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USAF Rolls Out New Service Desk Under Bigger IT Effort
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USAF Rolls Out New Service Desk Under Bigger IT Effort

USAF Rolls Out New Service Desk Under Bigger IT Effort

The U.S. Air Force has launched a proof-of-concept service desk that uses artificial intelligence to support airmen whether at flight or at base, Federal News Network reported Monday.

The new platform is part of USAF’s wider enterprise information technology-as-a-service or EITaaS effort that aims to digitally transform the service branch.

USAF seeks to modernize the Air Force via new cloud, infrastructure and other IT technologies under EITaaS.

Bill Marion, USAF chief information officer who is stepping down soon, said the new service desk underwent seven months of preparation to launch at bases including Maxwell Air Force Base and Cannon AFB.

Science Applications International Corp. developed the AI-supported service desk. Unisys, now part of SAIC, received a $76M contract for the platform’s development last year.

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Ajit Pai: White House’s ‘Team Telecom’ Initiative Streamlines FCC Foreign Ownership Reviews
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Ajit Pai: White House’s ‘Team Telecom’ Initiative Streamlines FCC Foreign Ownership Reviews
Ajit Pai
Ajit Pai

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has announced his support for the Trump administration’s creation of a committee responsible for evaluating foreign entities operating in the U.S. telecommunications sector.

Pai said in a statement released Monday that the establishment of the “Team Telecom” committee will streamline FCC’s coordination with the executive branch while accelerating the agency’s reforms on the foreign ownership vetting procedures.

He noted that FCC welcomes investment in U.S. telecom infrastructure but will “not hesitate to act to protect our networks from foreign threats.”

According to a Nextgov report, Team Telecom will conduct national security reviews to aid the FCC’s foreign ownership reviews throughout a 120-day period. The committee’s members include officials such as the secretaries of defense and homeland security as well as the attorney general.

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Navy Looks to Deploy Countermeasures Tech for Sea-Based Mine Warfare
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Navy Looks to Deploy Countermeasures Tech for Sea-Based Mine Warfare

Navy Looks to Deploy Countermeasures Tech for Sea-Based Mine Warfare

The U.S. Navy is allocating funds for robotic technologies that can help the service branch detect and neutralize sea-based mines together with ships and manned aircraft, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

The service intends to deploy next-generation mine countermeasures technology that can be launched from littoral combat ships. Northrop Grumman’s AQS-24C mine detection systems and Raytheon’s AQS-20s platforms have already been delivered in support of the effort, according to the report.

The Navy has deployed Northrop’s platform onboard the MH-53E helicopter as well as its unmanned surface vessels. Raytheon has so far delivered 40 of its mine-hunting weapons to the Navy and plans to expand its client base to include allied governments in Australia, Europe and East Asia.

Seth Cropsey, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for American Seapower, told National Defense that the Navy needs to put more focus on sea-based warfare in preparation for conflicts with adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran.

“Mine warfare has been a neglected child of the Navy. That didn’t begin this year or last [year] or 10 years ago,” he said. “That leaves us with the seas as the place [where] conflict is most likely to play out.”

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Brillient Appoints RJ Kolton as CGO, Richard Jacik as General Manager to Drive Growth Strategy; Paul Strasser Quoted
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Brillient Appoints RJ Kolton as CGO, Richard Jacik as General Manager to Drive Growth Strategy; Paul Strasser Quoted

Brillient Appoints RJ Kolton as CGO, Richard Jacik as General Manager to Drive Growth Strategy; Paul Strasser Quoted

Brillient Corporation has announced that the company has made major organizational changes to the leadership team. Paul Strasser, formerly Brillient president, was named as the chief executive officer (CEO), founder Sukumar Iyer as executive chairman, RJ Kolton as chief growth officer (CGO) and Richard Jacik as general manager, the company reported on Tuesday.

“I am honored to take the reins at this important period in Brillient’s phenomenal growth and to continue working with such an outstanding team of professionals,” said Strasser.

Strasser has hired two industry experts to the leadership team to help provide the best path to success.  Kolton will oversee the planning and implementation of the corporate growth strategy. Kolton will also supervise all aspects of business development (BD) lifecycle, including account, pursuit, and capture of business opportunities and proposal development.

In addition, Kolton will lead new product and service development and merger and acquisition (M&A) activities. He will bring over 22 years of experience as senior business development and operational executive supporting defense, federal and intelligence community customers.

