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Iron Bow Wins OMNIA Support Contract to Extend Cybersecurity Solutions; Bill Saltenberger Quoted
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Iron Bow Wins OMNIA Support Contract to Extend Cybersecurity Solutions; Bill Saltenberger Quoted

Iron Bow Technologies has been awarded a Region 4 Education Services Center (ESC) contract, effective Oct. 1, 2020, for cybersecurity solutions, associated products and services through OMNIA Partners, the company reported on Thursday. The contract will be available through Sept. 30, 2023, with an option to be renewed annually for an additional two years. 

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with OMNIA Partners through this award to provide state and local end users an easy and accessible resource to procure cyber security solutions,” said Bill Saltenberger, general manager for Commercial Enterprises, State, Local and Education Sales at Iron Bow Technologies.

Under the contract, Iron Bow will provide services and solutions to state and local government agencies, school districts, universities, public agencies and nonprofits through Iron Bow Technologies. The award will also expand Iron Bow’s reach into the SLED market. 

Region 4 ESC established the contract to create a national cooperative contract for Cyber Security Solutions and Services in order to simplify procurement and offer cost savings for OMNIA Partners’ network of public sector agencies. 

“This partnership validates our continued investments and commitment to providing our SLED clients with best in class technology solutions to further their missions and meet their goals,” Saltenberger added. 

About Iron Bow Technologies

Iron Bow Technologies is a leading IT solution provider dedicated to successfully transforming clients' technology investments into robust business capabilities. Working with government, commercial and healthcare clients, Iron Bow brings a depth of technical expertise as well as domain and market knowledge to deliver the right solution to achieve desired business outcomes. 

Iron Bow partners with clients from planning and implementation through ongoing maintenance and management to deliver solutions that are strong, flexible and on target with their mission. Iron Bow's global reach and strategic partnerships with industry leaders as well as disruptive technology partners ensures clients implement appropriate cutting edge technology in support of objectives. 

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Greenhouse Consulting Names Jay Jones as Managing Director; Bill Rossello Quoted
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Greenhouse Consulting Names Jay Jones as Managing Director; Bill Rossello Quoted

Greenhouse Consulting has appointed Jay Jones as managing director, the company reported on Thursday. Jones has nearly three decades of sales, business development, capture management and marketing experience in complex consulting and service environments.

“We are excited to have someone of Jay’s caliber join our team. Jay brings a wealth of business development experience and large capture expertise,” said Greenhouse’s managing partner Bill Rossello. “Jay has been one of the best in the govcon space for a long time and the extensive reach of his network is hard to match.”

Prior to joining Greenhouse Consulting, Jones served as vice president for business development, strategic partnership and planning, capture management and marketing for the Health and Civilian Solutions Division at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT). His teams supported the company’s homeland security, health and civilian customer facing sectors.

Jones has also served as director at Deloitte Consulting. He was responsible for the strategic identification and business development within the U.S. Government market space, specifically within federal energy and Veteran Affairs (VA).

As vice president of the U.S. Government Solution Sales at Siemens Enterprise Communications, he delivered thought leadership, executive customer engagement and relationship development in the global defense community and was responsible for generating $30 million in product and services revenue.

From 2000-2009, Jones served as senior vice president of Global Public Services Sales for BearingPoint Inc., where he supervised the company-wide strategic planning and capture in the federal, healthcare, state and local, higher education and international emerging markets. His sales team was nationally recognized as the top revenue generator within the organization.

Jones is a retired Colonel within the U.S. Army ODISC4 and was awarded both the Legion of Merit and Defense Meritorious Service Medal. His leadership positions include: Platoon Leader, 197th Infantry Brigade; Deputy Commander, Military Traffic Management Command in Okinawa, Japan; Associate Professor of Military Science at the University of Rhode Island; Deputy Commander of Information Systems, Armed Forces Courier Services; and Commander of European Mediterranean Southeast Asia Operations, Defense Courier Service.

