Federal government IT and its ability to deliver vital services to citizens is often said to be one of the few notably bipartisan issues left in Congress, and that sentiment was on clear display as the House Government Operations Subcommittee unveiled its tenth FITARA Scorecard at a public hearing on August 3. […]

The tenth version of the FITARA Scorecard released today shows that changes to agencies’ data center optimization initiative (DCOI) and cybersecurity efforts were leading factors in whether their overall grades changed since the previous scorecard. […]

Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., introduced the We Need Eviction Data Now Act (H.R. 7743) on July 23 to direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a database of eviction records. […]

The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service is seeking a third-party provider for data center colocation services, per a July 23 request for information (RFI). […]

To help secure the scattered telework environment, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has switched to a zero-trust architecture to protect its network from adversaries. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is pushing forward with its Data Center and Cloud Optimization (DCC) efforts, according to a notice posted on beta.sam.gov. […]

As part of its overall IT modernization strategy, the FDA is looking towards developing next-generation data centers. In a request for information (RFI) posted July 9, the FDA said it is “seeking information and input from the [private sector] for planning purposes for modernization, transformation and innovations for reengaging the FDA’s Next Generation Data Center efforts.” […]

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released a solicitation request for IT support for an existing data center and a new disaster recovery center. […]

Charles Chen, director of the AI and Emerging Technology Office at the Department of State, said at the June 30 AI in Action webcast that data lakes are “certainly essential for the success of machine learning and AI.” […]

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking detailees from across Federal agencies to spend one year supporting the White House’s Federal Data Strategy (FDS) implementation. […]

While the Census Bureau was already adjusting to embracing new tech for the 2020 Census, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised new concerns and pushed the agency to increase its focus on IT, data, and cybersecurity matters to properly manage risks.
Per a June 9 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Census Bureau must closely manage its tech to ensure that the pandemic and other delays don’t impact the quality of its 2020 Census results. […]

While data management is becoming more intertwined with tech initiatives, two data officials at the May 27 Federal Data Strategy Conference said that communication and collaboration between chief data officers and other offices within Federal agencies are keys to their success. […]

The U.S. Air Force admitted in a May 20 request for information (RFI) that the agency lacks an Enterprise Data Loss Prevention Program (E-DLP) to protect sensitive information, but is now seeking a new approach to data protection with a proof of concept for an E-DLP at one of its bases. […]

Ransomware accounted for 61 percent of malware-based data breach incidents over most of 2019, according to the Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, reflecting that financial gains are the top motivator for three-quarters of threat actors. […]

In a two-week period during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Small Business Administration (SBA) processed more total loans than it had in 14 years, according to Melvin Brown II, director of the Enterprise Business Management Office within the agency’s CIO Office.  At the May 13 FCW Workshop on Data and Analytics, Brown shared the data management tips that helped the agency succeed. […]

Two public health experts testified that contact tracing and other data collection are vital to the U.S. COVID-19 response during a May 6 hearing by the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. […]

An official from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explained in an April 30 public meeting on regulatory data hosted by the General Services Administration how analytics tools associated with rulemaking process are saving the agency both resources and time. […]

Gulam Shakir, chief data officer of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), shared his views on the changing data landscape at the April 28 FedInsider Safeguarding Data Through Backup and Recovery webinar. […]

Before the Department of Defense (DoD) can fully embrace new artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is doing the behind-the-scenes data prep to get workers and defense technology ready for the transition. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report issued today that most of the largest Federal agencies made good progress in meeting goals to close data centers in Fiscal Year 2019, but also recommended that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) take several steps to improve clarity of reporting on data center closures under OMB’s Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) issued in 2016 and modified last year. […]

Members of Congress and officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) discussed the value of data-driven suicide prevention strategies at a Jan. 29 House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing led by committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif. […]

Health-focused government agencies are in a good position to lead implementation of Federal Data Strategy initiatives – such as improving data protection – because of their ongoing investments aimed at that goal, Federal CIO Suzette Kent said Jan. 15 at AFCEA Bethesda Health IT Summit. […]

The U.S. Air Force plans to release a solicitation to help the service branch optimize and modernize its Hill Enterprise Data Center (HEDC) in Utah while supporting a hybrid cloud environment and meeting requirements under the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), as noted in a beta.SAM.gov post. […]

Focusing on the “compute” equation – instead of only prioritizing data center closures – is an important consideration in Federal agencies’ execution of the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI), General Services Administration (GSA) Senior Adviser Stephen Naumann explained at a Dec. 18 ACT-IAC meeting. […]

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released a sole source procurement notice for 451 Research’s one-year subscription to the agency’s Cloud Price Index Service on Dec. 4. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) announced on Nov. 22 that the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) is seeking out a cloud system integrator to support the procurement, implementation, and operation of a hybrid and multi-cloud platform. […]

Air Force Chief Data Officer (CDO) Eileen Vidrine shared success stories from the implementation of the agency’s Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked and Trusted (VAULT) Data Platform in a panel discussion at ACT-IAC’s Data Driven Decision-Making Forum on Nov. 22. […]

The Animal and Plant Health Service (APHIS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to add a new system of records notice to its current inventory of records systems. […]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released draft versions of its strategies on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) today, setting the stage for the agency’s adoption of the emerging technologies. […]

The Library of Congress is modernizing its IT and taking a hybrid cloud approach to its storage infrastructure, agency leaders told senators during a November 7 hearing of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. […]