“The timing couldn’t be better for RJ joining this Brillient team. His strong executive leadership and award-winning business development skills are a perfect fit for fulfilling our vision and taking advantage of robust market opportunities,” Strasser commented.

Prior to his role with Brillient, Kolton was senior vice president of BD for Synectics for Management Decisions, where he delivered data-driven information technology (IT), research and analytics solutions to government clients.

Within the BD Department Kolton led the BD Department, developed and implemented corporate strategic and business plans, and oversaw the BD lifecycle.  Kolton was also president and principal of Kolt Business Solutions, where he enhanced the company’s strategic and operational planning activities and BD operations.

From May 2013 through October 2019, he was SVP BD for Data Systems Analysts, Inc., for which he led the BD Department, developed and implemented corporate strategic and business plans, and oversaw the BD lifecycle, and was instrumental in increasing the company’s revenue by 140 percent and employees by nearly 200 percent.

The second executive hire, Richard Jacik, will serve as the general manager of the company’s health division. In the role, he will work with the team to develop the health strategy to strengthen its maturity and growth. He will also lead a variety of strategic programs.

Jacik is an experienced technologist and business executive, with over 25 years of commercial and public sector experience selling, designing, building, delivering and managing complex IT programs and initiatives.

He has a deep-rooted history of leading organizations to their next level, including strategically building capabilities to win and deliver in new markets and new verticals. Prior to joining Brillient, he was a principal with IMI Services.

He has helped federal contractors of all sizes establish a footprint, build capabilities, deliver services and technologies, and expand its reach. Jacik was also a senior vice president and health sector executive at Acentia, where he led their federal and public health programs.

“Richard brings to Brillient a pedigree of leadership, skills and experience that is rare and dates back to his earlier days at AMS and CGI. We look forward to his impact on our future,” added Strasser.

About Brillient

Brillient is a fast-growing solutions engineering company with 14 years of experience providing information management, intelligent solutions and business process management services. Brillient has supported 22 federal government clients and employs 600+ personnel in nine states. The company was recognized as the 2017 DHS Small Business of the Year and maintains ISO 9001:2015, ISO 20000-1:2011, ISO 27001:2013, and SEI CMMI Level 3 quality certifications.

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David Zolet Leads CentralSquare Technologies as CEO; Jeff Scherer Quoted
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David Zolet Leads CentralSquare Technologies as CEO; Jeff Scherer Quoted

David Zolet Leads CentralSquare Technologies as CEO; Jeff Scherer Quoted

CentralSquare Technologies, an industry leader in public sector software, has appointed David Zolet, four-time Wash100 Award recipient and former president and CEO of  Logistics Management Institute (LMI), as the company’s new CEO.

“With his vast experience and visionary leadership in the govtech space, I’m delighted that David will be taking the helm at CentralSquare,” said Interim CEO Jeff Scherer. “I’m confident that his expertise in cultivating outstanding outcomes for government clients will empower CentralSquare to continue delivering proven products that serve mission-critical needs across the U.S. and Canada.”

Zolet will bring more than 30-years of experience to CentralSquare Technologies. He has had a lifelong focus on enabling public servants through innovation. During Zolet’s tenure at LMI, the company grew revenue by 50 percent.

Prior to LMI, Zolet led the national public sector business unit for DXC Technology and served as vice president of systems integration at IBM. He also worked for Northrop Grumman in its IT division for more than 20 years in a variety of leadership positions, including sector vice president of enterprise infrastructure,  president of commercial, state and local IT and president of the defense sector.

In his prior roles, Zolet was instrumental in the successful launch of public safety systems in California and Ohio, and more. Zolet also currently serves on the board of FirstNet, an independent authority under the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish, operate and maintain an interoperable public safety broadband network.

“I’m thrilled to be leading CentralSquare at a time when there is so much opportunity for public sector technology,” said Zolet. “Underpinning CentralSquare’s commitment to transforming the public experience is the company’s relentless focus on helping our public sector partners achieve their mission in service to their communities.  I look forward to further building and strengthening the company’s momentum in helping our clients deliver on their commitment to citizens.”

About CentralSquare

Formed by the merger of Superion, TriTech along with Zuercher, and the public sector and healthcare business of Aptean, CentralSquare is an industry leader in public safety and public administration software, serving over 7,650 organizations from the largest metropolitan city to counties and towns of every size across North America.

Its technology platform provides solutions for public safety, including 911, computer-aided dispatch, records management, mobile, citations, evidence management and corrections. For public administration agencies, CentralSquare provides software for finance, human capital management, payroll, utility billing, citizen engagement, asset management, regulatory compliance and community development.

