Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Our guest today is Jonathan Alboum, the Federal CTO for ServiceNow Federal. This interview should begin like Mission Impossible movies. “Jonathan, your mission, should you accept it, is to describe all the variations ServiceNow serves federal technology leaders. You have 25 minutes. This message will self-destruct in ten seconds.” This is an “impossible mission” because Service Now has customers in over one hundred agencies. It sure appears each instance is unique. One way to understand this “variation on a theme” is to look at the agenda for their annual conference. In March 2024, ServiceNow covered topics ranging from agile software development to forms to new vs. legacy applications. It is kind of hard to find a Gartner quadrant for ServiceNow. During the interview, Jonathan delves into one aspect of artificial intelligence and details the application of large language models and smaller large language models. Listen to the interview and consider it a “tasting menu” for efficiency, productivity, and integration concepts. Oh yes, it also dives into applied Artificial Intelligence.

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Everyone awake in biology class remembers the difference between a somatic and an autonomic nervous system. (Cheat sheet: You can control somatic, but the other kicks in without knowing.) What does this have to do with federal information technology? Today, we sat down with Dave Link, the founder of Science Logic, and he talked about how to manage complex federal systems. We all know in the early days, one could use a spreadsheet to update and patch most networks. However, today’s hybrid networks and supercharged cyber-attacks are throwing manual methods out the window. Dave Link suggests an automated approach that parallels human biology can be the answer. For example, he calls his system an “autonomic IT.”  A quick translation means that an agent can run in the background and examine the health of a network. It can evaluate and patch automatically, like the system that controls your heartbeat and respiration. When there is an issue, a sentient human can jump in. This may be like a human being moving out of the way of an oncoming bus. This person has an operating cardiovascular system; however, a human must alter survival. Listen to the interview to see how this human/technology parallel holds up.  

Ep 192 Forensic Analysis and Digital Footprint Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Cellebrite is a company that earned its stripes in the commercial world with its ability to find a needle in a haystack. In other words, they have developed an ability to sift through mountains of data, find the essential parts of an investigation, and leverage that information to close a case. In other words, anyone can find the proverbial needle; who can find the right needle that will solve the puzzle and bring the case to closure? The federal government is plagued with fraud and abuse from very sophisticated malicious actors. These actors are adept at creating false identities and covering their tracks. The GAO estimates that in 2023, Fraudnet reported 4,400 allegations in fiscal year 2023. Further, the Department of Justice reports $2 billion in illicit activity. It takes talent mastered in the commercial world to close federal cases. During the interview, Maurice Cook provides examples of the restricted federal environment in which Cellebrite must operate.  They must be transparent and ethical on all levels.  Fortunately, Cellebrite has managed to transfer that commercial skill set to the federal government under the guise of a digital investigative platform. Listen to gain a better understanding of forensic analysis and digital footprints.

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Google's public sector has exploded into the federal technology marketplace. Today, we recapitulated the recent Google Public Sector event and tried to understand the reasons for the success. Our guest is Troy Bertram, Executive Managing Director of Google's public Sector Partner Ecosystem. Together, we review the keynote presentations, essential concepts, and the value Google can bring to rapid innovation in the federal government. The event kicked off with Karen Dahut, CEO of Google Public Sector, emphasizing the value of making systems foundationally secure. Apparently, this message resonates with the tech audience. Although Google Public Sector has only been around for two years, it saw 1,000+ people attend, including 24 federal leaders and attendees from over ten countries. Apparently, operational resilience is an international concept. We also heard some entertaining concepts. Leigh Palmer talked about AI as “always confident, not always correct.” She and her panel focused on the importance of having valid data before the discussion of artificial intelligence begins. Forrester has some predictions about the public sector that apply to federal cloud usage. They say that “public sectors should become more adaptive to build resilience and fuel innovation. Troy Bertram focuses on the DoD's efforts to leverage many of the concepts detailed at this conference.

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Humans can be easily deceived. You look at an iceberg and think that is all you have; the same approach can be applied to federal websites. At first glance, you notice the visual and do not understand how the website may be providing valid information or if this can be done in a timely manner. Those aspects of web design are essential and can be measured easily with well-known tools like heat maps, Google Analytics, and user surveys. Today, we go below the surface of the iceberg. Lee Becker from Medallia helps listeners expand the user interface concept to include the outside and the inside. For example, a superficial understanding of the user interface would serve a citizen in a form. This is one way to interpret Executive Order 14058, “Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government. “ However, when you dig deeper, you will understand that in 2022, 190 million hours were spent on forms at the Department of Homeland Security. Lee Becker shares his experience and shows listeners how to go beyond the screen, dig deeper with the user interface, and improve larger goals like collaboration, security, and transparency. Ep. 190 User Experience: the plow must go deeper.    

