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GSA Secures $3.1B OneGov Agreement With Microsoft to Accelerate AI Adoption
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General Services Administration logo. GSA announced a OneGov agreement with Microsoft aimed at advancing gov't AI adoption.

The U.S. General Services Administration announced a multibillion-dollar OneGov agreement with Microsoft, delivering steep discounts on Microsoft 365, Copilot, Azure Cloud Services and other technologies. The partnership is expected to generate $3.1 billion in savings for agencies in the first year, GSA said Tuesday.

Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum, a 2025 Wash100 Award recipient, called the agreement a “paradigm shift in federal procurement,” consolidating demand across agencies to achieve significant cost savings. “GSA is accelerating access to AI for federal agencies and delivering on the President’s AI Action Plan,” he said. “We appreciate Microsoft’s partnership in this modernization and its commitment toward an interoperable digital federal ecosystem.”

Expanding Access to AI Tools

As part of the agreement, the new U.S. government-exclusive Microsoft 365 + Copilot Suite will be offered at no cost for a year to G5 customers, with additional discounts for subsequent years. Agencies can also access reduced pricing for Dynamics 365, Azure Monitoring, Microsoft Sentinel and Entra ID Governance, along with implementation and adoption workshops.

GSA Deputy Administrator Stephen Ehikian said the agreement supports the Trump administration’s push for wider adoption of artificial intelligence across federal agencies.

According to Chris Barry, corporate vice president for U.S. Public Sector Industries, Microsoft is committed to providing federal agencies with the tools they need to harness AI “to advance the public good.”

The agreement, which agencies can opt into through September 2026, is expected to strengthen government efforts to improve operational efficiency, decision-making and citizen services while lowering costs.

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GAO Finds Inadequate Training in VA’s Implementation of Category Management Approach to Acquisition
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Government Accountability Office logo. GAO issued a new report on the VA's acquisition process

The Department of Veterans Affairs may not be getting the full benefits of a program meant for buying goods, such as medical and IT products, in bulk, said the Government Accountability Office.

In a new report, the congressional watchdog revealed that VA officials lack the proper training to effectively implement the category management approach to acquisition.

GAO Finds Inadequate Training in VA's Implementation of Category Management Approach to Acquisition

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VA’s Category Management Challenge

In 2019, the Office of Management and Budget launched an effort to leverage the government’s purchasing power and save taxpayer money. Called category management, the acquisition approach encourages the purchase of common goods and services as an organized enterprise to reduce contracts, improve management of suppliers, and increase overall value and savings for federal agencies.

In 2020, the VA assigned category leads to oversee common purchases and implement key responsibilities in line with OMB’s category management guidance.

In its report, GAO revealed that the VA met its annual category management goals from fiscal years 2020 through 2024. The agency managed 91.7 percent of contract obligations in fiscal 2024 according to category management principles. VA savings also accounted for 7.6 percent of its contract obligations during the period.

However, GAO found that category leads did not set or manage toward category-specific savings goals. Although workforce training for implementing category management principles, some category leads admitted that they did not undergo such training.

GAO Recommendations for VA

The congressional watchdog urged VA officials to establish performance requirements to ensure that category leads are held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities and receive training relevant to their roles. The VA must also identify category-specific savings goals and track progress.

VA concurred with the recommendations.

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Amazon Kuiper Joins TraCSS Pilot Program
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TraCSS logo. Amazon Kuiper has joined the TraCSS pilot program.

The Office of Space Commerce has announced that Amazon Kuiper is the latest participant in its pilot program for the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS.

The program already includes Iridium, OneWeb, SpaceX, Maxar, Planet and Intelsat, OSC said Tuesday.

What Is TraCSS?

The TraCSS program, which aligns with the Space Policy Directive 3, is designed to provide vital space situational awareness, or SSA, data to civil and private space operators. It aims to enhance spaceflight safety by providing operators handling over 8,000 spacecraft with spaceflight safety screening. Amazon Kuiper’s inclusion in the program expands the system’s reach to almost 80 percent of all active spacecraft.

The program, first released in September 2024, provided conjunction data messages, or CDMs, to beta users to reduce the risk of collision in orbit. The TraCSS Program Increment 1.2, released in May 2025, offers on-demand operational ephemerides screening and enables bulk submission for large satellite constellation operators. They can submit ephemerides and receive conjunction analysis results within two to five minutes.

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HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill to Lead CDC as Acting Director
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Jim O’Neill. The HHS deputy secretary has been named acting CDC chief.

The White House on Thursday tapped Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, to serve as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Washington Post reported.

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill to Lead CDC as Acting Director

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O’Neill’s appointment came days after Susan Monarez’s dismissal as head of the CDC over federal vaccine policy.