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DoD’s Joint Acquisition Task Force to Become Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell; Hon. Ellen Lord Quoted
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DoD’s Joint Acquisition Task Force to Become Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell; Hon. Ellen Lord Quoted

The Joint Acquisition Task Force established by the Department of Defense to help coordinate the delivery of acquisition support to other agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic will be called the Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell and will operate under the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell starting next year, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

“As the JATF transitions from its current structure to a more permanent operation under the JRAC, the JATF and JRAC teams are developing a playbook to document the processes, authorities and resources needed for this and any future public health crises to which the department responds,” Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said at the virtual COMDEF conference.

JATF has helped process contracts worth more than $3B in support of agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The task force also helped HHS build up the capacity for domestic production of critical medical supplies using Defense Production Act authorities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

 

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Karen Evans: DHS Consolidates Network, Security Operations Centers
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Karen Evans: DHS Consolidates Network, Security Operations Centers

Karen Evans, chief information officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said DHS is merging its security and network operations centers to keep systems operational as analysts respond and investigate a cyber incident, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

“It’s not just consolidation for consolidation’s sake,” Evans said Wednesday during an ACT-IAC event. “It’s the next evolution of providing and managing risk to keep the business going while we are then analyzing, being aware of and being able to protect our operations.”

She said DHS is considering ways how to staff the newly formed network operations security center with federal and contract employees. Evans also provided updates on the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program and Cybersecurity Talent Management System in relation to NOSC.

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Dana Deasy: DoD’s CIO Office Helping Services Branches Prepare for Future JEDI Cloud Migration
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Dana Deasy: DoD’s CIO Office Helping Services Branches Prepare for Future JEDI Cloud Migration

Dana Deasy, chief information officer at the Department of Defense and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said his office has begun working with service branches to help them prepare for their future transition to the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud, C4ISRNET reported Wednesday.

“We’re doing a lot of work with the services on getting them prepared to move their [software] development processes and cycles to DevOps so when the JEDI cloud finally does get awarded, we’re not starting at Day One,” Deasy said Wednesday at a Defense Writers Group roundtable.

DoD reaffirmed its decision to award the JEDI cloud contract to Microsoft in early September but a new court schedule showed several scenarios that could stretch the contract protest into 2021.

Amid the ongoing court proceedings, Deasy said the armed services should now start identifying tools, directories and integration environments in order to link users to the cloud once it becomes available. He cited how JEDI could help DoD address critical capability gaps and discussed the cloud program’s role in the Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept.

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U.S. State Dept, Greece Partner for Joint S&T Pursuits
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U.S. State Dept, Greece Partner for Joint S&T Pursuits

The U.S. and Greece have signed an agreement to jointly explore science and technology opportunities while protecting the intellectual property rights of inventors and researchers. 

Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, and Adonis Georgiadis, development and investments minister of Greece, signed the U.S.-Greece S&T Agreement at a ceremony held Monday.

The agreement allows both countries to better compete against threats in the Eastern Mediterranean region and expands U.S. access to foreign expertise.

Greece, a NATO ally, is home to Thessaloniki city's technology hub where U.S. companies, such as Cisco and Pfizer, seek to expand.

Tesla, meanwhile, is pursuing drive train-focused research and development activities in Athens. Google and other companies including Apple and Microsoft have supported COVID-19 response in Greece.

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Army Eyes Contract Awards for Virtual Training Systems Modernization Through FY 2022; MG Maria Gervais Quoted
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Army Eyes Contract Awards for Virtual Training Systems Modernization Through FY 2022; MG Maria Gervais Quoted

The U.S. Army has continued its efforts to establish requirements and identify potential commercial sources for the service branch’s virtual training programs.

The Army’s Combined Arms Center – Training (CAC-T) component is currently conducting a study on modernizing the service’s live training systems to inform requirements for projects slated for fiscal years 2023 through 2027, National Defense Magazine reported Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Maria Gervais, director of the synthetic training environment (STE) cross-functional team at Army Futures Command (AFC), told the publication that the Army needs “help from our industry partners” to continue developing the training platform and refining its automation elements.

