As of recently, no cloud solution provider has been endorsed by the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). Run by the GSA, FedRAMP is designed to assist in closing costly federal data centers and outsourcing network operations to shared cloud providers, thereby reducing expenditures and increasing technical flexibility. FedRAMP provides a security evaluation that certifies cloud providers in being able to adequately and safely manage electronic federal data. By gaining the FedRAMP approval vendors can offer their cloud services for immediate use in any government agency. However, due to confusion and a slow evaluation process, no vendors have been endorsed by FedRAMP to date.

According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for the third year in a row, Federal contract spending decreased. While spending $537 billion in contracts in fiscal year 2011, the government spent just $513 billion in fiscal 2012, marking the largest single-year dollar decrease on record. The decreases are a result of a “concerted and collaborative effort on behalf of all the agencies,” said Joe Jordan, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Recent actions indicate the government has undoubtedly moved away from the increasing period between 2000 and 2008. The Federal government even surpassed its goal of reaching a 15% reduction on management and support services by the end of fiscal 2012. The OMB has created a leadership council in which all agencies will have a designated official responsible for the new cost cutting initiatives. Within the agenda the OMB has also developed the Interagency Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council whose first task is to recommend to the administration management strategies that will ensure government procurement of the best possible pricing and quality goods, services, commodities, and contracts. Though concerns exist on whether the newfound council will be more bureaucracy, the OMB should now be a willing partner in the legislative reform effort in which progress is finally being made to resolve the inefficient and wasteful government contracts.

As we close out 2012, it appears that the Feds will be making an early New Year’s resolution – proactive reformation of their network security and monitoring. According to a spokesman at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a Request for Proposal (RFP) for continuous monitoring of IT assets and data will be put out by the department in the near future. The application of a secure, total Business Service Management (BSM) solution, while currently only at DHS, is being planned to spread across the entire government.

In the wake of the Open Government Directive issued by President Obama in December of 2009, agencies have been working to take specific actions to implement the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration. However, do we want our National Security Agency (NSA) being transparent about all of their defense tactics and cyber plans?

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) unveiled on November 27, 2012 a dashboard that consolidates all Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) spending from 2004 through present date. The data that is shown is all of the non-classified data on federal IT purchases that have been purchased using task orders under the various GWACs. The dashboard also allows searches on small business specific contracting vehicles like 8(a)STARS; 8(a) STARS II; Alliant; Alliant SB; and VETS GWAC programs.

In late 2011, the HUBZone eligibility of thousands of firms was wiped away as a result of the 2010 decennial census, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau every 10 years, which re-designated many areas previously considered HUBZone due to changes in economic data. The impacts of the census were significant, decreasing the number of designated HUBZone organizations from over 9,200 to approximately 5,200 - over a 40% drop. HUBZone areas typically exhibit high unemployment and lower average income, which is why the U.S. Federal government has created the program. The idea is to incentivize contracting with businesses that operate and to create jobs in communities with statistically proven economic needs. To qualify for the program, 35% of an organization’s workforce must reside within the designated HUBZone area. In fiscal year 2011, the Federal government spent $9.9 billion on HUBZone businesses (roughly 2.35% of its overall contract dollars). While the number is impressive, only a third of agencies that receive an SBA procurement scorecard actually met their 3% percent HUBZone contracting goal. For agencies that are struggling to meet their goals, an exodus of decertified firms from the program can have far reaching implications. To help these agencies, the SBA has begun to conduct outreach to HUBZone areas in order to identify organizations that could potentially qualify. Indeed, this “spring and early summer, the SBA initiated a HUBZone recruitment plan at its 68 district offices nationwide and will repeat that recruitment plan next year.” The recruitment plan is designed to educated small businesses about the benefits of the program and to help them through the certification process. Additionally, a pilot program has been established during evening office hours twice a month so that HUBZone organizations can call for general assistance.