Government IT News For VARs — June 19, 2014
By Megan Williams, contributing writer
In this week’s news, state and local governments attempt to tax the cloud, and GSA modernizes its Schedules program (again).
State And Local Governments Seek New Ways Of Taxing The Cloud
The advent of cloud technology has provided a new challenge for state and local governments in determining if, and how it should be taxed. Cloud software sales are expected to generate $17 billion in revenue worldwide this year, setting states and localities in a time crunch to decide whether software being provided virtually constitutes real property changing hands. Read more at GovTech.com.
Cloud Migration Discussion Event
MeriTalk’s Third Annual Cloud Computing Brainstorm event will be held September 10, 2014, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Topics discussed during the half-day event will include: The Great Migration, data center shift to cloud, and benefits in the cloud. Additional topics will be discussed, including cloud as a service, growing big data analytics, budget pressures, and more. For more information, visit MeriTalk’s 2014 Cloud Computing Brainstorm page.
GSA Plans To Modernize Multiple Award Schedules Program
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced plans to refresh its 60-year-old multiple award schedules program. According to ExecutiveGov, Commissioner Tom Sharpe of the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) announced in a blog that this month that FAS would issue a mass modification for contractors to standardize their part numbers or Special Item Numbers as part of an effort to reduce price volatility. Sharpe also announced that FAS is examining the idea of “an unpriced IT and professional services schedule.”
Which Cities And States Have Chief Data Officers?
The position of Chief Data Officer (CDO) has become increasingly common in government ever since Colorado became the first state to appoint one in 2010. Increasing interest in predictive analytics, civic hacking, and performance measurement have driven the need in other states. As city and state governments look to gain greater insight from information, it is expected that the position of CDO will become even more common. GovTech provides a map of the U.S. cities and states that currently have CDOs.
NIST Revises Security Guidance
According to InformationWeek, the National Institute Of Science And Technology, in their Special Publication 800-53, has announced that it has set a new standard of security for its federal government information processing system. The changes represent Revision 5 of the document and are scheduled for release in April, 2015. The change also means that the institute will need to reverse broad-reaching generalizations made in Revision 4 regarding the nature of the threat against data.
Boulder Colorado Challenges Law Blocking City Broadband
Colorado passed a law prohibiting cities from offering broadband to citizens in 2005. However, the city council of Boulder is scheduled to vote on a plan to add a measure to the November ballot that could declare the city as having authority to offer high-speed Internet access and related services. The move is likely prompted by the city being passed over by Google Fiber, according to GovTech.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Government IT Resource Center.