For hospitals and clinicians, it provides patient information, compliance and analytics software. CentralSquare’s broad, unified and agile software suite serves 3 in 4 citizens across North America.

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Perspecta Secures $36.4M Task Order Under CMS VDCP Contract to Improve Medicare Efficiency; Bill Lovell, Mac Curtis Quoted
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Perspecta Secures $36.4M Task Order Under CMS VDCP Contract to Improve Medicare Efficiency; Bill Lovell, Mac Curtis Quoted

Perspecta Secures $36.4M Task Order Under CMS VDCP Contract to Improve Medicare Efficiency; Bill Lovell, Mac Curtis Quoted

Perspecta has received a $36.4 million follow-on task order award to continue work on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Virtual Data Center Prime (VDCP) contract to improve the efficiency of Medicare Part A and Part B Common Working File (CWF) claims processing, the company announced on Tuesday.

“As the hosting provider of all four claims processing environments, we appreciate our customers’ confidence in selecting us to perform this follow-on work,” said Bill Lovell, senior vice president and general manager of Perspecta’s health group. “CMS is one of Perspecta’s longest-standing customers and this award is a true testament of our unrelenting innovation and success.”

Perspecta will process Medicare eligibility claims and queries from three shared systems, send claims to the Fraud Prevention System for fraud pre-screening and return CWF responses back to the shared systems with the current Medicare beneficiary eligibility information.

The company’s Medicare CWF workload will include processing for over 44 million Medicare Fee-For-Service beneficiaries in the United States and its territories that represent an average processing volume of 6.5 million claims daily.

The contract has expanded Perspecta’s support of the Medicare program since its inception in the 1960s. In addition to providing hosting and support for four Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) claims processing systems, Perspecta has also provided operations and maintenance support for the Medicare FFS Part A and Part B claims processing systems.

In Nov. 2018, Perspecta was awarded a five-year, $89.5 million task order on the CMS Strategic Partners Acquisition Readiness Contract (SPARC) contract to provide application services for Medicare Part B claims processing. The contract has a one year base plus four one-year renewal options.

Under the task order, Perspecta will provide application maintenance services, including full development life cycle support for CMS system maintenance and enhancements as well as production and user support for the processing of the expanding volume of Medicare Part B claims.

“This win is proof of our team’s dedication to the CMS mission and solid record of performance since being awarded the initial Part B Shared System Maintainer contract in 1997,” said Mac Curtis, president and chief executive officer and six-time Wash100 Award recipient.

Perspecta also received a $149 million follow-on task order to continue work on the Centers for CMS Virtual Data Center Prime (VDCP) contract to host and improve efficiency of Medicare Part A and Part B fee-for-service (FFS) Workload A claims processing, the company reported in June 2018. The task order has a one-year base period plus four option years.

Perspecta will continue to provide enterprise mainframe application hosting services for three Medicare applications used by CMS. The company will continue to host and process Medicare Part B claims for Durable Medical Equipment and the Railroad Retirement Board for all 50 states, as well as the Medicare Part A and Part B claims in 31 states.

“This win is a true testament to our team’s expertise, innovation and success. We look forward to a long and continued partnership in supporting CMS and its mission to continuously improve delivery to beneficiaries and providers,” said Curtis.

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 270+ 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 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.

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Unisys Provides Cloud Transition, Digital Government Services to Government Agencies through New Zealand Marketplace; Shirley Harrod Quoted
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Unisys Provides Cloud Transition, Digital Government Services to Government Agencies through New Zealand Marketplace; Shirley Harrod Quoted

Unisys Provides Cloud Transition, Digital Government Services to Government Agencies through New Zealand Marketplace; Shirley Harrod Quoted

Unisys Corporation has announced that it has been accepted to provide Cloud Transition Services based on Unisys CloudForte to New Zealand government agencies through Marketplace, Unisys announced on Tuesday.

“The New Zealand government has committed to making it easy for citizens to engage with the government using secure, smart and seamless digital services. This includes a requirement to use public cloud services in preference to traditional IT systems,” said Shirley Harrod, vice president, Public Sector, for Unisys Asia Pacific.

Marketplace will connect suppliers with the government, simplifying the procurement process for both sectors. The Marketplace will expedite the initial primary procurement process and reduce the obstacles for suppliers that work with the government.

Unisys’ Marketplace Cloud Transition Services will include cloud strategy, architecture, migration planning, transition execution, cloud optimization and operational handover of current end user services into a public or hybrid cloud environment. The company’s CloudForte will supply a comprehensive array of services designed to successfully transform client organizations to a cloud environment.

