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DHS CoE to Offer Technology Transition Program at George Washington University
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DHS CoE to Offer Technology Transition Program at George Washington University

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to establish a new center of excellence under the leadership of George Washington University. DHS said Monday that it allots over $5.8 million for the CoE that will offer a postgraduate program focused on security technology transition. The center will deliver the program as a master of business administration.

Takers will learn about the transition of federally funded security technologies from the developmental phase to operational implementation. The program will cover the business, technical and legal aspects of technology transition across all developmental phases from research to transition.

“By developing an educational program tailored to address the Department’s security technology needs, the MBA STT pilot program will produce a pipeline of high-quality professionals prepared to apply invaluable knowledge to the Department’s operational components and the broader homeland security enterprise," said William Bryan, acting undersecretary for science and technology.

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Ashley Boizelle to Assume FCC Acting General Counsel Post
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Ashley Boizelle to Assume FCC Acting General Counsel Post

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has tapped Ashley Boizelle to serve as acting general counsel from July 13th through Sept. 4th. She will fill in for FCC General Counsel Thomas Johnson, who is slated to take paternity leave, the agency said Monday.

Boizelle started her career at FCC in 2017 as deputy general counsel for administrative law. Prior to the commission, Boizelle worked at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and held the role of law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

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DOE to Fund 64 New Physics Projects With $132M; Paul Dabbar Quoted
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DOE to Fund 64 New Physics Projects With $132M; Paul Dabbar Quoted

The Department of Energy (DoE) will use $132 million to finance 64 university-led projects that tackle the area of high energy physics. DOE said Monday that the department will support research on dark matter and energy, neutrinos and other physics topics pursued by 53 educational institutions. Part of the funds will come from fiscal 2020 allotments and the rest are subject to Congressional appropriations.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will perform neutrino experiments and the University of Washington will pursue dark matter studies under the new funding opportunity. Kitt Peak National Observatory is an Astronomical Observatory located near Tucson, Arizona.

“These projects at 53 different institutions across our nation will advance efforts both in theory and through experiments that explore the subatomic world and study the cosmos,” said Paul Dabbar, DOE’s undersecretary for science.

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Lt. Gen. Glen VanHerck Nominated as Northcom, Norad Commander
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Lt. Gen. Glen VanHerck Nominated as Northcom, Norad Commander

President Trump has nominated U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Glen VanHerck, director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to lead the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). VanHerck will receive the rank of general upon his confirmation for the role, the Department of Defense (DoD), said Monday.

He joined the Joint Staff in 2017 as vice director for strategy, plans and policy. Prior to his current role, VanHerck led the Air Force Warfare Center as commander and held the role of director for operations at Air Force Global Strike Command.

VanHerck logged more than 3,200 flight hours as a command pilot for various aircraft including the T-1A, T-6A and T-37 systems.

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Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse Assigned to Advise DNI on Military Affairs
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Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse Assigned to Advise DNI on Military Affairs

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse of the U.S. Air Force has been assigned to advise the director of national intelligence on military affairs. Kruse will move from Washington, D.C., to McLean, Va., for his new assignment and will also receive the rank of lieutenant general, the Department of Defense (DoD) said Monday.

Kruse serves as the director of defense intelligence for warfighter support at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. The newly appointed DNI adviser joined military service in 1991 and went on to fill various intelligence-related roles in the Air Force.

Most recently, he served as U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's intelligence director, a role he held for three years.

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Avaya Expands Service Offering to Enhance Business Communications; Steve Brock Quoted
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Avaya Expands Service Offering to Enhance Business Communications; Steve Brock Quoted

Avaya Holdings Corp. has expanded its Device as a Service offering into twelve new markets to enable businesses to acquire the company’s business communication devices with a monthly subscription rather than an upfront purchase, Avaya reported on Tuesday.

“The success of the Avaya Subscription program is the result of customers accelerating their digital transformation activities – including establishing a new ‘all weather workforce’ that can work securely from anywhere and adding technologies that enable them to better serve customers,” said Steve Brock, director of Avaya Subscription Marketing. 

