Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor, has funded the last $4.8  million installment to expand the Pensacola Airport, including modernizing infrastructure, adding three hangers, a warehouse and offices, the governor reported on Wednesday. 

“The Governor, along with county and city leaders support for infrastructure investment will result in over a 1,000 new quality jobs, increasing the demand for a highly skilled workforce in the rapidly growing aviation sector of the local Pensacola community,” said  Tom Vecchiolla, President and CEO of ST Engineering North America.

DeSantis funded the upgrade to support his platform of lowering unemployment and is projected to add 1300 new employees. As part of his Florida Job Growth Job Fund, the infrastructure enhancements will include taxiways and ramps that will support additional maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities and other development.

That will “allow the airport to support ST Engineering’s plans to build one of the biggest MRO operations in North America,” DeSantis Said. “I think that this is really going to help drive not only in Escambia, but really throughout the region,” he added.

Other funding pledged for the project includes $15 million each from Escambia County and the City of Pensacola, $66 million from Triumph Gulf Coast and $20 million from the Florida Department of Transportation.

About the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund

The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state. Proposals are reviewed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) and chosen by the Governor to meet the demand for workforce or infrastructure needs in the community they are awarded to.

Workforce training projects will provide Floridians with transferable, sustainable workforce skills applicable to more than a single employer, and for equipment associated with these programs.

Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has been awarded Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization for Managed Detection and Response cyber capability, a threat monitoring and incident response cloud solution, the company announced on Thursday. 

“Our MDR solution combines the latest automation, artificial intelligence and cloud technologies to provide next-generation cybersecurity capabilities so clients can be more resilient in the face of changing threats,” said Aaron Faulkner, Accenture Federal Services’ cybersecurity lead. 

MDR will support federal agencies, state and local governments, and critical infrastructure provides defense against cyber threats as well as enact a quick response. MDR has been compliant with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requirements.

AFS has integrated highly scalable centralized security operations center, available on a 24x7x365 basis into MDR, and the cybersecurity technology. The company will offer the development to any agency, regardless of size, to protect against threats and secure its infrastructure. 

“It brings advanced security monitoring, response and remediation at machine speed, using the latest technologies and techniques to catch attacks before they affect an organization’s IT environment,” added Faulkner.

The authorization is a federal government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. FedRAMP authorization follows a successful security audit via an accredited third-party assessor. 

“Our fully integrated best-of-breed service, built around the MITRE ATT&CK framework, allows federal agencies and others to capitalize on advanced defenses, with the full backing of highly trained teams with critical skill sets. FedRAMP authorization will further streamline integration of this recognized service into our clients’ security fabric,” David Dalling, Accenture Federal Services’ MDR lead, concluded. 

About Accenture Federal Services

Accenture Federal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, is a U.S. company with offices in Arlington, Virginia. Accenture’s federal business has served every cabinet-level department and 30 of the largest federal organizations. Accenture Federal Services transforms bold ideas into breakthrough outcomes for clients at defense, intelligence, public safety, civilian and military health organizations.

Ball Aerospace has successfully completed the preliminary design review (PDR) of the advanced spectrometer instrument for the MethaneSAT Flight System, the company announced on Thursday. With the completion of PDR, Ball will proceed with the critical design phase.

“We are excited to be a part of a mission that aims to study and address the impact of methane on the environment and climate,” said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. “MethaneSAT fits well with Ball’s long history of earth science, our commitment to sustainability and our experience in providing highly-calibrated measurements of environmental factors related to ozone, weather and pollution.”

MethaneSAT is a 350-kilogram satellite designed to locate and measure global methane emissions. It has two extremely sensitive spectrometers that have been aligned in the center of the instrument. The sensors will enable measurement through shortwave infrared spectrum.

The spectrum will render light, which allows the sensors to detect concentrations as low as two parts per billion. MethaneSAT is expected to be launched in 2022. Ball Aerospace has also supported flight systems integration and testing, launch support and commissioning services to multiple testing devices.

“MethaneSAT is built around a set of high performance technologies and sophisticated analytics tools that when combined provide a major leap in our ability to measure and quantify even low-level methane emissions across the globe from space,” said mission co-lead Dr. Steven Hamburg, who also serves as Chief Scientist for Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re asking a lot of our technical partners and Ball Aerospace is rising to the occasion.”

About Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2019 net sales of $11.5 billion.

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) has released DevOps Primer, an organizational philosophy that requires an essential shift in attitudes and approach, on Thursday.

"The ACT-IAC DevOps Primer will help guide federal agencies and increase their ability to deliver applications and services at a faster pace than using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes," stated Jeremy Wood, director of Policy and Planning with the Office of the Chief Information Officer at Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACT-IAC produced DevOps through a collaborative, volunteer effort by a working group from government and industry, hosted by the ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interest (COI). The philosophy promotes a growth mindset paired with reengineered practices and tools.  

The company developed DevOps to guide and support the federal government to successfully complete a variety of missions. The primer features recommendations from government and industry leaders to identify and explore the culture, practice, and tools to advance the DevOps development.

"The ACT-IAC DevOps Primer is an outstanding example of the power of government and industry collaboration. It contains essential material for both federal and industry IT leaders looking for practical ways to innovate and quickly deliver results," said David Wennergren, CEO of ACT-IAC.

ACT-IAC has also recently issued a report on its Data-Driven Decision Making initiative aimed at helping agencies comply with the Federal Data Strategy in Oct. 2019. The report includes a self-assessment tool, digital maturity model and other recommendations in line with feedback from 13 federal agencies.

“Projects and programs focused on data management and appropriate use will help the government achieve its strategic goals, enhance services to citizens, and improve government operations,” ACT-IAC reported. 

American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC)

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) is a non-profit educational organization created to provide a safe haven for collaboration and the only place where government and industry can work together as true partners towards a shared vision of a more effective, efficient and innovative government.