Modernization at GSA .

For more news on GITEC 2012, visit the FedTech GITEC coverage page.

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GITEC 2012: The Best of Day 2

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:21:22 +0000

Click to view the gallery.

Check out photos, tweets and videos to experience GITEC 2012 as if you were there. You can see all of our coverage here.

RT @RockinNIEM: Congratulations #NIEM team, we just won a #GITEC Award of Excellence :). Big thanks to@raspires for his support.

— Donna Roy (@NIEMExecDir) May 22, 2012

Information Sharing Environment's Michael Howell: Privacy is at the core of information sharing #GITEC

— Ryan Petersen (@RyanPete) May 22, 2012

Follow the Information Sharing Environment here @shareandprotect #GITEC

— FedTech Magazine (@FedTechMagazine) May 22, 2012

@AmberInsideDOD Hear @jonahlehrer, author of Imagine, on @DorobekINSIDER re innovation - and Pixar bathrooms goo.gl/0GB34 #GITEC

— cdorobek (@cdorobek) May 22, 2012

Lots of work to do in data center consolidation, but requires $$. Where will it come from? Too many orgs don't have it. #GITEC

— Amber Corrin at FCW (@AmberInsideDOD) May 22, 2012

More #GITEC photos including @dasantosa and @cdorobek plus.google.com/photos/1121503…

— FedTech Magazine (@FedTechMagazine) May 22, 2012

Remember Kimberly Hancher who got pulled onto the stage by @cdorobek? We interviewed her on BYOD [VIDEO] ow.ly/1MAXaH #GITEC

— FedTech Magazine (@FedTechMagazine) May 22, 2012

At #GITEC Acting CIO of ATF "ATF is ending all existing contracts, in the near future new contracts and some new blood will be in place"

— Ivette Granier-Smith (@IvetteGSmith) May 22, 2012

Leaving #gitec, really nice event! Thx to all the excellent presenters and panelists and great group of professionals! twitter.com/kirkendale/sta…

— Bill Kirkendale (@kirkendale) May 22, 2012

Could Shared IT Services Bring Agencies Closer To Mission? #GITEC gov.aol.com/2012/05/22/sha…

— AOL Gov (@aolgov) May 22, 2012

Horace Blackman highlights long procurement cycles as biggest hurdle in getting things done #GITEC

— Amit Yadav (@ayadav_w) May 22, 2012

Is BYOD Really the Future of Mobile Devices for Government?

Jimmy Daly — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:22:17 +0000

Mobility isn’t a trend as much as a revolution. And not only are users demanding more functionality and easier access to agency resources through mobile devices and apps, but big industry players such as Apple, Google and even Microsoft are all-in. Each has launched a mobile operating system and cloud service designed to keep data off local hard drives where it faces a greater security threat.

With the discussion of mobile devices as productivity tools comes the question about users who bring personal personal devices onto agency networks, commonly referred to as "bring your own device" or BYOD. Many users already have devices that they are comfortable with and don’t want to carry two devices. On the surface, it seems like a gift to the government that agencies can avoid the cost of purchasing devices for their employees, but having to manage and service multiple devices, brands and operating systems poses a serious challenge.

As Simon Szykman, CIO of the Commerce Department, notes in the video below from the GITEC 2012 conference, BYOD may not be the future of mobility after all.

“Not buying the devices on the government side is probably a little more modest in terms of the savings because if you look at the total cost of ownership for managing enterprise-grade mobility services, the cost of the devices is somewhat small relative to the overall cost of ownership for the services.”
̶ Szykman

In general, most GITEC attendees seemed to agree that BYOD programs would play some role in the future but only when agencies found a reliable way to keep data secure. Most agencies are looking to Apple iOS devices as they explore new mobile solutions. One question that remains largely unresolved is: Who pays for BYOD devices and their wireless service

̶ users or agencies?

GITEC 2012: Shared Services Let Agencies Focus on the Mission

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:09:59 +0000

Chief concerns are availability, reliability and cost – not where the services come from.
Early efforts focus on “low-hanging fruit” such as e-mail and web hosting.
Resistance to cultural change can be a major hurdle.

Participants: John Kost, Gartner VP, CIO and Exec Leadership Group; Mary Davie, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Integrated Technology Services at GSA; Simon Szykman, CIO of Commerce Department; Joseph Klimavicz, CIO of NOAA.

For more news on GITEC 2012, visit the FedTech GITEC Summit 2012 coverage page.

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GITEC 2012: How Agencies Are Implementing BYOD

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:52:29 +0000

Agencies can reduce costs by letting users bring their own devices to work.
Mobile device management solutions give agencies some control over devices.
Steps such as strong password policies can help improve security.

Participants: Kimberly Hancher, CIO of the EEOC; Simon Szykman, CIO of the Commerce Department; Joseph Klimavicz, CIO of NOAA.

For more news on GITEC 2012, visit the FedTech GITEC Summit 2012 coverage page.

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GITEC 2012: The Best of Day 1

Jimmy Daly — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:22:47 +0000

Information sharing between government agencies can save lives.

