The General Services Administration has released the 2020 version of its Federal Marketplace Strategy detailing revisions in its policies, processes and technologies.

Julie Dunne, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said in a statement published Friday that the agency has begun implementing changes related to the consolidation of multiple-award schedules in solicitations.

Dunne noted that GSA has also deployed robotic process automation in supply chain security efforts, with GSA’s Truman Bot already working on business procedures and automating administrative tasks involving MAS offerings. In addition, GSA has implemented a Prohibited Products Robomod that screens products, equipment and software for potential vulnerabilities.

“Both of these efforts greatly reduce the amount of time our employees spend on repetitive data entry and manual tasks so they can instead spend time negotiating better prices for federal agencies to create taxpayer savings,” Dunne said.

FAS will conduct a training conference from April 14 to 16 in Atlanta as part of the agency’s acquisition strategy.

Ryan Frigm, technical director of the Space Development Agency (SDA), will serve as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s 6th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit 2020 on Thursday, Feb. 6th.

Register here for POC’s 6th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit 2020.

The SDA was designed to monitor future threat-driven National Defense Space Architecture. Its mission is to unify and integrate the development of space capabilities across the Department. SDA will continue to develop new military space capabilities to ensure our technological and military advantage in space.

The agency is also responsible programmatic policy development, execution for next-generation military space capabilities, and collaboration with Principal Staff Assistants for those programs funded in the Military Intelligence Program. SDA has provided responsive and resilient space capabilities primarily supporting the Joint Force foundational activities and operations warfighters’​ lethality, maneuverability, and survival.

During his keynote address, Frigm will discuss the challenges within the Space research and defense sectors as technological advancements continue to influence aspects of the GovCon industry, which continue to lead to major technological advances in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Jim Faist, director of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities of U.S. Department of Defense, and Kristen Baldwin, deputy director of strategic technology protection and exploitation at the Department of Defense (DDR&E(R&T)), will serve as keynote speakers in addition to Frigm.

Following the keynote speakers, an expert panel of leaders from across the federal government and industry, including Dr. Frank Klemm from the U.S. Navy, Scott Gilman from the U.S. Army,  and Timothy Grayson, director of Strategic Technology with DARPA, will give their take on the challenges and initiatives currently impacting the research and development sector.

Join Potomac Officers Club to hear the latest priorities, advancements and challenges that face the top executives from the public and private sectors. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn what initiatives top federal and industrial employees have for the future.

Register here for POC’s 6th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit 2020 on Thursday, Feb. 6th.

Accenture Applied Intelligence has agreed to buy Mudano, a strategic data consultancy to U.K. financial services firm, to improve the company’s analytics, data and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation capabilities, Accenture reported on Monday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Mudano’s focus on helping clients build a ‘data culture’ aligns perfectly to Accenture’s Applied Intelligence strategy. By creating a strong data foundation, supported by the right skills, stakeholders and technologies, our clients can transform at speed and scale and fuel real change for their business.”said George Marcotte, managing director and head of  Accenture’s Applied Intelligence.

Accenture will gain over 20,000 industry-focused data professionals worldwide who help clients implement AI, including 6,000 data scientists, data engineers and AI professionals. The company will also integrate Mudano’s data advisory expertise and technology solutions into the existing capabilities to help Accenture’s clients generate value and return on investment from large-scale transformation projects.

Mudano has used the advanced analytics system, applied data science and modern data technologies to help the banks, insurers and wealth management firms transform customer behavior analytics, financial crime-prevention and intelligent data management.

“Our acquisition momentum in Applied Intelligence over the past six months enables us to deliver AI at scale to clients around the world across a range of industries,” said Athina Kanioura, chief analytics officer and global lead, Accenture Applied Intelligence. “By bringing new talent and capabilities into our business, we complement our ongoing organic growth strategy and increase our speed to market.”

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network.

Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 505,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions has announced the agreement to acquire Emailage, a global provider of fraud prevention and risk management solutions to enhance fraud and identity offering, LexisNexis reported on Monday.

“We are continuously evolving our fraud prevention and identity assessment solutions to help our customers fight fraud. Emailage’s broad email and digital data attributes network, inquiry data and confirmed fraud feedback complement our deep expertise in contributory data management and linking technology.

Emailage will become a part of the Business Services group of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The company has helped organizations reduce online fraud by building multi-dimensional profiles associated with customer email addresses to render predictive risk scores.

“This strategic acquisition will expand our digital identity intelligence and fraud prevention services, providing our customers an even more comprehensive view into consumers for more predictive risk assessment,” said Rick Trainor, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Business Services.

The acquisition will enhance the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Fraud and Identity Offering through Emailage’s Email Intelligence-Based Fraud Risk Scoring Solutions. Emailage’s network database will improve LexisNexis’ Digital Identity Network, which analyses an average of 39.9 billion transactions annually to provide organizations with actionable insight into the world’s rapidly changing threat landscape.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as a pioneer in email intelligence-based fraud risk scoring solutions and look forward to aligning our solutions to help organizations fight fraud on a more comprehensive level,” said Rei Carvalho, CEO of Emailage.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and regulatory consents and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

In Jan. 2020, LexisNexis entered a contract with NortonLifeLock to acquire ID Analytics, which will boost the company’s Fraud and Credit Risk Assessment departments.

Procuring ID Analytics will galvanize LexisNexis in Fraud and Identity Management, offering analytic models and verification solutions to help customers identify consumer risk; and Credit Risk Decisioning, utilizing data attributes to give organizations a better understanding of consumer risk and credit worthiness to promote financial inclusion. Both have been designated as strategic growth areas by the acquiring company.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions 

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government.

Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information-based and analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers across industries.