A push to consolidate data centers is in full swing at Federal agencies. Anthony Robbins is vice president of Federal at Brocade, and Francis Rose’s guest on Industry Chatter.

The clock is ticking for agencies to update their public networks to Internet Protocol Version 6. The General Services Administration is trying to make this transition as smooth as possible. Mary Davie is assistant commissioner of the Office of Integrated Technology at the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration.

A new plan is coming to fix the long-standing technology problems that have stymied the federal retirement system for the past decade. Katherine Archuleta says fixing the IT system is one of her top initiatives as the new director of the Office of Personnel Management. In part 2 of their interview, Archuleta tells executive editor Jason Miller about her priorities starting with the technology that runs the federal retirement system.

Federal agencies spent less money on goods and services in 2013 than in the previous two years. Experts attribute the drop to a lot of factors, including budget cuts under sequestration. Joe Jordan, the outgoing administrator in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, told Executive Editor Jason Miller how OFPP’s efforts are paying off.

Purchase orders are one way for small business contractors to get their feet wet in the federal market. It’s also one way for agencies to fill small business quotas. Guy Timberlake, chief visionary officer and CEO of the American Small Business Coalition, tells Federal News Radio’s Sean McCalley why it’s important to understand exactly what a purchase order is for.

Agency conference spending is way down after scandals and tighter budgets. But some agency people and even some members of Congress think your agency may be too restrictive on conferences.

New recruiting numbers from the Defense Department look good overall. And the military services have had it pretty good over the past few years. A sour private sector economy has meant each service has been able to consistently meet its recruiting goals and keep standards high. But as Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu reports, the services are now watching for leading indicators of trouble.