Acquisition
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Rival teams from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA have been waiting all year to see which of their designs would be chosen for the U.S. Navy\'s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) competition. Now, if the Navy gets permission from the lame-duck Congress, the winner could be: both.
November 04, 2010 -
The federal government will increase its spending on information technology from $86 billion in 2010 to $112 billion by 2015, according to a new forecast by Input, a Reston, Va.-based consulting firm.
November 04, 2010 -
The White House wants common security requirements for agencies in the cloud. So GSA is rolling out FedRAMP. They say it will provide security authorizations and continuous monitoring of cloud systems.
November 03, 2010 -
According to recent reports, Chinese Major General Hui recently visited Pakistan Chief of Army Staff, General Kayani. Chinese intelligence officials seldom visit Pakistan unless there is a problem. The usual problem is that Pakistan is harboring, aiding, training and abetting anti-Han Chinese Islamic terrorists in 42 camps within Pakistani Kashmir. Pakistani press said the general visited the tribal agencies in north western Pakistan. Neither party announced the general\'s agenda, but this type of visit usually signifies stress in the relationship related to security issues.
November 03, 2010 -
Joanne Woytek is Program Manager for NASA\'s SEWP: Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement. She gives Tom Temin an update on the success of the program and tells him what lies ahead.
November 03, 2010 -
The Army has filled two of its highest acquisition jobs. Heidi Shyu has been appointed principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology. Scott Fish is its new chief scientist.
November 03, 2010 -
OFPP is holding these meetings with large agencies to understand how they are meeting the Obama administration\'s acquisition goals. The sessions are similar to the TechStat sessions, but they\'re not at the program level. OFPP also is finalizing rules around multiple award contracts and schedule bidding.
November 03, 2010 -
Changes in the Pentagon\'s contracting process are taken from Jacques Gansler\'s 2007 report commissioned by Army Secretary Pete Geren.
November 02, 2010 -
Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at FedSources, discussed the confusion surrounding the Army\'s EAGLE contract.
November 02, 2010 -
Agencies can take a lesson from the General Services Administration\'s newly announced telepresence plan aimed at saving money and the earth. GSA discussed recently their $18 million plan to build what they call virtual meeting centers within 11 of regional headquarters offices and four headquarters offices in the Washington-metro area. Agencies with their own telepresence capabilities can interoperate with the new GSA virtual centers with the proper technical set up. Bob Lesino, GSA spokesman tells InformationWeek, agencies need to be able to deliver and receive 1080p video resolution and support H.323/H.264. The idea behind telepresence moves video teleconferencing to another level. GSA touts the technology behind the centers, boasting \"live, face-to-face, immersive meeting experiences.\" Each room is expected to have high-definition video and advanced audio equipment. \"You will feel like you are making eye contact [with the other person], [you will] feel like you are sitting across the table from them, almost as if you can pass the person a cup of coffee, \" said Martha Johnson, GSA administrator. \"As the federal government\'s workplace solutions expert, GSA is exploring new ways to create a more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable government for the American people. This includes incorporating innovative and collaborative technologies like virtual meeting centers to create seamless connections around the world. Availability of virtual meeting technology will help launch our government to the next level of productivity.\" The goal is for GSA to become a model for technologies that enable a mobile workforce, she added. The whole point of telepresence is to make it easier to get the job done. And saving time and money is part of that equation. \"The cost of travel is not just the price of a plane ticket. You have to factor in the sheer wear and tear of travel on people, \" said Johnson. The centers will be available for use by all agencies at a fixed hourly rate. The network will let any subscribing agency meet with counterparts in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, as well as with counterparts in other telepresence networks nationally and internationally. The centers will also be made available to stateside military families so that they can meet virtually with service members overseas. AT&T will develop and manage the virtual network through a task order under GSA\'s Networx Enterprise contract. Once the network is operational, agencies will be able to order and schedule virtual meeting sessions through a secure Web portal as well as through a valet that will be available around the clock. Johnson said the first of the virtual meeting centers will be operational in early 2011.
November 02, 2010 -
Federal News Radio\'s Jason Miller joined the DorobekINSIDER with details on the stat sessions by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to collect data on how your agency is reducing the use of high-risk contracts.
November 02, 2010 -
Nick Schwellenbach, director of investigations at POGO , joined the DorobekINSIDER to explain the potential impact of a decrease of DoD audits of smaller contracts.
November 02, 2010 -
The DorobekINSIDER presents at 2010 Excellence in Partnership Awards.
November 02, 2010 -
EAGLE II is a follow-on to the current contract. DHS is planning big changes for how it runs this new contract. Bids are due in January.
November 02, 2010 -
The Iranian Foreign Ministry recently confirmed that it provided financial assistance to Afghanistan, explaining the money was for development and reconstruction. A ministry spokesman said Tehran was providing the aid for infrastructure to remove the need for foreign military presence in Afghanistan. He said the previous government provided this aid and additional funding will continue. Initially Iran denied the New York Times story that revealed the payments. After a brief period of reflection and gauging international reaction to the story, Iran found its interests best served by admitting their financial support - but with a positive spin.
November 02, 2010