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News/Press Releases
Report: Federal Gov’t Making Progress on Acquisition Mgmt Reforms
by Brenda Marie Rivers
Published on July 9, 2020
Report: Federal Gov’t Making Progress on Acquisition Mgmt Reforms

The federal government has reported progress on three cross-agency priority (CAP) goals and introduced a new category focused on improving the management of major acquisitions.

An update issued Monday on Performance.gov states that CAP Goal teams and agencies “continue to make progress” on efforts to implement key strategies under the President’s Management Agenda as of July 2020.

The joint effort between the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also created a tool called the Strategic Objectives Dashboard that visualizes agency objectives and long-term goals.

According to the notice, agencies achieved maturity and implementation for the “Modernizing the Infrastructure Permitting Process”, “Getting Payments Right” and “Security Clearance, Suitability, and Credentialing Reform” CAP goals.

The achievement will enable CAP teams to demonstrate reforms amid continuous monitoring through Performance.gov, the notice states.

The new CAP goal, known as “ Frictionless Acquisition”, covers efforts to fortify the resiliency of the government contracting base while modernizing business models and reducing procurement lead-times.

Other updates include the transition of the “Federal IT Spending Transparency” CAP goal into the “Category Management” and “IT Modernization; Data, Accountability, and Transparency” categories.

Government Technology/News
Oracle Secures Framework Agreement to Provide Applications to Canadian Government; Walter Dann Quoted
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
Oracle Secures Framework Agreement to Provide Applications to Canadian Government; Walter Dann Quoted

Oracle has been awarded a Framework Agreement for the provision of secure cloud services to the Government of Canada, enabling the company’s Canadian federal government customers the ability to securely store, manage and process sensitive data and applications in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle reported on Thursday.

"By achieving this milestone, we are able to help the federal government and Canadian public sector tap into our second generation cloud to not just keep pace, but also stay ahead of the evolving business and technology landscape,” said Walter Dann, Area Vice President, Oracle Public Sector.

With this new agreement, the Government of Canada will gain access to a variety of advanced technology, including machine learning-enabled applications, integrated security tools, automated analytics and Oracle Autonomous Database. The Canadian Government also has access to the second generation Cloud built to run Oracle Autonomous Database. 

Oracle will provide cloud services to regions in Toronto and Montreal to support Canadian government and affiliated public sector entities in their digital transformation efforts. Oracle's Canadian Cloud regions will offer CPU and GPU virtual machine and bare metal; block, object, and archive storage; Oracle Database; and Oracle Exadata Cloud Services, FastConnect, Identity and Access Management, Key Management Service and Load Balancer.

“Oracle's outstanding price-performance, Oracle Autonomous Database, machine learning and AI innovations along with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure secure by design will be key to enabling our customers' enterprise workloads in the cloud," Dann noted. 

In order to work with the international government, Oracle Cloud was assessed across a set of controls and global certifications including SOC and ISO. Oracle's support of these controls and certifications will ensure that workloads across the government and private sector meet a high level of assurance.  

"This Framework Agreement for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is a critical step in meeting the growing demands and compliance requirements of our public sector customers," Dann added. 

About Oracle

The Oracle Cloud offers a complete suite of integrated applications for Sales, Service, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, plus Highly-Automated and Secure Generation 2 Infrastructure featuring the Oracle Autonomous Database.

Government Technology/News
Telos Launches The Epios Project to Facilitate COVID-19 Testing; Suvi Rinkinen, Douglas Horn Quoted
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
Telos Launches The Epios Project to Facilitate COVID-19 Testing; Suvi Rinkinen, Douglas Horn Quoted

Telos has launched The Epios Project, designed to facilitate anonymous testing for COVID-19 and other epidemics, on Thursday.

"The Epios Project and mobile app are prime examples of how blockchain technology can be used to securely collect, anonymize and manage public health data," said Suvi Rinkinen, CEO at The Telos Foundation. "We look forward to working with additional partners to grow Epios and improve disease testing and outcomes worldwide." 

Within the project, Telos will utilize a mobile app to connect  anonymous testers with providers that supply and process test kits in compliance with local requirements. Epios will integrate a new method for recording anonymous information within a system that will require disclosure of personally identifiable information. 

