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Navy Department’s Tom Sasala: System Interoperability Key to Joint C2 Platform Operations
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Navy Department’s Tom Sasala: System Interoperability Key to Joint C2 Platform Operations

Tom Sasala, chief data officer of the Department of the Navy, said the Department of Defense (DOD) must incentivize industry efforts to drive system interoperability for the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) infrastructure, C4ISRnet reported Wednesday.

Sasala said at a recent industry event that service branch leaders are working to identify JADC2 systems that must be prioritized for interoperability. He noted that he previously recommended looking into operational nodes to identify issues in interoperability or communication gaps.

According to Sasala, driving interoperability through modern web technologies is a challenge for legacy systems. He cited cultural changes and workforce skills as key factors for achieving “true interoperability.”

“We pay a vendor to build a system and we pay a different vendor to build a different system,” said Sasala. “There’s not a whole lot of incentive right now for those two vendors to talk to each other."

Sasala noted that polymorphic encryption could also be a feasible approach to ensuring data security for the JADC2 platform. Zero trust concepts must also be “fully embraced” for network security, he added.

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NTT DATA Teams with Spartan Medical to Deliver COVID-19 Services; Tim Conway Quoted
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NTT DATA Teams with Spartan Medical to Deliver COVID-19 Services; Tim Conway Quoted

NTT DATA Services has collaborated with  Spartan Medical to provide COVID-19 testing and tracing services to government agencies and public sector organizations, NTT DATA reported on Thursday. Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) will work with Spartan Medical and NTT DATA for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and other healthcare services.

“CSU Pueblo is an excellent example of the use of technology to help keep students in the classroom and athletes on the field. We’re thrilled to partner with Spartan Medical to make this happen for CSU Pueblo, and with the success of NTT DATA’s solution for COVID-19 testing we are now working on ways to support our government clients as well,” said Tim Conway president, Public Sector, NTT DATA Services and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient.

CSU Pueblo has leveraged NTT DATA’s technology to expand testing and contact tracing capabilities. The university has developed a HIPAA-compliant app to track and manage COVID-19 related data and activity, such as scheduling appointments, push notifications and capturing test results. 

“With approximately 2,100 students and employees currently living, learning, and working on campus, CSU Pueblo is committed to ensuring everyone receives the benefits of in-person learning while keeping students, faculty and staff safe from the virus,” said Dr. Donna Souder Hodge, chief strategy officer and COVID-19 director, CSU Pueblo. 

Spartan has been awarded multiple contracts with government agencies and public sector institutions to administer COVID-19 testing and safety measures. The company has integrated NTT DATA’s scheduling and self-assessment health platform to enable patients to schedule tests in advance and provide demographic information as required by the CDC.

With the success of NTT DATA’s scheduling solution for COVID-19 testing the company is now working to support government clients to schedule citizens for vaccines. “By adopting a customer-centric approach and using technology from NTT DATA to stream-line our COVID-19 testing services, we have developed a model that is both user-friendly and rapidly scalable to other institutions across the United States,” said Vince Proffitt, president of Spartan Medical. 

NTT DATA Teams with Spartan Medical to Deliver COVID-19 Services; Tim Conway Quoted

Tim Conway received his 2021 Wash100 Award for driving NTT DATA's expansion of federal health digital service offerings and helping federal and state governments implement technologies for enhanced customer experience. Conway's efforts to increase the company's footprint in the government contracting area positioned him as a top GovCon executive to consider in 2021.

To vote for Conway as your favorite executive of this year's Wash100 selection, visit https://wash100.com/ to cast your TEN votes, learn more about the history of the award and read the 2021 Wash100 Award executive profiles. 

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Battelle-Cascade Partnership to Deliver Environmental Remediation Technology for Recalcitrant Contaminants
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Battelle-Cascade Partnership to Deliver Environmental Remediation Technology for Recalcitrant Contaminants

Battelle has announced its intent to provide Cascade Environmental with a patented process for the use of encapsulated enzymes to remediate recalcitrant pollutants, the organization reported on Thursday. Cascade Environmental will begin to explore the use of Battelle’s technology at its sites. The co-inventors of the process are Battelle researchers Kate Kucharzyk, Tony Duong and former Battelle researcher Ram Lalgudi.

“We’re pleased to begin working with Cascade in this promising technology collaboration that will have broad industry impact,” said Dan Longbrake, commercial business director for PFAS and Environmental Restoration. “We expect to be able to release more information as we finalize details.”

