Wunderkind Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about risk taking: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.[1]” And yet a recent government-industry conference[2] included a discussion on the question of whether federal leaders will take onRead… Read more »
The government is taking it steady in its relationship with cloud services. It started off with basic awareness but now govies are almost in the mindset to adopt cloud on a wide scale. There has been a significant amount of federal government spending on cloud solutions in recent years and the GSA has even releasedRead… Read more »
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! Ok, not the roof, but during GovLoop, Vion and Hitachi Data Systems’ federal cloud procurement event, the basement was literally on fire. And while the jokes were obvious – a topic so hot it burst into flames – the fiery atmosphere did cut the wonderful eventRead… Read more »
Cloud is, ironically, a cloudy topic. At the February 19 in-person GovLoop training event entitled “Buying the Cloud: Procurement Made Easy” the opening keynote speaker, Mark Day, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Integrated Technology Services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, kicked off the event by sharing with the audience the challenges facing theRead… Read more »
At our event, Buying the Cloud – Procurement Made Easy, we heard from a number of experts about how current acquisitions processes, forms, and procedures impede agencies from effectively procuring cloud models. Some argued they weren’t flexible enough to fit new service models. Others said they were not specific enough to individual agency needs, thus requiring significantRead… Read more »
These were the words of a career procurement specialist who shall remain unnamed, at an agency that shall remain unnamed, as the point is not to embarrass an individual or agency so much as it is to identify an attitude that is all too widespread in the federal procurement and contract management world. And ifRead… Read more »
A common thread among the recent spate of state health insurance exchange rollout failures (e.g., Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon) was the states’ inability to effectively procure, manage and coordinate IT services from multiple contractors. In each case, the aftermath was a rash of finger-pointing between and among agency managers and contractors, and in someRead… Read more »
Implementing something like this is hardly a technical challenge any more. It just needs the agency to make it a priority and get it done.
Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: selling to the government has never been easy. But these contracts can be lucrative. So often the pain is worth the gain. For example, electric carmaker Tesla just inked a $20 billion dollar contract with the federal government for research and development. Getting a spotRead… Read more »
Dear readers over the holiday season I did my fair share of shopping. Presents for my family were a must, but I also might have added one or two small gifts for myself. Maybe. But here’s the thing, as I hit up the mall and battled my fellow last minute shoppers, I was struck withRead… Read more »