Fed Gov Today

This podcast is sponsored by Presidio Federal and IBM.
New guidance to overhaul FedRAMP is out from the Office of Management and Budget. OMB Director Shalanda Young writes the guidance “is responsive to developments in Federal cybersecurity and substantial changes to the commercial cloud marketplace that have occurred since the program was established.” One of the changes Director Young refers to there is the emergence of the multi-cloud model. Beau Houser, Chief Information Security Officer at the Census Bureau, describes his agency’s multi-cloud journey, and what it had to do to get where it’s gone.
The cloud security that Beau Houser talked about building at Census, and in collaboration with other statistical agencies, contributes to another important executive branch priority. Agency leaders tell me just about all of the customer experience enhancement applications they use live in the cloud. Philip Carruthers, Cyber Domain Strategy Leader for IBM Public Sector, explains how to leverage the intersection of the cloud and CX.
Customs and Border Protection is almost two years into its most recent IT strategic plan. The CIO at CBP, Sonny Bhagowalia, includes Core Enterprise Cloud Computing as one of the objectives of that strategic plan. Mark James, Executive Director of the Enterprise Cloud Services Division at CBP, tells you how CBP is building cloud into its IT strategy, and how it knows that the agency is executing that strategy successfully.

On this episode of Fed Gov Today, two groundbreaking developments in federal government initiatives take center stage. First, Buddy Dees, Director of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program Management Office at the Department of Defense, explains the significant updates to the CMMC program. Buddy breaks down the changes, including the shift to a three-tier model, the introduction of self-assessment options for lower-risk projects, and the continued alignment with NIST standards for streamlined cybersecurity compliance. In the second half of the show, Francis dives into a cutting-edge agricultural innovation with Dr. Aspen Workman of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Dr. Workman discusses her award-winning work using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to combat bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a disease that costs the cattle industry billions annually. This pioneering effort has created heritable resistance to the virus, ensuring lifetime protection for cattle, starting in utero. Dr. Workman shares the challenges and successes of collaborating with government, academia, and industry to translate lab discoveries into real-world solutions for farmers.

For more details, visit the show page at FedGovToday.com and follow us on LinkedIn for updates and news.

On this edition of Fed Gov Today with Francis Rose , sponsored by Appian, we dive into three critical topics reshaping the landscape of federal IT modernization, business process transformation, and AI integration in financial management. Jenna Whitley, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit for Security and Information Technology Services at TIGTA, discusses the IRS’s progress on its modernization journey. As the IRS embraces AI, automation, and cloud technologies, Whitley highlights the improvements made possible through the $4.7 billion in supplemental funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. Matt Beran, Industry Lead for Global Defense and Intelligence Programs at Appian, shares insights into how federal agencies are rethinking their business processes with automation. He outlines the "Big Three" pillars—process orchestration, automation, and intelligence—that are helping agencies streamline workflows and improve mission-critical operations. Chi Okonkwo, Director of the Agency Financial Systems Office at NASA, talks about how AI is changing the game in federal financial management. From enhancing fraud detection to improving financial modeling, Okonkwo explains how AI can bring greater accuracy and efficiency to finance operations. She also shares best practices for piloting AI initiatives and scaling them across the agency, with a focus on data precision and workforce collaboration. For more information and resources related to today’s discussions, visit the show page at fedgovtoday.com.

Early fiscal year 2024 is the target date for a reorganization at the General Services Administration. GSA will restructure the Federal Acquisition Service. Alan Thomas, Chief Solutions Officer at Leadership Connect and former Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA, tells you how the reorg will work, and what it will mean for GSA and its employees; GSA customers; and industry. He also details new bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Technology Modernization Fund.
150 contracting officers around the world will get extra training in supply chain risk management. That extra training will focus on the cyber supply chain. Michael Derrios, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Senior Procurement Executive at the State Department, tells you what those COs will learn, and how it will help them do their jobs better - and make the State Department more secure.
A new initiative from the Defense Department will try to counter China with large quantities of autonomous systems. Breaking Defense reports Deputy Secretary of Defense Katherine Hicks says the Replicator project will “leverage platforms that are small, smart, cheap, and many.” Deborah Lee James, Chair of the Defense Business Board and 23rd Secretary of the Air Force, explains how services can lean in quickly on Replicator, without replicating work they’ve already done.

A new initiative from the Defense Department will try to counter China with large quantities of autonomous systems. Breaking Defense reports Deputy Secretary of Defense Kath Hicks says the Replicator project will “leverage platforms that are small, smart, cheap, and many.” Dov Zakheim, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), writes about Replicator at themessenger.com. He tells you what would make Replicator work, and what could hold it back.
Federal agencies are getting some help in hiring customer experience personnel. It’s part of the latest update to the President’s Management Agenda from the Office of Management and Budget. Lauren DeJonge Schulman, Associate Director for Performance and Personnel Management at OMB, details the new options, and new milestones, in the PMA.
The Homeland Security Department is 450,000 square feet smaller now in the National Capital Region than it was at the beginning of the fiscal year. That number came from Randolph Alles, Deputy Under Secretary for Management and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security, at a House Oversight & Accountability subcommittee hearing last week. Dan Mathews, President of Mathews Associates and former commissioner of the Public Buildings Service at the General Services Administration, explains what agencies can do about their footprints, and how to think strategically - and long-term - about the federal real estate portfolio.