Battelle’s optimized encapsulation process will provide a formulation of a proprietary mixture of fungal-derived, oxidoreducing, time-released enzymes for rapid degradation of recalcitrant contaminants. The structure and composition of encapsulated enzyme beads will help remedy petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The encapsulated enzyme formulation has a broad spectrum of treatment and will provide a controlled release of enzymes to eliminate multiple application events. Battelle’s technology is easy to use, does not create waste and promotes complete degradation of pollutants through microorganisms as the contaminant becomes more bioavailable after enzymatic treatment.

"Adding a slow-release enzymatic chemistry solution to the new Cascade Chemistries line of products deepens our capabilities to support our clients at their challenging TPH, PCB and PAH-impacted sites,” said Scott Wisher, senior vice president at Cascade. “We envision these chemistries being appropriate for in situ injection along with conventional remediation including soil blending.”

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. 

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GSA to Educate Contracting Officers on DOD’s New Cybersecurity Standards; Keith Nakasone Quoted
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GSA to Educate Contracting Officers on DOD’s New Cybersecurity Standards; Keith Nakasone Quoted

The General Services Administration (GSA) has begun to develop training documents for contracting officers in line with the Department of Defense's (DOD) new cybersecurity standards, FCW reported Wednesday. 

Keith Nakasone, deputy assistant commissioner for information technology acquisition at GSA, said contracting officers would use these documents as guides for DOD's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) standards.

The guides would help officers align with CMMC standards when dealing with government-wide acquisition contracts, Nakasone said at an event hosted by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM). 

The executive also noted that GSA is talking with non-defense agencies about applying CMMC standards to their own procurements. CMMC aims to bolster the security of controlled unclassified information in the defense supply chain.

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Federal Commission Eyes $32B Annual Spending for AI Research by FY 2026
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Federal Commission Eyes $32B Annual Spending for AI Research by FY 2026

The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) has submitted its draft report to Congress stating that annual AI research and development spending must reach $32 billion by fiscal year 2026, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

The report also states that the secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) must establish goals for AI readiness by the end of the year ahead of achieving enterprise-wide readiness in 2025. 

The DOD and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) must create an integration group for AI efforts as well as a “red team” that will defend AI systems against adversary threats.

Other initiatives highlighted in the report include the creation of a National Digital Reserve Corps and a $1 billion effort to ensure long-term funding for technologies meant to address goals under the National Intelligence Strategy.

Eric Schmidt, chairman of NSCAI, said at the group's plenary session that it is vital to take an incremental approach to addressing recommendations detailed in the report. NSCAI will submit a final version of the report on March 1st.

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Tyto Athene to Hold Annual Sales, Engineering Meeting; Julene Slusher Quoted
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Tyto Athene to Hold Annual Sales, Engineering Meeting; Julene Slusher Quoted

Tyto Athene will hold its annual Sales and Engineering Kick-Off meeting from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, 2022 at Bellagio Las Vegas, the company reported this week. The event will unite Tyto Athene’s sales, engineering and executive teams to meet with strategic partners for planning and training for the upcoming year.

“The Sales Kick-Off Meeting is essential to meeting our short and long-term objectives”, said Julene Slusher, director of Marketing and Partner Relations for Tyto Athene, “By bringing everyone together in one location, we can efficiently convene for strategy meetings, education and networking.” 

Tyto Athene’s annual meeting will feature training from the company’s strategic partners. Previous presenters include NEC, AVAYA, GTS Group, Ribbon Communications, Ruckus Networks CommScope, Ciena, Extreme Networks, Compunetix, Jenne Inc., Corning Inc., Poly, RAD, Thinklogical, and T-Mobile. 

About Tyto Athene

Tyto Athene, LLC is a full-service systems integrator focused on helping clients accelerate their ability to make decisions by providing secure access to enterprise information throughout their operating environment. 

We use a wide range of technologies, innovative thinking, and proven processes to deliver successful outcomes for its clients worldwide, including a historically proven track record of success within the Federal marketplace providing turn-key voice, data, networking and unified communications systems. Tyto Athene is also the inventor and provider of the ACUITY® Micro Data Center product line.

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Avaya Names Darcey Harrison as VP of Cloud Acceleration
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Avaya Names Darcey Harrison as VP of Cloud Acceleration

Avaya has appointed Darcey Harrison as vice president of Cloud Acceleration for North America to help the company’s customers and partners migrate to cloud and support digital transformation, Avaya reported on Wednesday. 

“Avaya continues to attract remarkably high-caliber talent, with a continued focus on delivering for our customers, providing them with multicloud solutions in a wide range of deployment options and subscription models,” said Frank Ciccone, senior vice president, North American Sales, Avaya. "We’re excited to have Darcey join our company at this exciting time, and I believe her industry experience and demonstrated leadership are a tremendous asset to the team.”

In her new role, Harrison will expand Avaya’s customer adoption of the Avaya OneCloud communications and collaboration portfolio. She will also work with customers to help businesses adapt to emerging technology solutions.