Avaya has expanded its offerings to meet the increased demand for flexible payment programs to help customers manage costs and future-proof their investments. Avaya reported 200 percent quarter-over-quarter growth in subscription based services in its latest earnings report.

The company’s solution will provide customers with the devices required to maximize the potential of this software, and enable customers to purchase them in the same flexible, predictable manner.

Avaya Devices can be integrated into the workplace and home offices to increase digital worker productivity and enable better customer service. The company’s Device portfolio will enable users to deploy the offering on both Avaya and non-Avaya platforms.

“[Customers] want the latest software and support at a price point that lets them more forward immediately, so that they can innovate when they have needs, with additional financial options,” Brock added.

About Avaya

Businesses are built on the experiences they provide, and every day millions of those experiences are built by Avaya (NYSE: AVYA). 

For over one hundred years, we’ve enabled organizations around the globe to win – by creating intelligent communications experiences for customers and employees. Avaya builds open, converged and innovative solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration – in the cloud, on-premise or a hybrid of both. 

To grow your business, we’re committed to innovation, partnership, and a relentless focus on what’s next. We’re the technology company you trust to help you deliver Experiences that Matter.

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CMU Secures Five-Year Extension on $2.7B Contract with DoD; Michael McQuade, Mike Doyle Quoted
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CMU Secures Five-Year Extension on $2.7B Contract with DoD; Michael McQuade, Mike Doyle Quoted

The Department of Defense (DoD) has extended its potential  $2.7 billion contract with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to operate the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) for an additional term of five years, the University reported on Tuesday.

"The work of the SEI in collaboration with other research efforts across the university magnifies the impact we can achieve not only for the DoD, but also more generally for Pittsburgh and the nation," said Michael McQuade, CMU vice president for research. "The SEI helps to ensure that we continue to be a high-tech anchor for the region, supporting jobs and recruitment of research talent to CMU and to the area."

Under the contract, CMU’s research and development center (FFRDC) will continue to support national security by advancing and transitioning the science, technologies and practices needed to make software a strategic advantage for the DoD.

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) has sponsored the SEI, which is the only FFRDC focusing specifically on software-related security and engineering. 

CMU’s SEI will develop technologies and practices to solve engineering and cybersecurity challenges in the nation's critical infrastructure and in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

The SEI has helped organizations to acquire, develop, operate, and sustain software systems, and ensure these software systems are innovative, affordable, trustworthy and enduring. The contract was awarded in 2015 for a term of five years with an option for a five-year extension.

"Carnegie Mellon University overall, and the SEI in particular, are global leaders in addressing complex cybersecurity and software engineering challenges. I'm glad that CMU will be able to continue this important work, and that the SEI's capabilities in this field continue to benefit the academic vitality and economic life of Pittsburgh," congressman Mike Doyle said.

About the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. 

The SEI works with organizations to make measurable improvements in their software engineering capabilities by providing technical leadership to advance the practice of software engineering. The CERT Division of the SEI is the world's leading trusted authority dedicated to improving the security and resilience of computer systems and networks and a national asset in the field of cybersecurity.

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NOAA’s Fisheries Unit Deploys ‘No-Code’ Approach to Project Mgmt
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NOAA’s Fisheries Unit Deploys ‘No-Code’ Approach to Project Mgmt

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) fisheries arm has implemented a project management concept enabling the administration's personnel to create resource-processing platforms without prior programming knowledge, FedScoop reported Monday.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service partnered with McLean, Va.-based information technology consulting firm M2 Strategy to develop a no-code management system that personnel can use to build dashboards and similar interfaces for managing projects.

The team also created a “prioritization scorecard” and template for resource management operations to support decision-making with project managers, team leaders and chief information officers.

Roy Varghese, CIO of NOAA Fisheries, told the publication that the effort comes as part of his office's goal to ensure that project management can be properly executed by staff that are "not classically trained project managers. When we switched over to 100 percent telework it was, to some extent for us, uneventful because we were prepared,” he noted. “We had our infrastructure ready.”

