The General Services Administration has established an office to support the implementation of the Biden administration’s national action plan to advance open government initiatives.

The Open Government Secretariat Program Management Office includes a permanent team to help implement the Fifth Open Government National Action Plan, which was issued in December 2022 and designed to improve the public’s access to government data, research and information, GSA said Tuesday.

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan unveiled the new office at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, where she represented the U.S. on the OGP steering committee.

“The U.S. Government is pleased to be deepening its commitment to open government and GSA is proud to be home to a new Secretariat that will help us coordinate and drive toward our goals of empowering people to fully participate in democracy,” Carnahan said. 

“Through our upcoming work on the OGP Steering Committee and through many other efforts, we will continue to deepen relationships among civil society in the U.S. as well as globally,” she added.

The U.S. will serve on the committee for the next three years starting in October.

Equus Compute Solutions has teamed with zero trust-focused company Zscaler to expand its portfolio of secure computing offerings.

When incorporated into ECS’ Innovation-as-a-Service suite, Zscaler’s technology will enable ECS customers to access applications securely from any location, the company announced from City of Industry, California on Wednesday.

“This partnership with Zscaler empowers us to further enhance the security and reliability of our digital infrastructure solutions, ensuring that our clients’ data is secured against increasingly sophisticated cyber attackers,” said ECS CEO Jay Lawrence. 

Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange platform will serve as a building block for a strong, high-performance product able to shield itself from modern cyberthreats. Its integration aligns with the ECS’ goal, which Lawrence said is to “create an unparalleled ecosystem of high-performing technology solutions.”

Ken Urquhart, global vice president of Zscaler, said the partnership with Equus addresses the need for powerful but cost-effective hardware and associated cybersecurity needs, which make up “the two most difficult aspects that our customers face when building new solutions.”

“By integrating Zscaler’s zero-trust security solutions with Equus’s technology framework offerings, customers can create and deploy new technologies with confidence and thrive in the digital era,” he added.

To watch Uruqhart’s recent interview with Executive Mosaic’s Summer Myatt, click here.

The partnership will bring about a product that follows best security practices across both the public and private sector markets and is expected to grow the companies’ reach in the telecommunications, 5G and 6G, artificial intelligence and machine learning, government and defense markets.

The Department of Labor is requesting comments on a proposed rule to revise the DOL Acquisition Regulations in its entirety to align agency procurement regulations with the Federal Acquisition Reform Act and the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act.

In a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register, DOL submitted to remove redundant or obsolete provisions and codify the use of certain contractual provisions that address matters related to government property, continuity of operations, system requirements, mandatory training for contractors and organizational conflicts of interest.

DOL also seeks to make edits to existing language for clarity and streamlining purposes and remove current DOLAR provisions that are internal operating procedures and do not have a significant impact on contractors or offerors.

The comment period will close on Nov. 6.