Telos will not require payment to be made directly by the testing subject to the processing lab.  The company will use a cryptographically protected coupon provided along with each test kit with untraceable codes, enabling labs to verify that a payment is valid without tracing it to a specific purchaser. 

The project will create a network of project, regional and country managers to arrange permissions for third-party organizations to record and access data on the blockchain. Telos will work with non-governmental organizations (NGO), government organizations and other partners to grow the project globally. 

"By providing an option for structurally anonymous testing, people may be more likely to get tested and take better precautions if their results are positive," said Douglas Horn, chief architect of the Telos Blockchain and Epios Project lead. "Providing aggregate, anonymous results to researchers with some geographic granularity also helps the medical community and policymakers make more informed decisions for the COVID-19 pandemic and future epidemics." 

About Telos

Telos is a third-generation blockchain platform for building fast, scalable applications. Launched in 2018, it is designed to power purpose-driven companies, organizations, and projects.

Contract Awards/News
USDA Awards Evoke Task Order to Provide Consulting Services to DA
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
USDA Awards Evoke Task Order to Provide Consulting Services to DA

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Evoke Consulting a 36-month task order under the ITGMSS Blanket Purchase Agreement to provide strategic consulting services to the Departmental Administration (DA), the company announced on Thursday.  

Under the contract, Evoke will partner with the DA to develop a shared services model and enhance the IT Organization’s strategy, policies, and procedures, enabling delivery of effective administrative programs that meet USDA organizations’ needs.

The DA will provide essential services for USDA in human resources policy and planning, procurement policy and operations, property management, homeland security and small and disadvantaged business utilization.  

The administration has leveraged its experience in IT portfolio management, enterprise architecture and strategic planning. Evoke will help accelerate DA’s organizational maturity and achievement of the goals established by leadership.   

Evoke will utilize its experts to enhance the resilience and compliance of systems through an IT Security Roadmap and the establishment of asset management practices and procedures.

About Evoke

Since our inception, we have worked to significantly raise the expectations of our workforce and the organizations we serve. Our dedication to each employee is expressed with unwavering support, personalized career mapping and opportunities to apply existing and newfound expertise to diverse initiatives.

The pride we all have in the business stems from the culture the dedicated staff embody every day—the staff Evoke’s clients align themselves to as trusted partners to impact their organization’s missions and communities. As Evoke continues to enjoy tremendous growth, we still refer to it as an experiment. That’s because it represents the same ideas it was originally built upon. And because it’s always evolving to best serve those who define it and rely on it.

News/Press Releases
Perspecta Named Enterprise-Wide ITIL4 ATO; Mike Kirkland Quoted
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
Perspecta Named Enterprise-Wide ITIL4 ATO; Mike Kirkland Quoted

Perspecta Inc. has been named an enterprise-wide ITIL4 Foundation accredited training organization (ATO), the company reported on Thursday.

"The ATO certification extends our ability to train our already highly capable workforce in cloud, digital transformation and IT managed services practices to help our customers reduce cost, accelerate service delivery, reduce risks and optimize resources," said Mike Kirkland, senior vice president, offerings and solution development at Perspecta.

ITIL is an industry-standard framework for developing, managing and supporting IT services based on industry best practices. Certifications are available for individual IT professionals, and entire IT teams can benchmark their performance and efficiencies against industry standards. 

As an ATO, Perspecta will be able to provide training and certification to its nearly 14 thousand employees as well as government and commercial customers. ITIL 4 Foundation ​training is accredited by Peoplecert and is designed to introduce modern IT-enabled services.

The accreditation was issued by PeopleCert, a global leader in the assessment and certification of professionals and organizations and was received in May 2020. Through the certification, Perspecta has enhanced service management key concepts, ITIL principles, the service value system (SVS), practices and the company’s role in a service provider organization.

PeopleCert is an approved examination institute for AXELOS, which is responsible for developing, enhancing and promoting several best practice frameworks and methodologies used globally by professionals working primarily in IT service management, project, program and portfolio management and cyber resilience.

"This accreditation marks an incredible achievement for the team, and positions us at the forefront of service management across the entire ITIL 4 service delivery framework," Kirkland added. 

About Perspecta Inc.

