ExecutiveBiz members have had the pleasure of interacting with a long line of IT thought leaders. One of note is Chris Rasmussen, a great advocate for information sharing and collaboration within the federal space and a master of the use of new tools to get groups working together on hard problems (read more about Chris here). Chris will speak with members again on 24 April 2008 at The New, New Internet.

Federal users are making increasing use of Web2.0 capabilities, and we look forward to hearing Chris’s views on where this is all going. We are already seeing that some of the nation’s hardest problems, like those the intelligence community must address, are being tackled with Web2.0 tools and techniques. One recent development is a YouTube-type capability for the intelligence world called “iVideo.” (see Federal Computer Week’s article on “YouTube for the intell community” for more info). iVideo is based on Adobe technologies, and provides users from around the globe the ability to securely upload video and other media for the use by others. We can expect the use of iVideo will grow dramatically, like the adoption of other advanced Web2.0 tools provided by the Office of the Director of National intelligence (ODNI).

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In the context of enterprise IT, a “mega trend” is a long term movement in time that drives large masses of people and is a forcing function for strategic directions. One of the mega trends sweeping over us all right now is Web2.0. This trend will continue to impact government in 2008. Here are a few probable ways:

• Enhanced innovation: Most large organizations, including government, find the most innovation where there is interaction with others. Innovation frequently seems to come from the edge. With more Web2.0 in government, there will be increased interactions among users internal to government and with citizens. Every interaction is an opportunity to learn of an unmet need which is an opportunity to fuel innovation.

• More deployment of applications for (and by) users: The trend toward enabling users with tools that let them create their own solutions will continue in 2008. Enterprise mashups based on enterprise data is already an expectation among the workforce, but the deployment of this capability in government has been slow to start. As government organizations see how others do it the deployment of secure enterprise mashup capabilities should accelerate.

• Expect less emphasis on huge integrations and more on what Forrester has been calling “dynamic apps.” These are applications designed for people and built to enable people to change them. As John Crupi, CTO of JackBe has noted in his recent post on “What’s Out, What’s In”, “Knowledge workers need ad-hoc and situational data which is dynamically integrated in small amounts.” Government IT departments will begin to deliver on dynamic apps in 2008.

• Enhanced retention and enhanced job satisfaction. People stay in their job for a wide range of complex reasons. One factor in job satisfaction (and dis-satisfaction) in the government workforce has been the relative inability of big IT departments to deliver modern tools to users so they can efficiently accomplish their mission. As more government enterprises deliver secure mashup capabilities, the ability of the government workforce to efficiently and effectively accomplish their mission should increase, which should have a positive impact on retention, fueling additional benefits to the mission of government.

Really we all know the best way to predict the future is to make the future. My hope is that enterprise IT departments from throughout government are planning now to enhance the delivery of Web2.0 capabilities into their environments. Doing so will make it a brighter future for all of us.

Bob Gourley is the co-founder and CTO of Crucial Point LLC and is the former CTO of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Bob blogs on enterprise IT at http://ctovision.com

IT leaders in government are wrestling with several competing forces in the Web2.0 world. The greatest force is a push for change towards more user-focused computing.  But a resisting counter force threatens to delay this change.

The counter force here is institutional inertia. Big organizations are just slow to change, and the larger, more complex the organization is the slower it can be to change.  Change in IT is particularly hard since new IT must work with the old IT and since users have varying degree of control over the organization’s IT budgets. All this adds to inertia in the adoption of new Web2.0 service models.

There are ways to address inertia and speed the delivery of Web2.0 concepts in large organization.  Here are a few proven methods:

1) Stay mission focused
2) Make fast gains that scale to the size of the enterprise
3) Leverage out of band networking
4) Address security and policy concerns up front

Here is more on each:

1) Stay mission focused. The greatest cause of inertia in large government organization is the need to keep everyone focused on critically important missions.  Use that fact to help speed the delivery of your Web2.0 project by ensuring everyone understands the mission-focused nature of your project.  You can build an overwhelming case for your project if you logically show a transformational improvement to your agency’s ability to accomplish its goals and support the mission. I’ve seen the power of staying mission focused help small teams make dramatic change at some of the largest agencies in the government, so this is a force you definitely want on your side.  

