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Weekly Roundup
July 13 – July 17 2015

A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson

One U.S. military service branch unveiled a new step in its efforts to adopt cloud computing technologies for its personnel with the help of a consortium of notable GovCon and IT firms.

Dell, General Dynamics and Microsoft will help the Air Force build an online productivity and collaboration platform based on a Defense Department-tailored version of Office 365.
The Air Force seeks to connect more than 100,000 of the branch’s uniformed, reserve and civilian personnel to the future Collaboration Pathfinder system for email and calendar management.
Cloud computing and next-generation technology agendas of defense and intelligence agencies were the focal points of discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s first “Innovation in Defense & Intelligence” event Thursday in Falls Church, Va.
This event marked the start of POC’s “CIO Speaker Series” of events that will feature federal IT leaders at the forefront of technology-related decisions for agencies.
Doug Wolfe, the CIA’s CIO, addressed the POC event Thursday to overview his agency’s push in direction toward commercial cloud setups and the challenges intelligence agencies face in a time when technologies quickly evolve.
Thursday’s event also featured a three-person panel with Wolfe; Teresa Carlson of Amazon Web Services and Catherine Cotell of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Click here to read GovCon Wire’s full recap of the event.
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Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James will offer her perspective on the service branch’s current status and future plans to the Potomac Officers Club Wednesday as the “2015 Air Force Forum” keynote speaker.
She spoke to ExecutiveGov ahead of the event to offer her perspective on the Air Force’s current readiness picture, as well as some of what the branch has in store for its cybersecurity initiatives.
Click here to read ExecutiveGov’s conversation with James as a primer for the Wednesday event.
The POC has also lined up Maj. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy to the branch’s assistant secretary for acquisition, to offer a uniformed officer’s perspective on the Air Force in 2015 and its outlook for the future.
Attendees will also hear from Gary Bliss, the Pentagon’s director of performance assessments and root cause analyses; Roberto Rodriguez, DoD’s director of investment; and Mark Tapper, special adviser to the deputy chief of staff for ISR.
Speakers with a private sector perspective on the Air Force will include Janet Nickloy, vice president of responsive ISR programs at Harris Corp.; and Trey Obering, an executive VP at Booz Allen Hamilton and a retired lieutenant general who once led the Missile Defense Agency.
Click here to register for the 2015 Air Force Forum and to view POC’s full calendar.

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

Larry Prior to Lead CSC’s Future US Public Sector Business Spinoff
The 30-year industry veteran’s appointment is subject to a vote by the future Computer Sciences Government Services board of directors.
Neal Creighton: CounterTack Buys ManTech Commercial Cyber Division in Endpoint Security Push
ManTech will purchase an equity stake in CounterTack and act as global distribution partner.
Emerging Markets Communications Buys MTN; Abel Avellan Comments
The combined company will operate under the EMC brand and base its headquarters at MTN’s office in Miramar, Fla.
Larry Hill: Radiant Group Adds Data Analytics Tool With HumanGeo Buy
Radiant Group aims to bring Arlington, Va.-based HumanGeo’s technologies to more government agencies.
Dirk van der Vaart on His Agenda for GardaWorld’s US Arm and Security Sector Trends
GardaWorld Government Services’ president discusses consolidation among GovCon firms in this interview with ExecutiveBiz.
Marianne Meins Named Parsons National Security Division BD Manager
Meins previously served as federal systems president at Hystax Technology and was also a sector president at Agilex.
TASC Vet Lisa Donnan Joins BeyondTrust as Federal Business VP
Donnan will lead the Phoenix-based cyber company’s efforts to grow its footprint in the federal technology market.
Mary Ann Hopkins: Parsons Lands $68M DIA Missile Analysis Contract
The company will carry out scientific and technical support work on offensive missile systems and subsystems under the five-year award.
Rick Ambrose: Lockheed Eyes Commercial Satellite Business Growth
Lockheed Martin’s space business lead says the company wants to line up between two and three commercial satellite contracts per year.
Randy Fuerst: Oceus Updates LTE Broadband Platform for Tactical, Emergency Missions
Oceus Networks unveiled new features to its Xiphos network system built for military and public safety agencies.
Jim Ghiloni: GSA Debuts Interactive OASIS Contract Mgmt Dashboard
GSA launched the tool for federal acquisition workers to manage data on task orders agencies place through the OASIS professional services vehicle.
Aaron Hughes Joins Defense Department as Cyber Policy Deputy Assistant Secretary
Hughes previously served as vice president of intelligence community support at In-Q-Tel, where he also led outreach and strategic partnership functions.
Acting CMS Head Andy Slavitt Nominated for Full-Time Post
Slavitt has led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on a temporary basis since March.
Mary Wakefield Nominated for HHS Deputy Secretary Role
Wakefield has held the position on an acting basis since April and also is currently director of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Manson Brown: NOAA to Issue Commercial Data Standards in Late 2015
NOAA’s deputy administrator tells House lawmakers the agency seeks to grow its use of private sector satellite technologies to collect data.