According to people familiar with the matter, O’Neill will continue to serve as deputy to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while leading CDC.

In June, O’Neill took oath as deputy secretary of HHS days after the Senate confirmed him to the position in a 52-43 vote.

“I’m eager to help my colleagues find the root causes of chronic disease, support families making healthy choices, and help businesses make health care more affordable and accessible. Together all of us can make America healthy again,” O’Neill said in a statement.

Who Is Jim O’Neill?

O’Neill most recently served as CEO of SENS Research Foundation, where he led research and development efforts focused on regenerative medicine solutions for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases.

He served as CEO of the Thiel Foundation and co-founded the Thiel Fellowship, where he supported young entrepreneurs who founded science and tech companies.

According to his LinkedIn profile, the Yale University graduate was managing director at Mithril Capital Management and Clarium Capital Management.

O’Neill also held leadership roles at HHS during President George W. Bush’s administration, including principal associate deputy secretary, member of the steering committee for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and associate deputy secretary.

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Oliver Wise Resigns as Commerce Department CDO, Acting Under Secretary
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Oliver Wise. Oliver Wise has resigned as acting under secretary and chief data officer of the Department of Commerce.

Oliver Wise announced on LinkedIn Friday that he has stepped down as acting under secretary for economic affairs and chief data officer of the Department of Commerce. He officially departed the department on Aug. 30.

“I leave with deep gratitude and immense respect for the public servants across Commerce and the federal government who devote their careers to the national interest,” said Wise.

Oliver Wise’s Career Highlights

Wise served in the department for over three years, overseeing the strategic direction of the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis as the acting under secretary for economic affairs. As CDO, he spearheaded the department’s data strategy to unlock the potential of Commerce data to boost public service. He was instrumental in publishing the Generative AI and Open Data: Guidelines and Best Practices.

Before joining the Commerce Department, Wise spent nearly four years at Tyler Technologies, serving as director of recovery solutions and of Socrata Data Academy. He worked as a digital government principal at Socrata, which was acquired by Tyler Technologies in April 2018.

Wise also worked at the City of New Orleans’ Office of Performance and Accountability for over seven years, serving as its director from January 2011 to November 2017.

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Army CIO Issues Guidance on AI Compliance With Records Management, FOIA
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Leonel Garciga. The Army CIO issued a memo offering guidance to ensure that AI tools used within the Army comply with FOIA.

Leonel Garciga, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer and a two-time Wash100 awardee, has signed a memorandum providing guidance for the service branch to ensure that artificial intelligence products used within the Army comply with records management, or RM, privacy protections and the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA.

The Aug. 26 memo was posted on the Army Publishing Directorate’s website.

The document requires application and system owners to capture, sustain and manage records generated through AI tools and low-code/no-code platforms. They must ensure that all user interactions, including prompts and AI-generated content, are properly identified, retained and secured as official records.

System and application owners must also treat prompts as the foundation for generating and refining content when using AI tools. They must also capture and manage all aspects of the AI interaction to support compliant record management.

FOIA Requirements

In response to FOIA requests, the memo requires personnel to disclose when they use AI prompts and content on official government platforms for public business.

Application and system owners must also provide access to AI prompts and content classified as government records and maintain them to support timely FOIA responses.

Privacy Requirements for Using AI 

The Army memo requires personnel to follow existing privacy and data protection laws when developing AI prompts and content; minimize data collection and design AI prompts and content to prevent the disclosure of sensitive data; and ensure that transparency and accountability guide responsible AI use by meeting legal obligations and upholding ethical standards.

Army Annual Training on Information, Operations Security

According to the memo, all Army personnel must complete annual training requirements on information security, operations security, cyber awareness, controlled unclassified information and records management. 

The service said the training courses help ensure compliance with regulations and reinforce the importance of protecting data and records.

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Army Unveils Data-Centric Transformation Plan for Future Warfare
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U.S. Army logo. The U.S. Army seeks to retire 13 legacy systems as part of its data-driven modernization effort.

The Army is preparing to overhaul its command and control systems through a data-driven modernization effort aimed at ensuring warfighting superiority in future conflicts, Lt. Gen. Jeth Rey, deputy chief of staff, G-6, said during a conference in Augusta, Georgia.

Accelerating Network and C2 Modernization

At the core of the Army’s transformation is the next-generation command and control initiative, which seeks to retire 13 legacy systems and replace them with a full-stack ecosystem that incorporates artificial intelligence, large language models and machine learning to integrate intelligence, sustainment and fires data.

Rey said the Army aims to deliver these capabilities to warfighters within 30 months. “We are working to put commander back into command and control,” he said, emphasizing the importance of assured communications across all environments — from handheld devices and sensors to tanks, helicopters, and command posts.

