Ask the CIO

Latest Episodes:

For HUD’s CFO, IT modernization is all about the data Aug 02, 2019

Show notes

Irv Dennis, the CFO of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says the data analytics portion of the Centers of Excellence effort is helping to transform the agency’s financial management processes and technologies.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

HHS new contract writing system testing more than an innovative technology approach Jul 26, 2019

Show notes

In early fiscal 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services will pilot its new contracting writing system called Accelerate. HHS will work with a small group of contracting officers and industry to prove that using the cloud and blockchain technology is not only possible, but real. Jose Arrieta, who is currently the chief information officer and was the acting deputy assistant secretary for grants, acquisition policy and accountability at HHS, said the agency has made a lot of progress since December when the Accelerate platform received the authority to operate. He shared more details on Ask the CIO with Federal News Network's Jason Miller.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How USAID got out of technical debt Jul 19, 2019

Show notes

The U.S. Agency for International Development has no legacy systems. With more than $7 billion in technical debt across the government, USAID is not responsible for any of that. Jay Mahanand, the chief information officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the agency accomplished what few others have been able to do: Get out of deep technical debt, by taking full advantage of the cloud and consolidating data centers. Hear his conversation with Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller on this week's Ask the CIO.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DoD, NATO turn to collective defense against cyber attacks Jun 28, 2019

Show notes

Since 2004, the Defense Department has been a part of an international Computer Emergency Response Team through NATO. But only in the last few months has DoD and some of its allies been able to share cyber threat information and work together in real time.Ian West, the cybersecurity chief of the NATO Communications and Information Agency, told Ask the CIO with Jason Miller, the launch of a new encrypted workspace lets five countries test how they can share secure video, voice, chat and information gathering capabilities.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For HHS, FITARA is not just a law, but a lifestyle Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

It’s one thing to get an “A” or a “B” in the different areas of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard. It’s another to translate those grades into real IT reforms. While the results are far from final, the Department of Health and Human Services seems to be on a path to transform how it manages technology and delivers services. Amy Haseltine, the deputy chief information officer for enterprise services at HHS, said the agency’s IT reform efforts are starting to pay off in measurable ways. Hear her conversation with Jason Miller on Ask the CIO.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NSA dares students to break the cyber code, and then recruits them Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

NSA’s six-year-old program challenges students and others to solve a multi-step cybersecurity problem as a way to expose them to the type of work the agency and the government does.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over last 18 months, Federal CIO Kent’s goal is create a continuous improvement mindset Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Federal chief information officer Suzette Kent said in an exclusive interview that during her time leading federal technology she has learned the biggest areas agencies need to catch the private sector in is processes and people, but not technology.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DHS, IRS, OMB clearing a path to achieve agile maturity May 24, 2019

Show notes

OMB’s draft cloud smart strategy is one of several ongoing efforts across the government to help agencies deliver services and modernize systems more quickly.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How the cloud saved USCIS from the post-shutdown blues May 10, 2019

Show notes

Eric Jeanmaire, the former division chief for Identity, Records and National Security Delivery in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and now the CEO of Finality, said moving E-Verify to the cloud made surviving the government shutdown not only possible, but a success.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Public, private sector CIOs face uphill climb to trusted partner status Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

Like legacy technology systems, agency chief information officers are struggling to modernize their own roles. Federal technology executives and their private sector counterparts still face an uphill battle to shed the long-held viewpoint that they are back-office, cost centers. A new survey of public and private sector CIOs indicated the modernization of their role isn’t happening as fast as many would expect, and technology executives feel the way others judge their value remains stuck in the 1990s. LaVerne Council, the national managing principal for enterprise technology strategy and innovation practice at Grant Thornton, and Todd Tucker, the general manager and vice president of the TBM Council, talked more about this challenge on Ask the CIO with Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.