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Robb Wong helps clients at Deep Water Point & Associates better understand the U.S. Small Business Administration. They recently announced that Fiscal Year 2023 had a record-high 28.4 % of federal contracts to small businesses. Robb is in the perfect position to help. He has started several small businesses and was appointed associate administrator at the Office of Government Contracting & Business Development in the U.S. Small Business Administration. This experience makes him the perfect person to help listeners understand existing rules and proposed rules to help them develop the federal technology business. Here are four highlights of the conversation: He emphasized the importance of adapting to proposed SBA rule changes, which could alter small business strategies for 2025. Wong advocated for increasing the 8(a) sole source limit to $8-10 million and suggested gradual transitions for mentor-protege joint ventures to maintain small business participation. He also called for government support to cover the prohibitive costs of CMMC certification. Encourage clients and the industry to participate in the rulemaking process and provide comments on the proposed changes. Prepare small businesses for the changes to the mentor-protege program, which are expected to be implemented in early 2023.

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com The federal government is the largest employer in the United States, employing approximately three million people. It buys everything from rubber bands to rockets. In the area of technology, it buys everything from toner for a copier to communications to a satellite. How can a small company sell to this monolith? Some will argue that the best approach is to develop a relationship with a successful company to understand the dynamics of federal technology acquisition.  Connect with Slalom at the ACT-IAC conference in Hershey, PA on October 27, 2024  Today, we sit down with Jim Igoe, Slalom's Director of Public Sector Partnerships. He describes why Slalom has successfully partnered with over seven hundred companies. He mentions several concepts. >>>> focus on change that matters. In other words, federal employees can notice a discernable change when an engagement is complete. >>> Develop a thorough and complete understanding of the project before commencing. Listen to the interview to better understand how to enter a complicated market and identify, foster, and build relationships with strategic partners.

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Joel Krooswik from Gitlab has seen more code reviews than he can count. He has seen duplicate code, insufficient data, and insecure code. "Work harder" may be the maxim in the NFL, but this is a fool's errand regarding software development. Traditionally, a code review would yield remediation that would take hours and detailed work. During the interview today, Joel looks at how Artificial Intelligence can be applied to four areas: Clean code. A system may work now despite problems. However, it can fail once it is stress-assessed with mountains of data. Clean code means it is easier to scale. Speed. Humans may not be able to see system inadequacies that slow it down. AI can see log jams that a human cannot. Duplicate code. Various individuals have maintained older systems so that code may have been duplicated. Duplicate code is complex for humans to find but easy for AI. New features. Application "A" may run on a system with no problems; when updated, it may highlight issues you do not know exist. AI can look at code and allow for more accessible features. During the interview, Joel focuses on how these abilities can be applied to the federal environment.  

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com Last year, we were all dazzled by Artificial Intelligence vacuuming up words to spit out text, collecting code, and generating code. Well, it's time to see if those parlor tricks can be applied to federal work. Bob Ritchie is a self-proclaimed "code warrior" with years of experience evaluating federal software projects. He mentions three areas where AI can help federal projects. It's tedious work to review code and try to make improvements. Software developers' analytical abilities can be better utilized by having the code highlighted and remediating the problem. Security. A famous phrase in software development is "shift left."  Problems arise when security mandates are applied to existing codes. If you assume a timeline in software creation, a shift to the left means putting the correct code before release. AI can help developers look at previous code iterations and quickly make security changes before release. Humans. Bob Ritchie has seen the power of AI and has also seen analysts not using correct prompts to take advantage of that power. His solution is to create a variation on the popular Hack-a-thon: a "prompt-a-thon." In other words, you need to get a group of people together and help them understand the proper way to word a prompt to get the results you need. This is a fascinating interview with a well-known expert who provides an excellent summary of current policy trends and the impact of AI on government modernization efforts.

John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com When it comes to preparing for a hurricane, the federal government has FEMA, NOAA, and a wide range of recovery options. However, we all know quantum is coming down the road, and many are not prepared for what will come. And it will come. We do not know when. Serious scholars have posited that future quantum computers will be able to break our current encryption. What is quantum encryption? You can go to YouTube and be impressed with the advanced mathematics involved in quantum. The basic idea is that someday in the future, specialized computers will be able to crack today’s encryption. During the interview, experts from Tyto Athene discuss prevention and elaborate on a concept called Post Quantum Encryption. Some parts of the federal government take this concept seriously. NIST has considered some options and is offering some tests. Richard Wheeler gives a detailed description of the NIST initiatives. One may ask, why worry now? This is because nation-states are vacuuming up and storing data. As for now, they cannot decrypt it. However, they may be able to in the future. Personal information and federal secrets will have value somewhere down the road.