The effort builds on the Army Unified Network Plan, which shifts the service’s focus from networks as an end to networks as pathways for data. Zero trust architecture will be incorporated to strengthen cyber defenses and protect operations in contested environments.

Industry Collaboration

Rey underscored that private sector partnerships will be critical in realizing the Army’s modernization goals. Industry, he said, can help overcome legacy architectures, accelerate innovation and deliver systems with built-in cyber protections.

“Our solution is a strong, data-driven network for our Army. It’s not just about technology. It’s about people,” Rey said. He called on Army leaders to invest in their teams, train as they fight and foster innovation to ensure Soldiers can make faster, better-informed decisions than adversaries.

“Our success, their lives depend on what we’re doing each and every day,” he said. “We can’t fail.”

Preparing for Non-Kinetic Threats

The G-6 deputy chief of staff cautioned that adversaries are rapidly expanding capabilities in areas such as cyberattacks, electronic warfare and drone operations. “The next war may not be kinetic only. It’s going to be non-kinetic,” he said.

Citing Ukraine as an example, Rey pointed to the growing role of drones and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. “Drones are changing the way we do business,” he said. “Think about what could happen if a non-kinetic strike does hit us. Those blackouts we’ve been experiencing, we shouldn’t take those lightly.”

Harnessing Data for Decision Advantage

Commanders today are often confronted with “data overload,” Rey said, making it difficult to act quickly on the battlefield. The Army’s modernization effort is designed to ensure the right data reaches the right warfighter at the right time.

“We still have to find out how to use emerging technologies, AI tools, in order to help us with the commanders to make better and more informed decisions,” he said.

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A Better Vantage Point: How to Modernize Government Tech Decisions
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Ryan McCullough. The ShorePoint exec has thoughts on how its VANTAGE product can impact government tech decision-making.

By Ryan McCullough, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at ShorePoint

Federal agencies are under increasing pressure to modernize securely and cost-effectively while rationalizing tool portfolios, integrating emerging technologies and ensuring compliance with evolving mandates. Whether modernizing a security operations center, evaluating AI-based analytics platforms or selecting a new SIEM tool, government tech leaders face a daunting challenge: how to choose the right solution for their mission and technical environment with confidence. 

That’s where VANTAGE comes in. Developed by ShorePoint, the structured Analysis of Alternatives, or AoA, framework provides agencies with a clear, data-driven view of best-fit technical solutions for their mission-specific requirements.

What Is VANTAGE?

VANTAGE, or Verification and ANalysis of Technological Alternatives for Government Enterprises, is a repeatable, structured decision-support framework. Incorporating agency- and program-specific needs, VANTAGE delivers quantifiable decision support data and risk-informed recommendations based on prioritized business, technical and regulatory factors.

At its core, VANTAGE is about helping federal leaders make better cybersecurity tech decisions, faster.

How It Works: Creating a Unique Vantage Point

Each engagement begins by identifying a complete set of stakeholders — decision-makers, operators and beneficiaries. Together, they step through the VANTAGE process:

1. Stakeholder alignment: Through a series of workshops and a templated data collection process, ShorePoint captures a holistic understanding of the agency’s operational, business, technical, financial, functional and security requirements.

2. Requirement integration: These stakeholder inputs are then aligned with relevant regulatory and mandated requirements to identify overlaps, conflicts and critical considerations.

3. Prioritization: Using a numerical weighting process, ShorePoint prioritizes the requirements, helping agencies clearly distinguish ‘must have’ from ‘nice to have’ capabilities.

4. Market analysis: With the prioritized framework in place, ShorePoint conducts an open-source market scan to identify a competitive range of candidate solutions.

5. Lab-based validation: Top-scoring solutions are evaluated in ShorePoint’s Commercial Cloud Lab Environment—dubbed CCLE—a secure AWS-based lab, where the team builds prototypes and test plans to validate and evaluate each solution’s efficacy in meeting the requirements.

6. Quantitative evaluation: Each solution is assessed and scored based on technical performance, interoperability with existing technologies, cost, regulatory alignment, implementation complexity and deployment flexibility (on-prem, hybrid or cloud-native). Distinct benefits, risks, and fit with requirements, goals, and constraints are also considered for each deployment model.

The result? Objective analysis and scoring of each option, mapped to the agency’s unique priorities. In follow-on workshops, decision-makers receive a clear picture of options and trade-offs, enabling confident choices based on real-world constraints and mission goals.

When and Why Agencies Use VANTAGE

Agencies typically engage ShorePoint’s VANTAGE process as part of larger cybersecurity architecture or engineering efforts. One of the biggest hurdles? Gaining clarity on what the agency actually needs. 

