Michael J. Keegan

IBM and AFCEA host the SPADE Defense Conference bringing together members of the armed forces, intelligence agencies, industry, and academia from the U.S. and around the world.  The 2023 conference occurring March 9th is set to examine today’s defense technology and progress toward achieving “decision advantage” and “decision superiority” across domains by deploying technology, including data fabric, in support of multi domain command and control. 

NEW: Release of the National Cybersecurity Strategy. Cybersecurity is essential to the basic functioning of the economy, the operation of critical infrastructure, the strength of institutions, the privacy of data and communications, and the national defense. This National Cybersecurity Strategy details the comprehensive approach being taking to better secure cyberspace and ensure the U.S.

Mapping cloud to mission.  For more than a decade, the federal government has been exploring how cloud computing can help improve its operations, but a new report from the IBM Center for The Business of Government and the Partnership for Public Service is showcasing where agencies are gaining ground with the technology to produce tangible results.

Announcing the 2023 Federal 100. Meet the 100 outstanding individuals being honored for going above and beyond in support of federal IT over the past year.

Remembering Professor Carter. Steve Kelman reflects on the former defense secretary's life in government and academia.

Pentagon launches management reform institute to address challenges. The U.S. Defense Department launched the Defense Management Institute, an independent research entity (and part of the nonprofit Institute for Defense Analyses), aimed at advancing the Pentagon’s management, organization, performance improvement and enterprise business operations.

In our increasingly uncertain, complex, and transforming world,” says Roger Spitz, “the sooner we begin to embrace change and educate ourselves to take action, the better. Disruption is already transforming every aspect of our personal and professional lives and permeates every institution and sector of society. It’s not enough to be aware of the accelerating speed and scope of this change - we must prepare for it.” 

NIST Risk Management Framework Aims to Improve Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence. New guidance seeks to cultivate trust in AI technologies and promote AI innovation while mitigating risk. AI innovations are arriving at mind-boggling speed. Is your organization ready? Today, NIST released an AI Risk Management Framework that can help maximize AI technologies’ benefits and reduce the risk of negative impacts. See our voluntary guidance. 

“Given I am the tenth CIO in the last 12 years at OPM,” explains Guy Cavallo, “I am focused on bringing stability and I can do that by setting a clear IT vision and strategy.” Recently, Guy Cavallo joined me on The Business of Government Hour for a timely and insightful discussion on OPM’s cloud-first IT modernization program, increasing OPM’s technology workforce, replacing its legacy contact center for retirement services, and work to accelerate the adoption of a zero-trust cybersecurity architecture. The following is excerpted from our conversation. 

When the Infrastructure Boom Meets the Workforce Crash. Now, with the federal government pouring cascades of cash into state and local coffers, a new problem is on the horizon. Though this isn’t widely recognized yet, all the money in the world won’t make much of a difference if there aren’t enough people, in and out of government, to spend the money effectively and in a timely way.

The U.S. General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) uses the collective buying power of the federal government to acquire goods and services to support its agency customers. According to the recent GSA Strategic Plan, FAS offers agencies more than 31 million different products and services and in fiscal year (FY) 2021 it delivered over $84 billion in various products, services, and solutions.