2) Make fast gains that scale to the size of the enterprise. Make your first Web2.0 project one that will serve a great number of users and help them all do something better.  For example, hosting a blog or wiki server is something that can reach all ends of your enterprise for a relatively low cost and will help you prove to management that you are focused on the mission. By fielding capabilities that can be used by the entire workforce you will be demonstrating to all that Web2.0 has incredible potential.  After fielding blogs and wikis you can move to secure enterprise mashups, a way to bring the true power of Web2.0 to every user in the enterprise. 

3) Leverage out of band networking.  The chain of command is very important in government organizations and all large enterprises, and I would never advocate going around it.  But direct contact with users, vendors and other mission partners is also critical to success of modern IT.  So why not use modern IT to help with your networking?  Interact with your users in their collaborative environment.  And meet them where they connect online… Does your agency have a database of experts?  Sign up.  Do your users and vendors use capabilities like LinkedIn.com or Second Life?  Meet them there. Don’t limit yourself to technical interactions.  Direct face to face connections via conferences and executive networking (like through our own ExecutiveBiz, of course) are critically important to ensuring strategic alignment between IT programs and the workforce.

 4) Address security and policy concerns up front.  A huge concern in all agencies today is the need for protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.  Web2.0 capabilities can be built with security, but only if that security is planned in from the start.   Policies for Web2.0 capability usage are also important to address.  Management will feel more confident in the program if you can propose sound policies that will accomplish the role out of new capabilities.  For example, what type of postings will be considered appropriate to your agencies internal blogs? And which ones will be considered appropriate to those that face your agencies customers?  Policies associated with Web2.0 capabilities, like all policies, are only effective when made public.  For a good one see the policy for the public facing blog of the US Government at http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/page/policies

All citizens and the entire government workforce can benefit from the introduction of Web2.0 into government IT.  But we should all understand the government IT workforce faces some daunting challenges in fielding these capabilities.  It can take lots of work and lots of prior planning to succeed in this environment.  Success will come sooner by focusing on the mission, delivering early successes, staying connected with all mission partners, and by addressing security and policy issues up front.

Bob Gourley is the former CTO of the Defense Intelligence Agency and is the co-founder and CTO of Crucial Point LLC.  Bob blogs on enterprise IT at http://ctovision.com

Alion Science and Technology Corporation announced this week that they have acquired virtually all the assets of LogConGroup, Inc., a firm providing logistics and identification technologies as well as program management. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.   

Based in McLean, Virginia, Alion provides a wide range of technology solutions to both the government and private sector, including IT, engineering, and naval architecture. An employee-owned company, Alion was formed in 2002 when employees of ITT Research Institute purchased ITT’s assets. Alion now ranks among the top 100 largest federal government contractors, and their revenue for 2006 totaled $508.6 million. Almost 75% of Alion’s 3,500 employees hold security clearances—a good indication of Alion’s focus on classified government projects.

Headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, LogConGroup specializes in automatic identification technology and logistics inventory tracking systems for the Defense Department and private industry. As specialists in munitions management, LogConGroup has contracts supporting the US Navy and US Army, and they’ve created many systems for tracking and automatically identifying inventory. These systems include RFID (radio frequency identification), MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) sensors, bar codes, smart cards, touch memory buttons, handheld readers, and scanners.

Rick Meidenbauer, Alion Spectrum Engineering Group Manager, stated that the acquisition would allow Alion to increase their capabilities and presence in the high-value asset identification and tracking market. He added, “LogConGroup’s capabilities to track Class V munitions and other high-value military and commercial assets mesh well with ours, so we can support and help expand their current work with the resources of a much larger technology innovator.”

The founder of LogConGroup, Paul J. Ricciuti, echoed Meidenbauer’s words, saying, “We are actively engaged in providing logistics transformation and emerging logistics technologies for all Joint and Army Depots. As part of Alion, we can extend our service capabilities to existing and new Alion customers. Culturally, we believe it’s a great fit, and we expect to make the transition quickly.” 

Just last year Alion snapped up assets of Anteon International in what Washington Technology rated the second largest mergers and acquisitions deal of 2006. How large, you ask? Oh, the tidy little sum of $225 million. (How many double mochas would that buy? Enough to caffeinate you to Mars and back.) An aggressively growing company, Alion continues to add to its fold. Keep your eyes peeled for whatever Alion pulls out of the bag next—or should I say, puts in.