At Perspecta (NYSE: PRSP), we question, we seek and we solve. Perspecta brings a diverse set of capabilities to our U.S. government customers in defense, intelligence, civilian, health care and state and local markets. Our 280+ issued, licensed and pending patents are more than just pieces of paper, they tell the story of our innovation. 

With offerings in mission services, digital transformation and enterprise operations, our team of nearly 14,000 engineers, analysts, investigators and architects work tirelessly to not only execute the mission, but build and support the backbone that enables it. Perspecta was formed to take on big challenges. We are an engine for growth and success and we enable our customers to build a better nation.

Acquisition & Procurement/M&A Activity/News
IBM to Acquire WDG Automation to Expand Automation Capabilities; Denis Kennelly, Robson Felix Quoted
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
IBM to Acquire WDG Automation to Expand Automation Capabilities; Denis Kennelly, Robson Felix Quoted

IBM has developed a definitive agreement to acquire WDG Automation, a Brazilian software provider of robotic process automation (RPA) to expand its AI-infused automation capabilities across business processes and IT operations, IBM reported on Wednesday. 

"With today's announcement, IBM is taking that a step further and helping clients accelerate automation to more parts of the organization, not just to routine, but more complex tasks so employees can focus on higher value work," said Denis Kennelly, general manager of Cloud Integration, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software.

IBM will embed WDG Automation's RPA capabilities into its AI-infused automation capabilities to enable users to access intelligent automation through software robots. The acquisition will extend IBM services' and enhance enterprise workflows by delivering automation pervasively across client organizations.

The WDG Automation technology is designed for business users to create automations using a desktop recorder without the need of IT. These software robots can run on-demand by the end user or by an automated scheduler.

WDG Automation will enable IBM to quickly identify opportunities for automation and help ensure consistent and accurate data will be integrated into the company’s tools and business functions, including customer service, IT, finance, human resources and supply chain.

Under the terms of the acquisition, IBM will integrate more than 600 pre-built RPA functions from WDG Automation into Cloud Pak for Automation to help businesses turn insights from AI into automated actions.

In addition to business operations, IBM will integrate WDG Automation RPA into its capabilities for automating IT operations, specifically Watson AIOps and Cloud Pak for Multicloud Management to enable CIOs to self-detect, diagnose and respond to IT anomalies in real time. 

The WDG Automation technology will join the IBM Cloud Integration organization and be available through IBM Cloud Pak for Automation on-premises, and in public or private cloud environments. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in Q3 2020.

"Automation is crucial in the digital era, as businesses need to perform several repetitive or routine tasks, so that employees are able to focus on innovation. I'm incredibly proud of the role WDG Automation has played in the RPA market with a unified and integrated platform to help companies in Brazil increase their productivity," said Robson Felix, founder and CEO, WDG Automation.

News/Press Releases
Hanwha Energy Corporation Selects Jacobs to Advance Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant; Patrick Hill Quoted
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
Hanwha Energy Corporation Selects Jacobs to Advance Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant; Patrick Hill Quoted

Jacobs has been selected by Hanwha Energy Corporation to deliver owner's engineer services to support the design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of a new 100 megawatt alternating current (MWac) solar photovoltaic power plant in Malaysia, Jacobs announced on Thursday.

"This project is a great opportunity for us to continue to support Malaysia as it expands its renewable energy sector in pursuit of more affordable, sustainable and cleaner energy to meet the future needs of its nation," said Jacobs People & Places Solutions senior vice president Global Operations Patrick Hill.

Jacobs will support the plant and connect it to the electricity transmission system operated by utility provider Tenaga Nasional. Hanwha Energy Corporation has expected the project to begin commercial operation in 2021.  

The project is one of five selected in a national Large-Scale Solar (LSS) third procurement program led by Suruhanjaya Tenaga, Malaysia's Energy Commission. The LSS program will diversify  power generation mix and increase the country's renewable resources from 2 percent to 20 percent by 2030.

Jacobs has been involved in both the first (LSS1) and second (LSS2) phase of the LSS scheme. The company has fulfilled owner's engineer, independent engineer and lender technical advisor roles for a variety of projects under the program, including a 49 MWac project in Sungai Siput, Perak under LSS1 and three 30 MWac projects. 