VANTAGE helps federal teams not only articulate their goals but also prioritize them, develop well-structured requirements and evaluate technology based on real-world performance, not just claims. Whether evaluating SOC modernization, deploying data pipelines or meshes, or exploring AI-enabled security tools, VANTAGE gives agencies a structured way to articulate their needs and agree on desired outcomes — and find the right solution.

A Different Approach, Built for Federal Complexity

While some federal contractors rely on prebuilt test plans or manufacturer-recommended criteria, VANTAGE considers each agency’s mission and operating requirements. The process itself is tool- and deployment-agnostic, so every evaluation aligns with the customer’s specific goals and constraints, first. (Not the tools’ features.)

That tailored approach — along with a focus on transparency, stakeholder input and quantifiable scoring — has made VANTAGE a trusted part of ShorePoint’s work with cybersecurity leaders across the government.

And the impact is measurable. Customers use VANTAGE to:

  • Build stronger business cases for cybersecurity technology investments
  • Reduce acquisition risk
  • Align technical capabilities with mission outcomes
  • Maximize the value of modernization efforts
  • Validate emerging tools and platforms, including AI

Staying Ahead of Change

To keep pace with fast-evolving technologies and regulations, ShorePoint combines hands-on lab testing with deep engagement in the federal cybersecurity ecosystem.

In addition to CCLE’s continuous development and training capabilities, ShorePoint’s team actively participates in advisory councils, technical forums and professional associations. The company’s technical leaders also contribute to and lead communities of practice. For example, the head of ShorePoint’s high-performance computing line of business leads the HPC Security Technical Exchange, a consortium that brings together more than 100 practitioners from across industries and government organizations to explore new approaches to cybersecurity at scale.

This combination of technical experimentation, real-world feedback loops and industry thought leadership ensures VANTAGE reflects the latest innovations, tools and regulatory requirements — helping federal customers move forward with confidence.

Enabling Smarter Cyber Decisions

As federal agencies face an increasingly complex technology market and heightened scrutiny to justify IT and cybersecurity investments, VANTAGE offers a repeatable, rigorous method to support sound decisions. It helps agencies define priorities, evaluate options, and make the right choice based on quantitative data.

ShorePoint has refined VANTAGE over more than seven years of federal cybersecurity work. The framework delivers a unique vantage point that helps government leaders see clearly, decide confidently and act decisively.

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DOD Seeks Prototype Proposals for Joint Directed Energy Consortium
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DOD seal. The Department of Defense issued a request for prototype proposals for the Joint Directed Energy Consortium.

The Department of Defense, through the Washington Headquarters Services Acquisition Directorate, has issued a request for prototype proposals for the Joint Directed Energy Consortium, or JDEC.

According to the solicitation posted on SAM.gov Friday, the other transaction agreement, spearheaded by the Consortium Management Organization, calls for potential partners to submit their proposals for establishing and managing the JDEC. Interested vendors can submit their bids until Sept. 15.

What Is the Joint Directed Energy Consortium?

The consortium is a DOD initiative managed by the Joint Directed Energy Transition Office and designed to accelerate the development of directed energy technologies to support warfighters in tackling existing and emerging threats. It allows the DOD to access commercial innovations, empower universities, small businesses, nonprofit research institutions and other consortium members to advance high-energy laser and high-power microwave technologies and integrate them into the DE systems.

The potential contractor will receive an estimated $450 million for consortium management and project execution for over five years. The JDEC is allowed to pursue follow-on production on behalf of the JDETO.

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Energy Department Awards $35M TCF Funding to 42 Projects
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Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Wright comments about 42 projects that will receive $35 million in TCF grants.

The Department of Energy has announced the awarding of over $35 million in funding across 42 projects to support the development and commercialization of emerging energy technologies in artificial intelligence, grid security, nuclear energy and advanced manufacturing.

The awards were made through the Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF, Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness Lab Call for fiscal year 2025, DOE said Friday.

The TCF was established to facilitate public-private partnerships, drive innovation and maintain U.S. global competitiveness.

“The Energy Department’s National Labs play an important role in ensuring the United States leads the world in innovation,” commented Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “These projects have the potential to accelerate technological breakthroughs that will define the future of science and help secure America’s energy future.”

In addition to the TCF grant, selected projects will also gain access to over $21 million in cost share from private and public partners.

TCF Projects for FY 2025

Among selected projects is the America’s Cradle to Commerce, or AC2C, program from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. AC2C aims to rapidly scale energy innovations by providing startups critical resource for technical derisking. The program builds on the achievements of the Cradle to Commerce, or C2C, program, which raised over $15 million from five commercial pilots within just 18 months.

Another project is centered on strengthening and expanding the Visual Intellectual Property Search, or VIPS, tool. Led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the development of the VIPS 2.0 tool will enable users to search for national lab innovations available for licensing or open-source use.

The complete list of TCF projects selected for FY 2025 can be found on Energy.gov.

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