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Dun & Bradstreet Announces Close of Initial Public Offering
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Dun & Bradstreet Announces Close of Initial Public Offering

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings has announced the closing of its previously announced initial public offering of 90 million shares of common stock, which has included 11.7 million shares of common stock issued pursuant to the exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares in full, the company reported on Tuesday. 

The offering was priced at $22.00 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $2.4 billion when combined with the $400 million aggregate proceeds from the concurrent private placement and before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Dun & Bradstreet. 

Following the closing of the offering and concurrent private placement, Dun & Bradstreet used a portion of the net proceeds therefrom to redeem all of its outstanding Series A Preferred Stock and repay a portion of its 10.25 percent Senior Unsecured Notes outstanding due 2027. Dun & Bradstreet has intended to use the remaining net proceeds as set forth in the prospectus relating to the initial public offering.

The company reported the launch of initial public offering in June 2020. The company projected to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an 9.86 additional shares of common stock. 

A subsidiary of Cannae, a subsidiary of Black Knight, Inc. and a subsidiary of CC Capital Partners, LLC plan to invest $200  million, $100 million, and $100 million, respectively, in a concurrent private placement of  Dun & Bradstreet's common stock. The investments will be contingent upon the consummation of the offering at a price per share equal to 98.5 percent of the initial public offering price.  

Dun & Bradstreet has planned to use the proceeds from the offering and the concurrent private placement to redeem all of its outstanding Series A Preferred Stock, repay a portion of its 10.25 percent Senior Unsecured Notes outstanding due 2027 and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

About Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, enables companies around the world to improve their business performance. Dun & Bradstreet's Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to accelerate revenue, lower cost, mitigate risk, and transform their businesses. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity.

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Pegasystems Selected to Modernize IRS ECM System; Doug Averill Quoted
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Pegasystems Selected to Modernize IRS ECM System; Doug Averill Quoted

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has selected Pegasystems to help modernize agency-wide operations through the company’s Government Platform and Pega Customer Service, which will advance the  Enterprise Case Management (ECM) system, Pegasystems announced on Tuesday. 

"Many government agencies continue to be challenged by legacy systems that can't handle the increased and unpredictable demands of today's world," said Doug Averill, vice president and industry market lead, government, Pegasystems. 

The IRS recently embarked on a large-scale, agency-wide modernization project, including the implementation of an ECM system to unify existing technologies into a single platform for the benefit of taxpayers, employees, and the organization. Pegasystems will work to speed case resolution and reduce costs.

Pegasystems’ ECM system will run on low-code, intelligent solutions to support agency-wide operations, as well as enable the IRS to quickly address immediate and future organizational needs. The company will provide secure, end-to-end, integrated case management to improve operational efficiency, streamline costs and enhance taxpayer services. 

The ECM solution will help authorized IRS employees to see the entire range of issues and communications associated with each case for faster resolution. The company’s low-code, model-driven technology brings technical and non-technical users together to quickly and collaboratively build and deploy new applications, configure changes within existing applications, and adapt to new policies and legislation.

Pega Government Platform will integrate an intuitive visual approach to enable better collaboration, faster time to market and lower costs while helping to future proof the organization as technology evolves. 

The company's Customer Service will enable organizations to predict and manage the complexities of constituent experiences in one central system through artificial intelligence (AI) to anticipate needs, connect constituents to the right people and systems and automate interactions.  

"We're proud to be part of such an important and innovative initiative that will transform the way the agency gets work done for the ultimate benefit of constituents," Averill concluded. 

About Pegasystems 

Pega is the leader in cloud software for customer engagement and operational excellence. The world's most recognized and successful brands rely on Pega's AI-powered software to optimize every customer interaction on any channel while ensuring their brand promises are kept. Pega's low-code application development platform allows enterprises to quickly build and evolve apps to meet their customer and employee needs and drive digital transformation on a global scale.

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