Avaya’s cloud and subscription business has contributed to more than 30 percent of the company’s revenue, and 40 percent of Avaya’s new logos are cloud. As the company continues to expand in this market, Harrison will help gain traction as more businesses select Avaya as their CCaaS, UCaaS and CPaaS provider. 

Before joining Avaya, Harrison served as chief revenue officer of UJET. With the company, she delivered over 100 percent growth, and was responsible for sales, channels, solutions consulting, customer success  and sales operations.

Prior to UJET, Harrison served in a variety of senior cloud sales management roles with experience guiding customers through technology transitions to achieve positive business outcomes, including Markforged, Cloud4Wi and Swiftype. 

“I am pleased to be joining Avaya at such an important time, as the company continues to strengthen its customer-driven approach to delivering innovation in multicloud communications and collaboration solutions,” said Harrison. As organizations of all sizes increasingly plan to adopt cloud communications, I look forward to helping to drive growth for our customers, partners and Avaya.”

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SAIC Names John Bonsell as SVP of Government Affairs; Nazzic Keene Quoted
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SAIC Names John Bonsell as SVP of Government Affairs; Nazzic Keene Quoted

John Bonsell has rejoined Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) as senior vice president of Government Affairs, effective immediately, the company reported on Thursday. In his new role, Bonsell will lead the business unit to support SAIC’s strategic objectives. 

Bonsell will work with federal executive branch officials, members of Congress and their staffs and state and local officials to support the company’s initiative. Previously,  Bonsell served as consultant with SAIC from 2007 to 2012. Between 2015 and 2018,  Bonsell was SAIC’s vice president of Government Affairs. 

When he wasn’t with SAIC, Bonsell served as the Majority Staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee. With the committee, he managed the confirmation oversight responsibilities of the committee, with a focus on the Department of Defense (DoD) and security functions of the government.

Bonsell also served as the ranking staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee and was the legislative director and deputy chief of staff for Sen. James Inhofe. During his military service with the Army, he served as chief of concepts and doctrine.

“We are incredibly excited for John to rejoin SAIC. He brings extensive industry knowledge and government experience as well as his in-depth working knowledge of the Department of Defense. John will continue to push SAIC further in meeting our customers’ needs as they navigate their digital transformation journeys,” said SAIC CEO and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, Nazzic Keene.

Bonsell will succeed SAIC senior vice president Tom Eldridge, who is set to retire in spring 2021. “Tom will remain with SAIC through April to ensure a successful transition. I want to thank him for more than 11 years with SAIC and for all of his contributions to our success,” Keene added.

Eldridge has been charged with overseeing the company’s Government Affairs advocacy and Business Development Operations, including Pricing, Price to Win, Competitive Intelligence, Proposal Operations, and Sales Enablement. Eldridge has been with SAIC since June 2009.

“It has been a privilege to work at SAIC with so many talented and innovative colleagues,” said Eldridge. “I am incredibly excited about SAIC’s future and will work with John for a smooth transition.”

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NGA Seeks New GEOINT Research Methods to Address Four Mission Imperatives
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NGA Seeks New GEOINT Research Methods to Address Four Mission Imperatives

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is seeking concepts to explore new technology in the areas of analytic workflow modernization, data access and integrity, accelerated tasking orchestration and assured positioning, navigation, timing and targeting.

NGA said Wednesday that its four mission imperatives fall under a newly published topic in the agency's Boosting Innovative GEOINT Research broad agency announcement (BIG-R BAA).

Interested parties can submit classified abstracts and proposals on the intelligence community's Acquisition Research Center website or provide unclassified input through the official online portals for federal contracting and grant opportunities.

The agency launched its BIG-R BAA effort last year in a push to transform research contracting approaches for disruptive technology projects.

"The BIG-R BAA helps us connect with researchers in industry and academia and apply their work to our national security mission," said John Main, chief scientist for research at NGA.

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Lt. Gen. John Shaw: Spacecom Plans Space Domain Partnerships With NASA, Industry
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Lt. Gen. John Shaw: Spacecom Plans Space Domain Partnerships With NASA, Industry

Lt. Gen. John Shaw, deputy commander of U.S. Space Command (Spacecom), said that Spacecom and NASA could enter into a partnership in the coming months to address planetary threats that could hamper space domain awareness, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

Shaw told attendees at a Washington Space Business webinar Wednesday the two organizations will likely collaborate on an “operationally focused” planetary defense mission. 

He added that Spacecom is looking to work with the private sector to build satellite communications technology and address risks from orbital debris.

The Department of Defense established Spacecom in Aug. 2019 as the U.S. military's 11th unified combatant command to help protect national interests in the space domain.

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