The Army previously opened an integration complex to house the development of STE's baseline simulation applications as well as activities with industry and the academe.

The Army plans to release a $957 million contract for the Cyber Training, Readiness, Integration, Delivery and Enterprise Technology (TRIDENT) system in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021. TRIDENT serves as part of the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE).

The service also intends to issue a potential $200 million award for the Intelligence Electronic Warfare Tactical Proficiency Trainer (IEWTPT) Increment II in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. A request for proposals is slated for release in FY 2021’s second quarter. 

General Dynamics’mission systems business serves as the incumbent contractor for IEWTPT.

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GAO Issues Report on Best Practices, Challenges in Agile Software Dev’t
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GAO Issues Report on Best Practices, Challenges in Agile Software Dev’t

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report stating that the federal government should consider implementing Agile software development practices to encourage early customer input and other organizational benefits.

“Agile is an approach to software development that encourages collaboration across an organization and allows requirements to evolve as a program progresses,” the report states.

GAO said in the report published Tuesday that its Agile Assessment Guide outlines best practices for the software development concept including dynamic, team-based operations and requirements prioritization.

The watchdog also recommends agencies to establish an integrated team that will handle contracting, program management and software development operations to streamline collaborations with industry partners.

According to GAO, implementing Agile best practices will help agencies be more flexible in addressing evolving technological obstacles while reducing program risks and accelerating deliveries.

However, the watchdog noted that agencies must be prepared to face challenges such as the need for organizational commitment, technology transition issues, mistrust in iterative procedures and misaligned agency practices.

“By engaging customers early and iterating often, agencies that adopt Agile can also reduce the risks of funding failing programs or outdated technology,” the report added. 

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DHS Taps Two Companies for Network Modeling Tech Dev’t
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DHS Taps Two Companies for Network Modeling Tech Dev’t

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded SecureLogix and Achilles Heel Technologies a total of $1.96 million in funds through Phase II of the Small Business Innovation Research program to build technologies that will support dynamic network modeling capabilities for emergency communication and risk management networks. 

SecureLogix will continue the development of a modeling tool that will assist 911 decision makers in planning prevention approaches for telephony denial of service attacks, DHS said Tuesday.

Achilles Heel will build a suite of software tools designed to perform cyber risk management activities for Next-Generation 911 platforms such as dynamic network models.

"Now, many new data types are accepted by NG9-1-1 centers, such as text, video, images, and even information directly from an automobile in the event of an accident. All these data types increase the attack surface in cyberspace, in addition to the traditional TDoS and other attacks that originate in the phone system at 9-1-1 centers," said Ann Cox, SBIR topic manager at DHS' science and technology directorate.

The awardees may compete for Phase III contracts after the completion of their prototypes to pursue funding from non-SBIR government sources and the private sector.

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NSF Names Sean Jones as Directorate Head; Sethuraman Panchanathan Quoted
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NSF Names Sean Jones as Directorate Head; Sethuraman Panchanathan Quoted

Sean Jones, former acting deputy division director at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) division of materials research, has been appointed to lead NSF's mathematical and physical sciences directorate. Prior to his appointment, Jones most recently served as acting assistant director at the MPS directorate, the agency said Tuesday.

"Sean Jones’s expertise and experience as a leader both in academia and industrial research are rich perspectives that we need as we advance this agency into the future," NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan said. "Sean has an excellent track record of fostering scientific discovery and the mission of NSF, and he brings the kind of enterprise focus that we need to get things done at speed and scale. Dr. Jones is the ideal person to lead this critical area of NSF."

Jones started his career at NSF in 2009 as program director. He also led research and development teams at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies and two undisclosed startup companies. He worked as a senior scientist at the University of Florida and assumed the roles of department chair and professor for optical engineering at Norfolk State University.

"This is an exciting time for mathematical and physical sciences, and I am honored to continue working with such an extraordinary community," Jones said. "MPS advances some of the most compelling scientific questions that grow the U.S. economy, develops the industries of the future, enhances the nation’s global leadership in innovation, and ensures our national security."

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