In order for agencies to meet Data Center Optimization Initiative requirements, many are choosing Data Center Infrastructure Management Solutions to help them visualize what’s going on inside their data centers. “We were looking at optimization before DCOI and DCIM was cool,” said Pruitt Hall, project manager for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s DCIM implementation. […]

Johnson Joy, CIO of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that he came to the Federal government hoping to use his private sector expertise to disrupt the public sector. “I’m a disruptor so I want to bring what the private sector has to offer to the government,” Joy said. […]

Many Federal agencies still struggle with overcoming security concerns when transitioning to the cloud, according to a MeriTalk report, To Cloud or Not to Cloud? That Isn’t the Question. Thirty-five percent of Federal IT leaders said that the security of their existing private cloud environments is excellent, compared to 21 percent for public cloud security. […]

The new administration has left little doubt that consolidation is a top priority. The first budget calls for deep cuts across most agencies. If achieved, these reductions are likely to put the squeeze on already stressed IT budgets. The search for creative solutions can and must intensify. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is pursuing a hybrid cloud model that will simultaneously address optimization, security and budget priorities—blazing a trail for other Federal agencies to follow. […]

Microsoft announced that it plans to offer blockchain capabilities for its government cloud offerings. “We view blockchain as a major technological advancement with the potential for significant impact in many industries, including the public sector, through its ability to enable verifiable and immutable cross-party computation,” said Tom Keane, head of Global Infrastructure for Microsoft Azure. […]

Federal agencies are refocusing their IT efforts in order to look at problems from an enterprise perspective rather than by individual bureau. “When you’re looking at the bureau you have money kind of stuck and stovepiped in that level,” said Melonie Parker-Hill, division chief of the enterprise operations center at the State Department. […]

With the new focus on innovation in Federal IT, agency CIOs said they will modernize whether they like it or not. The increased conversations about modernization have changed the way agency CIOs talk to their leadership about IT, according to Pamela Dyson, CIO of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). […]

Creating one cloud architecture for the civilian agencies will make it easier for hackers, according to Beth Dunphy, program director of cybersecurity technologies at IBM. The White House’s recent IT Modernization Report calls for the Federal government to invest in two to three cloud models to support the different agencies. “At the end of the day it’s just going to make it easier to repeat the attacks from the attackers,” Dunphy said at the AFCEA Homeland Security Conference on Sept. 12. […]

The Federal Cloud Center of Excellence’s draft C.A.S.T.L.E guide on cloud acquisition aligns well with the White House’s IT Modernization Report. “The IT Modernization Report is focused on accelerating the move toward the cloud from an overall strategy and policy perspective and we’re here to support its cloud adoption goals,” said Syed Azeem, senior IT project manager for the Department of Labor, and outreach and advocacy lead within the CCOE. “Where we come in is providing the hands-on implementation level guidance as part of the C.A.S.T.L.E guide and other deliverables the CCOE is working on.” […]

Cloud helps organizations focus on the important parts of their mission, rather than wasting their time on maintenance and compliance, according to Peter Cutts, senior vice president of hybrid cloud platforms at Dell EMC. […]

FedRAMP can open business opportunities within the country and abroad for fledgling companies, according to Doug Bourgeois of Deloitte. […]

Cloud computing services can keep pace with the fast-moving nature of private sector workplaces, according to Conrad Unciano, systems engineering manager for CSRA. He said CSRA recently migrated four of its key applications using Amazon cloud services. […]

Over the past few years, the department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has started using cloud computing services. Michael Giardinelli, a senior software engineer and technical team lead at PNNL, said the lab’s 16 counterparts across the nation have embarked on similar cloud journeys. “A lot of them are moving in same direction as us,” Giardinelli said. “One key thing is collaboration amongst labs, like when working through the power grid.” […]

Government, industry, and the Hill got together for a collaborative powwow about government cloud progress, and specifically FedRAMP, the standardized cloud security certification, at the MeriTalk Cloud Computing Brainstorm on June 7 at the Newseum. The session reviewed progress to date and the path forward for the once-embattled GSA program–and revealed new transparency and important […]

Cloud identity management provider Okta has received FedRAMP certification with Department of Justice sponsorship, meeting compliance requirements of more than 300 controls. […]

As adoption of cloud services increases across Federal agencies, it is logical to assume that cloud spending will increase as well. However, a new report from IDC Insights indicates a decrease in cloud spending in fiscal year 2017. […]

Platform-based cloud models will be a “major impetus” for Federal agencies in the next few years, while Software-as-a-Service models will move more slowly, says Doug Bourgeois of Deloitte. Bourgeois will be speaking at MeriTalk’s Data Center Brainstorm on March 23. […]

Chief information officers, especially those in the health care sector, should be aware of a shift in spending when they move to the cloud, advised Tom Andriola, CIO of the University of California school system. […]

The Department of Defense selected Smartronix to provide on-premises cloud services. […]

MeriTalk conducted a Q&A with David Tishgart, director of product marketing at Cloudera, on cloud adoption. […]

Federal agencies need to continue moving to the cloud, even in the wake of continued distributed denial of service attacks, said Tom Ruff of Akamai Technologies. […]

Education on how Federal programs can best use the cloud is going to pick up this year as agencies continue the transition away from legacy IT, according to Rob Morrow, public sector chief technology officer at Cloudera. […]

Security measures in cloud adoption will be the fastest growing service in which the government invests in 2017, according to Tom Ruff, vice president of Public Sector America’s and Latin American Markets for Akamai Technologies. […]

The third largest cloud computing company in the world, OVH, will be investing $47 million to establish its first U.S. data center, and North American headquarters, in Fauquier County, Va. […]

Cloud adopters at the Federal, State, Local, and Education (SLED) levels may be getting ahead of themselves, according to a recent survey conducted by MeriTalk. […]

GSA recently launched the U.S. Data Federation, a new effort to support data standardization and data federation initiatives in the Federal and local governments. […]

The Defense Information Systems Agency receives notifications for about 800 million alarms a day while providing support for 146 mission partners, and Maj. Gen. Sarah Zabel, vice director, said the agency is trying to grant all 146 partners access to the commercial cloud. […]