“However, successful cloud adoption requires alignment with the business transformation strategy and desired business outcomes. Unisys CloudForte services are designed to help organizations accelerate their cloud adoption, no matter where they are in the cloud journey – from legacy migration to new cloud design and deployment for hybrid and multi-cloud environments,” added Harrod.

Unisys’ research has indicated that a holistic approach to cloud transformation, rather than a ‘lift and shift’ approach, is fundamental for helping organizations achieve the business benefits and outcomes they expect.

According to the Unisys Cloud Success Barometer, the top reason more than half of New Zealand organizations reported they had not realized notable benefits from cloud computing, was because they had not integrated their migration plan into their broader business transformation strategy.

Unisys CloudForte is designed to enable and support the holistic IT and organizational change required to integrate cloud adoption into the overall business strategy. “Security compliance is build-in from the outset as CloudForte Compliance™ incorporates Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) principles and tools. Being part of Marketplace streamlines the process for government agencies to review and access our CloudForte services,” Harrod concluded.

In addition to Unisys’ support with New Zealand’s cloud program, the company also announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has selected the company to continue to provide private hybrid cloud services as well as an integrated security framework and related disaster recovery services through the Pa. Compute Services (PACS) contract, Unisys reported in March 2020.

The two-year contract extension, worth up to $144 million, was awarded in the fourth quarter of 2019. Under the contract, Unisys will continue to support the part of the Commonwealth’s secure hybrid cloud environment that includes the ability to access and pay for IT services.

“We look forward to continuing to provide value through the PACS agreement to help the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania achieve its goals by adopting a hybrid cloud model and securing critical data at a lower cost to citizens,” said Michael Morrison, vice president and general manager for Unisys Enterprise Solutions Americas.

Unisys will support Pennsylvania’s digital government initiatives and provide continuity in the delivery of vital systems and data center operations for state agencies and citizens. The contract extends work first awarded to Unisys in 2014.

In addition, the company will continue to provide managed services for mainframe support, storage, security and containers; related command center services; disaster recovery management; database services and facilities management.

“As a Pennsylvania-based company, Unisys is proud of its longstanding relationship with the Commonwealth, as well as our solid service record and our ability to bring unique innovative solutions to state agencies,” added Morrison.

About Unisys 

Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most digitally demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing.

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UiPath Offers Robotic Process Automation to Healthcare Community in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic; Daniel Dines Quoted
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UiPath Offers Robotic Process Automation to Healthcare Community in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic; Daniel Dines Quoted

UiPath Offers Robotic Process Automation to Healthcare Community in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic; Daniel Dines Quoted

To support the newly automated and more agile workforce, UiPath, will offer healthcare organizations free robotic process automation (RPA) software to accelerate critical processes to rapidly respond to issues in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced on Tuesday.

“Never has there been more need for software robots to assist hospitals with huge volumes of medical tests processing… As businesses face the realities of working in an economic downturn, they’ll adapt their business models with automation, enabling them to scale up robots rather than scale down human employees,” said UiPath co-founder and CEO Daniel Dines.

UiPath will also offer its Automation Hub, free of cost, for one year. With the tool, enterprises can capture automation ideas from staff to build an automation pipeline that will support employee needs as they work remotely, including UiPath Task Capture to record tasks and document processes.

RPA will provide relief to overwhelmed organizations, and has been integrated into UiPath customer software to help manage the high volume of testing requests, including automating the check-in process in the healthcare industries which has eliminated human error and allowed digital paperwork to be processed quickly and accurately.

In addition, the RPA has reduced wait time for testing requests, where an attended robot can execute a testing transaction in 15 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes for a human. The software will also fill orders for necessities faster to meet the exponential increase in demand for certain items.

RPA robots will process all orders and enter them into SAP to transport the order to the manufacturing center faster. UiPath’s solution will also support the increased need in call centers. Agents supported by RPA will pull customer data faster, ensuring a faster call triage process, faster routing to the appropriate agents and reduced average call handling time.

“We’re heavily invested right now in helping combat the spread of COVID-19 with the help of our RPA platform and providing our customers timely support as they transition to new operating models,” added Dines.

About UiPath

UiPath is leading the “automation first” era – championing a robot for every person and enabling robots to learn new skills through AI and machine learning. Through free and open training, UiPath is led by a commitment to bring digital era skills to millions of people around the world, thereby improving business productivity and efficiency, employee engagement and customer experience.

