News Feature | May 1, 2014

Government IT News For VARs — May 1, 2014

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

BSM-Cloud2

In the news, Gartner lists tech trends that are creating smart government, including mobility, analytics, and cloud. Also, the GSA and DoD are working together on price changes for the GSA Schedule, and California is launching an open data portal.

Smart Government Trends: Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Analytics Top Gartner List

Gartner has released what it believes to be driving technology trends in creating a smart government. According to TalkInCloud, they include these trends:

  • Personal mobile workplace
  • Mobile citizen engagement
  • Big analytics and actionable analytics
  • Cost-effective open data
  • Citizen-managed data
  • Hybrid IT and cloud
  • Internet of things (IoT)
  • Cross domain interoperability
  • BPM for case management
  • Gamification for engagement

Gartner also notes, though, for cloud service providers, particular emphasis should be placed on actionable analytics, hybrid cloud computing, and Big Data.

DoD Uses GSA Schedules To Find Best Practices

The General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Defense (DoD) are collaborating on price changes for goods and services on the GSA Schedule. The deputy director of contingency contracting and acquisition policy has reported that the agency has been receiving higher prices, and is now looking to establish guidelines to address the price variability that the agency has been challenged with. PRWeb reports that the collaboration also has a goal of making the schedules easier to use.

California Launches Data Portal

At the Digital Access Summit in Sacramento, CA, CIO Carlos Ramos announced that the state will be launching an open data portal where multiple state services — including taxes, vehicle registration, even checking reservoir levels — will be available. Government Technology reports that open data in California was pioneered by San Francisco, and the initiative has now spread to the state level.

DoJ Announces Forward-Thinking New CIO

InformationWeek reports that the Justice Department has named a new CIO. Joseph Klimavicz comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he was CIO for more than seven years. Klimavicz will begin his position in May, replacing previous CIO, Luke McCormack. Klimavicz has a reputation of being an early adopter, being a first to move on technologies such as cloud computing and big data services and platforms.

“Big Data For Government” Symposium In June

The “4th Symposium on Federal Big Data R&D” will be hosted in Arlington, VA, from June 17 to 18. According to HeraldOnline, Technology Training Corporation in association with the American Institute of Engineers, will be hosting the symposium, in move to bring together government and industry efforts to shape the discussion around the use of data in government. The event will give attendees a glimpse into federal agency strategy and plans, the status and forecast for key big data initiatives, and the latest tools and technologies.

Government IT Talking Points

FedTech Magazine discusses processes that IT managers are implementing to make cloud computing safe for government workers. Agencies are favoring a pragmatic approach to the cloud, because of existing, heavy investments in infrastructure and corresponding security posture.

For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Government IT Resource Center.