DJ Patil, the government's first-ever chief data scientist, explains his mission using a simple phrase: "responsibly unleash the power of data for the benefit of the American public.” In part 2 of Federal News Radio’s special report, Deconstructing the CDO, Patil tells Federal News Radio how his office is helping agency CDOs bring a ruthless focus to data.
The buzz around big data is growing in volumes. Eight agencies, including the Energy, Commerce and Transportation departments have each named a formal chief data officer. But agencies must find the right balance of roles between these hip CDOs and the tried-and-true chief information officers as federal IT evolves through cloud and the commoditization of technology. In part 1 of his special report, Deconstructing the CDO, Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller explores the growing complexity between data and information.
As more and more agencies hire chief data officers, the question arises, what’s the difference between data and information? And where does the chief information officer fit into the discussion? In the first part of our special report, Deconstructing the CDO, federal CIOs and CDOs agree there is room for both as agencies mature their use and understanding of data.
Cmdr. Mark Rives, the director of IT and the chief information officer at the Indian Health Service, said the challenges of getting high-speed Internet access to rural communities is forcing the agency to figure out other ways to take advantage of big data tools and analytics.
The U.S. Agency for International Development wants to channel a river of big data into an analysis program that can power future management decisions. The agency has a request for information out to find ways to transform the data into a more useful and visually intuitive form. Mark Peterson is division chief for data and analytics at USAID. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he shared details on what kind of data USAID has and what it wants to do with it.
With an increasing number of organizations looking to modernize their computing environments, expand their focus on secure and compliant hosting, and meet the growing demands of an increasingly mobile workforce, 2015 is poised to be transformative for government agencies.
The Social Security Administration used excess desktop computers and an open source platform to tackle its big data challenge. For its efforts, ACT-IAC named SSA's improper payments and data analytics program a finalist in the Igniting Innovation awards.
Author Sean Callahan joins host Mark Amtower to talk about his book: "The Big Data-Driven Business". November 17, 2014
The Government Accountability Office is taking an early interest in how the White House and Treasury Department draft government-wide financial data standards, due out next summer. A lot is riding on those standards, says Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.
Capgemini CEO Doug Lane and Barbara Rosenbaum, vice president of Federal, join host Mark Amtower to talk about the company and its plans to become a bigger presence in the federal market. October 27, 2014
A new Federal News Radio survey of federal chief information officers and deputy CIOs found cyber above all else is the top priority. Charlie Armstrong, the CIO for Customs and Border Protection, said his focus is to protect the data first and foremost and his systems a very close second.
Anne Altman, general manager of Federal Government for IBM, will discuss a wide range of contracting topics with host Mark Amtower. July 14, 2014
"Big data," "data to decisions," and "data analytics" are all big buzz words in government at the moment as agencies try to harness the power of computing to leverage the information they already collect into better decision making. But in most cases, the data itself isn't worth much unless experienced people combine it with their own judgment. Dan Saaty is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Decision Lens, a Virginia company that helps crunch numbers for organizations ranging from intelligence agencies to NFL franchises. He said on In Depth with Francis Rose if organizations want to use data to help guide their decisions, the first thing they need to do is set priorities.
Anne Altman, general manager of Federal Government for IBM, will discuss a wide range of contracting topics with host Mark Amtower. May 19, 2014