FCW, short for Federal Computer Week, is a publication that promises to bring the most up-to-date news, innovations, and policies to tech executives in the public sector to aid in decision making and business stratagem. Once known for their weekly print features, FCW has turned to the digital medium, along with hosting events each month. The most recent was the Cloud Summit: Making Smart Choices for a Cloud-centric Agency.
Hosted in Washington, DC, representatives of many federal agencies were present, including CIOs and CTOs, to either speak or watch presentations. The morning began with the ‘Army Cloud Strategic Framework and Lessons Learned’ presentation. Led by Thomas Sasala, the Director of Operations and Architecture and Chief Data Officer for the Army, it focused on how cloud integration improves data accessibility, security, and analysis capabilities for the Army.
Thomas Sasala, the Director of Operations and Architecture and Chief Data Officer for the Army, presents how cloud integration improves data accessibility, security, and analysis capabilities for the Army.
Karen Petraska, NASA’s Program Executive for Computing Services, took the stage for ‘Migration Services & Cloud Integration Best Practices’ that warned against allowing cloud computing to run wild, for an unmanaged system can contain unexpectedly crushing problems, including overloading pre-calculated expenses, issues maintaining compliance, on top of endangering essential security protocols.
A ‘Fireside Chat: Adopting a Multi- Cloud Strategy’ between SBA Chief Technology Officer, Sanjay Gupta, and Anne Armstrong, President & Chief Content Officer of 1105 Public Sector Media Group, wrapped up the morning, centered on integrating legacy systems into multi-cloud environments and the obstacles that pop up during such a transition.
After a short break, the sessions continued with the ‘Leveraging Emerging Tech in the Cloud’ presentation that included David Catanoso, Director of Enterprise Cloud Solutions Office for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and NSF Chief Enterprise Architect, Chezian Sivagnanam, which covered technological innovations that are on the horizon: AI, Internet of Things, and blockchain. These can be incorporated within the cloud for government use thanks to the growing practice of “as-a-service.”
The afternoon portion of the summit was headed by Ashley Mahan, FedRAMP Director for GSA, lecturing on ‘FedRAMP: The Year of Technology, Learning and the Customer.’ Her session was about how the federal arena has been impacted by advances of having data residing in the cloud compared to prior systems. Following was a seminar on ‘Driving CDM in the Cloud’ with Robert Hembrook, Director of Cyber Security for NOAA and Dr. Michaela Iorga, Senior Security Technical Lead for Cloud Computing at NIST, comprised of insights into NIST research projects such as Cloud Overlay and OSCAL, and the need for monitoring risk levels in assessment and monitoring systems.
The last discussion of the day, ‘In Their Shoes: Lessons in Modernization at the FCC’ by Christine Calvosa, FCC Chief Information Officer, featured how her agency has rapidly adopted said modernization brought about by the new Cloud Smart initiative.
GovDataHosting is proud to have the opportunity to sponsor this important FCW government cloud focused event that brings cloud innovations to the forefront. Choosing a cloud service provider that offers the appropriate controls and processes is critical. GovDataHosting's services have been the subject of comprehensive audits, recently earning FedRAMP High Impact certification, making us one of a select few. As the only vendor in the industry offering agencies a full cloud solution bundle, you can look forward to cost savings while still increasing agility for mission critical systems and lowering risk levels. Reach out today to request a consultation or quote.
