Government IT News For VARs — May 28, 2014
By Megan Williams, contributing writer
In the news this week: GSA looks to expand telecom contractors, and a GAO report states federal agencies are losing millions by not having adequate policies to manage software licenses.
Telecoms Contractor Base To Be Expanded By GSA
According to Federal News Radio, the General Service Administration (GSA) has announced plans for the strategy development of the Network Services 2020 telecommunications contract. The contract aims to expand the number of vendors offering services in the industry. Under the current contract, known as Networx, the GSA limited competition to just five major carriers. According to the GSA’s current plans, the U.S. will be broken into three regions, with carriers given the option to operate in only one region if they choose. One of the primary drivers behind the new plan is gross inefficiencies around the previous contract: The plan took 33 months longer than expected and cost $400 million more than planned.
Dallas PD Opting For Fewer Officers, More Technology
The Dallas Police Department announced a proposal to cut back on the number of officers it planned to hire this year. According to NBCDFW, the department will only be hiring 165 officers instead of the planned 200. To replace those 35 officers, the DPD is investing in technology including surveillance cameras for high crime areas and license plate scanners. The plan has been met with objection from the Dallas Police Association.
GAO Says That Federal Agencies Waste Millions On Software Licensing
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that the Office of Management and Budget, along with the majority of agencies reviewed, have inadequate policies for managing software licenses. The office has a policy on broader IT management, but does not guide agencies in developing individual license management policies. The resulting lack of oversight of license spending has meant that many departments are missing out on savings.
Government IT Talking Points
Fierce IT leads a discussion around Big Data and some of the questions related to it. Robert Griffin, acting deputy under secretary for science and technology at the Homeland Security Department discusses innovations in data analytics, and the challenges around security in an environment where technology is cheap and data collection is ubiquitous.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Government IT Resource Center.