Federal agencies are getting more comfortable as they transition to a mobile landscape. As this transition progresses discussions have become more focused on securing actual data rather than securing devices as the concept of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) fits into the architecture.

“Big Data” has been the buzz word floating around federal, state, and local agencies this year. Big Data is a loose term used to describe mass amounts of structured and unstructured digital data flooding government agencies, and it is proving to be problematic. Expanding legacy data combined with growing real-time data requires agencies to devote manpower, funding, and new technology to address changing needs. The FY12 fiscal cycle has been a feeding frenzy for private sector IT giants all battling for a piece agency IT budgets devoted to data management. In response to the Obama Administration’s March announcement of a $200 million Big Data R&D Initiative, the non-profit TechAmerica recently announced the launch of a new Commission. The Big Data Commission, chaired by Steven Mills, Senior Vice President at IBM, is comprised of industry IT leaders, academics, and government advisors and will focus on providing recommendations on how to secure data, how to do more with less, and the relationship between cloud and Big Data.

Over the past few years, the increase in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks has become mainstream media topics. Hostile Foreign Government, Terrorists, and Hacktivists are using these attacks to cause major problem for the U.S. government. The attacks have been successful against the CIA, DOT, FTC along with other agencies. DDoS attacks are not only a major headache but also can be very costly. A DDoS attack is regarded as an unequivocal attempt by hackers to thwart authentic users of a service from using that service.

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.

A recent Bloomberg Government study reminds us that Federal Government spending on multiple-award contracts (MACs) rose 49 percent to $121 billion over the last four years, more than double the growth rate of all other contracting programs within the Federal Government.