The company’s hyperautomation platform combines the #1 Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities that enable every organization to scale digital business operations at unprecedented speed. The company has already automated millions of repetitive, mind-numbing tasks for businesses and government organizations all over the world including approximately 50% of the Fortune 500.

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Ellen Zimiles, Guidehouse Financial Services Head, to Present Risk Mitigation, Waste, Abuse in COVID-19 Aid Programs; Scott McIntyre Quoted
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Ellen Zimiles, Guidehouse Financial Services Head, to Present Risk Mitigation, Waste, Abuse in COVID-19 Aid Programs; Scott McIntyre Quoted

Ellen Zimiles, Guidehouse Financial Services Head, to Present Risk Mitigation, Waste, Abuse in COVID-19 Aid Programs; Scott McIntyre Quoted

Guidehouse has announced that Ellen Zimiles, head of the company’s Financial Services division, will present in the U.S. Conference of Mayors to discuss how cities can prevent, detect and remediate fraud, waste and abuse in connection with the use of COVID-19 relief funds, Guidehouse reported on Tuesday.

“America’s cities are on the front lines in the global war against the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted Zimiles. “The federal government has taken action to provide critical funding to help fight that war – which will enable localities to procure vital medical supplies and resources and provide critical assistance to citizens, local businesses, and community organizations.”

Zimiles’ presentation will address the need for cities to create a control framework to minimize fraud while maximizing the federal reimbursement process and ensuring that every dollar goes to its intended public use. She will also discuss internal controls, vendor due diligence, field inspections, ongoing monitoring and compliance process improvement.

Zimiles, will draw from her experience in the industry to discuss how the need for supplies and resources often introduces fraud against the significant pool of available resources, capitalizing on control weaknesses. During the critically important time for local governments, Zimiles will focus on how companies can develop a robust and comprehensive control framework.

At Guidehouse, Zimiles is a partner and the firm’s Financial Services Advisory and Compliance segment leader. She has brought over 30 years of litigation and investigation experience involving many high-profile money laundering, fraud and forfeiture cases.

As a leading authority on Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Zimiles has been quoted in several publications, including American Banker, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

She has also served as an internationally recognized expert in anti-money laundering (AML) program development, corporate governance, regulatory and corporate compliance, fraud control and public corruption matters. She has worked with a multitude of financial institutions preparing for regulatory exams, remediation programs and as a regulatory liaison.

As an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York for more than 10 years, Zimiles served in the civil and criminal divisions and was chief of the forfeiture unit for more than six years. She has received the Department of Justice’s John Marshall Award for Outstanding Service and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Integrity Award.

“Our advice is informed by our team’s deep experience with relief initiatives for various natural and manmade disasters, including 9/11, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and Superstorm Sandy,” offered Scott McIntyre, CEO of Guidehouse and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. “I am proud to have Ellen represent our firm in this important initiative.”

The presentation on April 7 is part of an effort organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies via its COVID-19 Local Response Initiative and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to solicit the advice of experts who have experience overseeing government stimulus and funding programs during crises to help cities access and track Federal programs and funding mechanisms to support COVID-19 response and recovery.

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public and commercial markets with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. We help clients address their toughest challenges with a focus on markets and clients facing transformational change, technology-driven innovation, and significant regulatory pressure.

Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and technology/analytics services, we help clients create scalable, innovative solutions that prepare them for future growth and success. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the company has more than 7,000 professionals in over 50 locations.

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DOE to Back Distributed Energy Training Initiatives
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DOE to Back Distributed Energy Training Initiatives

DOE to Back Distributed Energy Training Initiatives

The Department of Energy has indicated an intent to award $4.5M in total funds to train professionals who support the integration of distributed energy resources into community resiliency planning and emergency response efforts.

DOE said Monday it will support projects aimed at developing, testing and distributing educational materials for  targeted professional groups through its funding program called Educational Materials for Professional Organizations Working on Efficiency and Renewable Energy Developments.

“Through this training program, DOE can help these professionals easily understand and manage distributed energy systems so that they can focus on keeping America safe,” said Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The department will accept EMPOWERED concept papers through May 5 and expects to award $1M to $2.5M to as many as four projects.

DOE noted that not all professionals working on solar energy and storage systems, electric vehicles and modern building technology platforms have access to access to new training and informational resources.

The department pegged the annual market growth rate for smart and connected devices distributed energy at 20 percent, while the Energy Information Administration projected that electric vehicles will account for 7.5 percent of new light vehicle sales by 2025.

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