About Jacobs

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. 

With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.

Contract Awards/News
SPA Wins Contract to Support Force Design Division of ADF; Dr. William Vantine Quoted
by Sarah Sybert
Published on July 9, 2020
SPA Wins Contract to Support Force Design Division of ADF; Dr. William Vantine Quoted

Systems Planning and Analysis (SPA) Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of SPA, Inc., has been awarded a contract to support the Force Design Division of the Australian Defense Force (ADF), the company reported on Thursday.   

“We are honored to be able to continue our support of the ADF Force Design Division, helping them make well-informed decisions on their integrated force design,” said Dr. William Vantine, SPA president and CEO. 

Under the contract, SPA Australia will provide analysis and modelling support to help identify capability requirements and trade-offs to enhance the effectiveness of ADF. SPA Australia will utilize its experts, advanced analytic techniques and software tools portfolio to provide objective evidence that will inform design of the joint, integrated force and future acquisition decisions.

The work will be conducted by the SPA Australia office in Canberra. SPA Australia will draw upon the expertise of its employees and leverage support from SPA United States employees who hold experience in supporting the Department of Defense (DoD).

“We are excited to bring our many years of analytic and modelling experience and expertise to help build the foundation of the Australian Defense Force for many years into the future,” added  Vantine. 

About SPA

Systems Planning and Analysis provides knowledge based solutions integrating technical, operational, programmatic, policy, and business factors in support of important national security objectives. 

Our employees have expertise in many domains, including: Land, Undersea, Surface and Air Warfare Operations; Radar and Sensor Systems; Unmanned Systems and Counter Systems; Nuclear Deterrence Policy, Safety and Security; Defense Industrial Base; Space Systems; Ballistic Missile Systems; and Hypersonics. Our capabilities include: Advanced Analytics; System Engineering and Safety Analysis; Strategy, Policy and Compliance; Program and Acquisition Management; Software Tool Development.

Government Technology/News
NIST Seeks Access to Twitter API Data to Improve Emergency Response Efforts
by Jane Edwards
Published on July 9, 2020
NIST Seeks Access to Twitter API Data to Improve Emergency Response Efforts

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced its intent to gain access to Twitter’s enterprise-level application programming interface as part of a project aimed at backing research into social media analytics during natural disasters and emergencies.

A notice posted Tuesday says NIST identifies and prioritizes tweets during natural disasters based on an emergency response ontology under its Text Retrieval Conference Incident Streams project.

Through the TREC Incident Streams project, NIST invites research teams worldwide to come up with software platforms that can classify the tweets and then develops the infrastructure to assess the effectiveness of such platforms. The agency expects those platforms to help public safety organizations improve their decision-making processes.

“NIST requires access and use on an Enterprise-Level API to search Twitter during emergencies, such as safety emergencies like floods, wildfires, earthquakes, other natural disasters, so that we can identify as many tweets coming from the emergency as possible,” the notice states.

Twitter has authorized the New Jersey Institute of Technology to serve as its sole intermediary and provide NIST access to API data through a contract, which has a base term of four months and an option period of five months.

Responses to the notice are due July 16.

Government Technology/News
Agencies Look to Commercial Tech to Help Address Pandemic-Related Data Sharing, Privacy Issues
by Jane Edwards
Published on July 9, 2020
Agencies Look to Commercial Tech to Help Address Pandemic-Related Data Sharing, Privacy Issues

The Census Bureau and other agencies are looking for commercial off-the-shelf systems that could help protect data computation and privacy to securely link datasets and generate predictions about the COVID-19 pandemic, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

Cavan Capps, big data lead at the Census Bureau, said industry could help ensure public trust and facilitate data sharing by providing a better platform that could help secure the environment used for data storage and analysis.

Lynne Parker, deputy chief technology officer at the White House, cited the lack of a “silver bullet” solution to data privacy protection due to weaknesses of certain techniques, including data de-identification, data aggregation and homomorphic encryption.

“Much more needs to be done to create scalable solutions that are not just a point solution for a particular data sharing goal, but an approach that can scale to more use cases,” Parker said. “So I close with a call to all of you across industry, academia and government: What we need is a better pathway forward for addressing data sharing hurdles more quickly and in the shorter term.”

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