Search Tags:  TechAmerica

Open data order, policy ushers in new norm

President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order and OMB released a new policy requiring agencies to make data machine-readable and use open standards. Agencies must develop an inventory of information and make it publicly available. Good government groups praised the changes but had some concerns around the administration's decision to apply the policy only to structured data.

Tags: technology , open data , Steve VanRoekel , OMB , Patrice McDermott , OpenTheGovernment.org , Digital Government Strategy , John Wonderlich , Sunlight Foundation , Kevin Richards , Jason Miller

1

New security standard to boost agency trust, use of mobile devices

On the one-year anniversary of the Digital Government Strategy, the CIO Council and DHS are expected to issue a security baseline and reference architecture for mobile computing. The goal of the document is not to give agencies new requirements but to focus on those security standards that are mobile-centric.

Tags: technology , CIO survey , Simon Szykman , Commerce , Kevin Cox , CIO Council , Brian Teeple , DoD , mobile computing , cybersecurity , George DelPrete , Grant Thornton , Daren Ash , NRC , Jason Miller

Comment

Issa's IT reform bill moves through committee, concerns still remain

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) with little debate and no amendments. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the bill's author and chairman of the committee, said the provisions to give CIOs more budget control and the IT project and program management improvements will have a big impact on how agencies spend money on technology.

Tags: technology , Darrell Issa , House Oversight and Government Reform Committee , acquisition , industry , Mike Hettinger , Software and Information Industry Association , IT reform , Project management , Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act , open source , strategic sourcing , Jason Miller , exclusive

1

Unions, industry groups spar over impact of sequestration

Guidance from the administration on what steps federal agencies should take to prepare for potential across-the-board budget cuts has set off a war of words between federal-employee unions and industry groups. The American Federation of Government Employees says guidance exempts contractors at the expense of federal employees, but industry groups say the criticism is misguided.

Tags: budget , sequestration , industry , guidance , AFGE , NTEU , J. David Cox , Colleen Kelley , PSC , Stan Soloway , Trey Hodgkins , Jack Moore

3

GSA's strategy for OASIS leaving vendors discontented

At an industry sponsored event, GSA tried to clarify its plans for the multi-billion dollar governmentwide contract, which will let agencies buy complex services from one place. Questions about how OASIS fits with the administration's strategic sourcing initiative and the expectation for price standardization were among the biggest areas of concern from companies.

Tags: acquisition , contracting , industry , GSA , Jim Ghiloni , Leah Trudeau , Stan Soloway , Trey Hodgkins , Professional Services Council , OASIS , professional services , Jason Miller

2

Inside the Reporter's Notebook: Web analytics tool, reaction to FAS commissioner and FedRAMP

News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.

Tags: technology , acquisition , GSA , OMB , Tom Sharpe , Steven VanRoekel , Linda Gooden , Lockheed Martin , Lisa Schlosser , Gwynne Kostin , FedRAMP , cybersecurity , cloud computing , OASIS , Jim Ghiloni , Stan Soloway , Inside the Reporters Notebook , Jason Miller

Comment

IT reform bill would cull the CIO herd, give them more power

Rep. Darrell Issa said agencies need a lot more agility in their IT spending, but a lack of budget authority and a proliferation of accountability among bureau-level CIOs gets in the way.

Tags: technology , Congress , Darrell Issa , Gerry Connolly , Trey Hodgkins , IT reform , OMB , Open source software , Jared Serbu

Comment

Unions, watchdog groups renew call for capping 'exorbitant' contractor salaries

A collection of federal unions and watchdogs groups wrote to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee urging support for a law capping taxpayer-funded contracting compensation costs at $230, 700 — the maximum salary earned by the highest-paid federal employees.

Tags: acquisition , acquisition policy , contracting , contractor pay cap , Trey Hodgkins , AFGE , NTEU , POGO , Carl Levin , Jack Moore

7

Issa proposes major reforms to IT management

The Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act would codify much of the Obama administration's 25-point IT reform plan. The draft bill would go even further in attempting to address long-standing challenges for agency chief information officers.

Tags: technology , Darrell Issa , House Oversight and Government Reform Commitee , IT reform , OMB , GSA , strategic sourcing , Mike Hettinger , Software and Information Industry Association , Trey Hodgkins , Jason Miller

1

In Depth interviews - August 9

On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Tags: In Depth , USPS , contractors , defense contractors , National Association of Letter Carriers , Francis Rose , Greg Keeley , Timothy O , Mike Causey , cybersecurity

Comment