This panel discussed contracting challenges such as:

• Clearly defining the division of responsibilities between industry partners and application support staff

• Using contracting language that clearly spells out ownership of problem resolution in a cloud environment

• Addressing risks and potential consequences of a data breach, which can be severe and impact both citizens as well as sensitive government information

Moderator Tom Frana, president and CEO of ViON Corporation, took an in-depth look at emerging cloud implementations and government’s burgeoning use of open hybrid cloud as a secure technology solution to seamlessly interact with legacy environments. Joining Frana were ViON Corporation’s Rob Davies, executive vice president of operations; Ray McCay, vice president of solutions strategy and cloud; and David Kushner, director of solution sales.

Appearing for the discussion:

Tom Frana, President and CEO, ViON Corporation

In January of 1992, Mr. Tom Frana became the President and CEO of ViON Corporation (ViON). ViON is a Vietnam veteran-owned hardware and systems integrator selling storage, server, and software solutions and associated services to the U.S. federal government and public sector and commercial areas. Mr. Frana has over 45 years of experience in the information technology industry and over 40 years in the vendor environment.

Mr. Frana has been involved in supporting a wide range of functions for both federal and commercial customers. He has experience with systems engineering, sales, marketing, customer service, and general management with ITEL, National Advanced Systems, and Hitachi Data Systems. He has held positions in Europe as Vice President and Director of Systems Engineering and Customer Service and Support; Vice President and Managing Director in Asia/Pacific; and Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Operations for Hitachi Data Systems.

Mr. Frana was born in Annapolis, Maryland, at the Naval Academy. He spent three years in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Vietnam. He has a Liberal Arts degree from Kendall College, Evanston, Illinois.

Mr. Frana is a member of the AFCEA Executive Committee. He is also a Founding Member of the U.S. Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia, and a member of the Board of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. He is also an Advisory Council Member on the United Service Organizations (USO) in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Having been a member of the Board of Trustees for over ten years, Mr. Frana is now the Chairman of the Board at St. John’s College High School in Washington, DC.

Ray McCay, Vice President of Colutions Strategy and Cloud, ViON Corporation

Ray McCay is the Vice President, Solutions Strategy for ViON Corporation, a market leader in the design, delivery and maintenance of mission critical IT infrastructure solutions.  McCay oversees ViON’s Cloud Business Strategy and leads ViON’s Solutions Planning Council.  Before joining ViON, Ray worked at Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) for nearly 24 years in a variety of roles including engineering, sales, sales leadership and strategic planning.  His tenure at HDS included running Hitachi’s Global Strategic Solutions planning team and leading HDS’ global sales and engineering team for Universal Compute Platform (UCP).  Prior to joining HDS, Ray worked with McDonnell Douglas leading their IT Tactical Planning team and their United States based Data Network team.

Rob Davies, Executive Vice President of Operations, ViON Corporation

Mr. Rob Davies is ViON’s Executive Vice President of Operations responsible for ViON’s Solution Development, Cloud and Infrastructure-as-a-Services offerings, Professional Services, Managed Services, and Support Services.  Mr. Davies has 25 years of experience supporting Federal and commercial business in information technology.  Prior to ViON, Mr. Davies served as Vice President of U.S. Public Sector Services for CA Technologies, as well as Chief Executive Officer and President at Base Technologies.  Mr. Davies earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan and his Master of Arts in International Affairs from the American University. He was recognized as a GOVstar SmartCEO awardee in the mid-size business category in 2012.

David Kushner, Director, Solutions Sales, ViON Corporation

David Kushner is the Director of Solution Sales at ViON Corporation. He leads a team responsible for helping customers and prospects develop solution strategies that solve high-value business and mission challenges.  Mr. Kushner’s team is instrumental in delivering Advanced Analytics, Big Data, Cloud, Cyber, Enterprise Storage, Data Protection and “as a service” solutions across the DoD, Federal Civilian and Commercial organizations.  Prior to ViON, Dave spent 12 years at EMC Corporation’s Information Intelligence Group, managing the OEM Business Development Team responsible for integrating security, enterprise content management and capture solutions into key vertical market partner offerings.  Prior to EMC, Dave was with OTG Software, beginning in 1996 (acquired by Legato Systems in 2001) running its software distribution channel and subsequently began OTG’s Healthcare practice that created successful partnerships with the largest Healthcare IT companies worldwide.

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