Technology | The Contracting Education Academy

August 17, 2018 By cs

Pentagon’s startup outreach office no longer an experiment

Diving into long-term relationships can be scary, but the Defense Department said it’s ready to go to commit to its startup outreach program.

Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), the office charged with bringing Silicon Valley tech to the Pentagon, will now be known as Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

The name change reflects military leaders’ “commitment to the importance of its mission” and signifies the permanence of the group within the country’s defense apparatus, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

“DIUx has generated meaningful outcomes for the department and is a proven, valuable asset,” Shanahan wrote in a memo to agency leaders. “Though DIU will continue to experiment with new ways of delivering capability to the warfighter, the organization itself is no longer an experiment.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2018/08/pentagons-startup-outreach-office-no-longer-experiment/150408/

June 29, 2018 By cs

Here’s how not to screw up a $50 billion networking contract

The clock is ticking toward a 2020 deadline for agencies to switch over to the General Services Administration’s massive new contract vehicle for network and telecom services, and federal IT leaders are worried agencies might blow it.

Last year, GSA rolled out the Enterprise Infrastructure Services contract, a $50 billion blanket award that covers governmentwide procurement of traditional networking and telecommunications equipment, as well as a mix of emerging technologies. All agencies are required to transition to EIS by 2020, and the contract could last up to 15 years.

EIS has the potential to streamline innovative tech purchases, boost federal cloud usage and strengthen cybersecurity across the government, top IT officials said at a forum hosted by ACT-IAC, a government and industry organization.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/06/officials-heres-how-not-screw-50-billion-networking-contract/149137/

See GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Services fact sheet here: EIS_Fact_Sheet

June 21, 2018 By cs

How should the tech industry handle high-profile government contracts?

In March, Gizmodo reported that Google had formalized a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to improve image recognition capabilities for drones.

The news prompted an immediate ― and predictably negative ― response. Despite Google’s attempt to message the contract as serving “non-offensive uses only,” news outlets were quick to explore the ethical implications of this partnership and question how the technology could be extended to weaponry.

Google’s leadership anticipated this external response. What they didn’t plan for was the degree of internal backlash they’d receive. Following the announcement of the partnership, Google employees began complaining about working for “the business of war.” Some workers left in protest. In April, about 4,000 Google employees signed a letter to the CEO requesting the cancellation of the project.

On June 1, Google announced that it won’t be renewing its contract with the DoD when it expires. Accompanying that announcement was the news that Google will be updating its code of ethics.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/opinions/2018/06/14/how-should-the-tech-industry-handle-high-profile-government-contracts/

May 31, 2018 By cs

USDS to certify new acquisition specialty

The U.S. Digital Service is adding a digital services contracting certification to create a cadre of “technology acquisition mavericks.”

After two pilot efforts , USDS, along with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, is launching a new certification program for digital services contracting for civilian agencies with an eye to reducing the cost and time it takes to procure digital services in government.

The idea for new program stemmed from a Challenge.gov winning submission, proposed by ICF International and ASI Government.

Government “didn’t teach how to buy digital services,” said Joanie Newhart, Associate Administrator for Acquisition Workforce Programs, Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2018/05/23/usds-new-specialty.aspx

See the Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s memorandum May 18, 2018 on this subject at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/fac_c_digital_services_05_12_18.pdf

May 25, 2018 By cs

Census Bureau goes tech shopping for 2020 count

The Census Bureau is ramping up technology investments to address a slew of IT issues experts fear could pose major threats to the integrity of the decennial count.

So far this month, the bureau already requested information on three different IT services to support efforts leading up to 2020 and extended an existing deal to secure its largest databases.

The Government Accountability Office designated the 2020 Census as a “high-risk” project last year after it found the bureau had fallen far behind schedule on developing and testing the vast majority of its IT systems. Congress has since injected the agency with an extra $3 billion, about half of which will go to IT.

The extra funds helped get kickstart many long-delayed tech projects, but experts worry the those systems’ cybersecurity might suffer from an accelerated rollout.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/analytics-data/2018/05/census-goes-tech-shopping-2020-count/148325/

Diving into long-term relationships can be scary, but the Defense Department said it’s ready to go to commit to its startup outreach program.

The clock is ticking toward a 2020 deadline for agencies to switch over to the General Services Administration’s massive new contract vehicle for network and telecom services, and federal IT leaders are worried agencies might blow it.

In March, Gizmodo reported that Google had formalized a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to improve image recognition capabilities for drones.

The U.S. Digital Service is adding a digital services contracting certification to create a cadre of “technology acquisition mavericks.”

The Census Bureau is ramping up technology investments to address a slew of IT issues experts fear could pose major threats to the integrity of the decennial count.

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