An ever growing area of concern within Federal, State and Local governments is how to manage mobile devices securely- and how implement a policy allowing employees to use whichever device(s) they’d like. As these devices and applications become critical to an organization’s success, IT is challenged with efficiently managing the full lifecycle management of devices across the enterprise. Mobile Device Management provides IT organizations the control they need to securely manage mobile devices throughout their entire lifecycle, simplifying these processes across multiple device types and mobile operating systems in a single console. With discovery, configuration, apps, and policy management, organizations now have the peace of mind that their mobile devices, critical data, and networks are secure from potential threats.

Despite rumors of a looming fiscal cliff and a harsh reality for contractors, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the General Services Administration (GSA) are finalizing major IT acquisitions. These two technology contracts are expected to exceed $5 billion and $1.5 billion respectively. The VA is looking to award funding by September 30th and the GSA is releasing an RFI this week for continuous monitoring systems.

As our economy continues to struggle, there is now a direct pressure being placed on the Federal market place. What was once thought of as an unlimited market of selling opportunity is now scheduled to be forcibly reduced by 10% in FY 2013, thanks to the 'sequestration' measures mandating automatic cuts across the Federal government. During this time of Federal market constriction, it is even more critical to be smart about how an organization approaches Federal sales. The GSA reports that 1 out of every 3 new contract awardees does not earn any revenue in their first three years, and the number one reason for this failure to perform is a lack of strategic planning.

On July 6th, the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) published a new strategic IT plan that maps out a wide variety of their organizational goals, on-going project summaries, and accumulated statistics. It also includes new innovative technologies that they plan on taking better advantage of in upcoming years. DIR says their mission is to be limited, efficient, and completely accountable.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is addressing an agency-wide concern with the current use and future of GSA Schedules. DoD officials are working with the GSA to explore new options for contracting. In light of recent budget cutbacks, the looming threat of sequestration, and task forces dedicated to eliminating redundancy in procurement across the department- contracting is at the forefront of reform.

Recently, a new wave of trends has emerged in the Human Resources (HR) market. Regardless of industry, HR organizations, departments, and leaders are focused on leveraging technology in new and creative ways to accurately manage and secure a tremendous amount of company and employee data while facilitating employee access to company and benefit information. As a result, they are turning to their internal IT departments for help streamlining and automating their complex human resource business processes. These technologies are showing improved process adherence and policy compliance, as well as increased employee satisfaction while reducing workload.