Don't believe how important the open exchange of information is? Just ask Donna Roy of the Homeland Security Department. "One in every five teens is misusing or abusing prescription drugs," says Roy, mainly because states aren't sharing data. The efforts of the National Information Exchange Model have produced a pilot program where states in the Mid-Atlantic region share information to prevent the illegal purchase of prescription drugs.

Chris Vein, deputy chief technology officer of the White House, presented an impassioned plea for open government. "Imagine if there were no boundaries, no silos, no bureaucratic impediments," he said. He noted that the FBI has implemented a mobile application that lets officers scan tattoos and other markings into a central database to help identify gang members. The sharing is resulting in more arrests.

The following video makes clear Vein's point about open government:

The tech-minded audience was eager to share thoughts and favorite quotes of the day. Stay engaged by following the #GITEC hashtag and the presenters on Twitter.

Spires at #GITEC says new shared IT approach by @stevevdc to focus on commodity IT is smart way to go #GovIT. bit.ly/Jy4CYq #govIT

— Wyatt Kash (@WyattKash) May 21, 2012

Some federal sites are moving to open source content management systems, mostly #drupal #GITEC

— FedTech Magazine (@FedTechMagazine) May 21, 2012

Average cost per email inbox per month at DHS is just over $7 @raspires #GITEC

— FedTech Magazine (@FedTechMagazine) May 21, 2012

Spires at #GITEC says DHS data centers now supporting 9 cloud initiatives, including test of public cloud to support .gov websites #govIT

— Wyatt Kash (@WyattKash) May 21, 2012

DHS' Spires: Security is top of mind with cloud but is a barrier because of legacy applications we have running today. #GITEC

— Ryan Petersen (@RyanPete) May 21, 2012

Elizabeth Mautner: shared services frees up resources to be more strategic. HR IT transformation is good example #GITEC

— Amit Yadav (@ayadav_w) May 21, 2012

Watch Steven VanRoekel's opening keynote at #GITEC 2012 in these six clips fedtechmagazine.com/article/2012/0… via @FedTechMagazine

— Ryan Petersen (@RyanPete) May 21, 2012

The future needed skills of IT staff is not about IT, but about business operations and processes to support the mission. #GITEC

— Parham Eftekhari (@ParhamEftekhari) May 21, 2012

A cheat-sheet for who to follow at #GITEC buff.ly/KeJR1Y

— techionary (@techionary) May 21, 2012

Really enjoyed #GITEC shared services panel this morning with NOAA, Gartner, DHS and OPM. Best part is I learned lots from fellow panelists

— Mary Davie (@marydavie) May 21, 2012

Having lunch with @raspires at #GITEC. Discussions around managed services, NIEM and security.

— SE Solutions (@SESolutionsInc) May 21, 2012

.@NIEMExecDir keynote "Get on the team, share with #NIEM" up next at #GITEC Summit 2012

— NIEM Outreach (@RockinNIEM) May 21, 2012

Executive Director, @jesseogorman, is at the #GITEC conference this week!

— BlackstoneFed (@BlackstoneFed) May 21, 2012

WHDep CTO Vein shows video at #GITEC on Open Government bit.ly/MB57S9 Worth watching#gov20 #innovation

— Wyatt Kash (@WyattKash) May 21, 2012

White House Deputy CTO Chris Vein: Data.gov is creating a revolution of entrepreneurship and innovation. #GITEC

— Ryan Petersen (@RyanPete) May 21, 2012

WH deputy CTO Vein at #GITEC: we need citizen hackers

— Amber Corrin at FCW (@AmberInsideDOD) May 21, 2012

Vein shares how FBI agent built iPhone app to take, ID photos of tattoos, markings that led to increased apprehension. #GITEC #innovation

— AOL Gov (@aolgov) May 21, 2012

WH Deputy CTO Chris Vein: The future is predictive intelligence. #GITEC

— Ryan Petersen (@RyanPete) May 21, 2012

Latest from CDW

GITEC 2012: “If I Only Had $1 …”

What Do IT Officials Have to Say About Shared Services?

“I like to equate shared services with electricity. Very few people care how electricity is generated, where it's generated or anything like that. What they care about is availability, reliability and cost.” — John Kost, Gartner

“I think the biggest challenge is always the cultural change and the change management. Not in a technological perspective, but really just getting people on board and thinking about services in a different way.” — Simon Szykman, Commerce

“We moved a total of 25,000 mailboxes to the cloud. Going to a shared-service environment resulted in a 50 percent cost savings, [compared with] if we had to build a similar capability in-house." — Joseph Klimavicz, NOAA

“Typically, there is no resistance to adopting a shared service at any level if you can show somebody that you will get the same service or better at a reduced cost.” — Klimavicz

GITEC 2012: Security Is an Essential Element of IT

GITEC 2012: Cloud Computing Comes of Age

GITEC 2012: Mobile Computing Boosts Productivity

GITEC 2012: The Best of Day 2

Is BYOD Really the Future of Mobile Devices for Government?

GITEC 2012: Shared Services Let Agencies Focus on the Mission

GITEC 2012: How Agencies Are Implementing BYOD

GITEC 2012: The Best of Day 1

Follow all of our GITEC coverage here.