First came the technorati. Then the twitterati. Now the goverati have burst onto the Web 2.0 scene. These are individuals from government and industry alike leveraging new technology to better shape government policy and direction. So what can industry do to keep on top of this emerging trend? Who better to ask than Mark Drapeau, a Web 2.0 expert who coined the term “goverati.” Here Drapeau offers six ways your company can join in on the conversation.

1. Accept social media is here to stay. We’ve all heard reports of social media stalling within certain government quarters, the Department of Defense among them. In actuality, DoD is one of the “giant government leaders” in new social media, says Drapeau. So, too, are the intelligence community, the State Department, DHS (especially TSA and the US Coast Guard), and the EPA, he adds. Drapeau anticipates DoD will continue to enlarge its social media presence through internal social networks like Army Knowledge Online and, to some degree, platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

2. Define your goals. Joining the goverati — and being part of the conversation — requires you first define whom you want to reach. Perhaps your goal is to interact with people who might buy your product. Or whom you want to convince to think more highly of you. Or who set government policy. Defining those specific goals will give you a better idea of the audience you wish to reach, says Drapeau.

3. Find the conversation. “The easiest way to get involved in the conversation initially is to find people already having it,” says Drapeau. “If you’re interested in the F-35 fighter, for example, you can find those conversations online, on Blog Talk Radio, Wordpress, Twitter, and so forth,” he says. Good tools to use in your search: Bing and  Google News searches. For “real time” web content, try TweetMeme, which searches Twitter conversations.

4. Observe the conservation. “The most productive thing to do is listen a lot and get a sense of where people are at,” says Drapeau. That requires doing a little investigative work, he adds. Facebook lets you see who your friends’ friends are, Twitter lets you see who other people are tweeting, and blogs let you see who’s commenting on blogs. “Collect that business intelligence, then use it to try to find people useful to your specific goal,” says Drapeau. For example, you might find someone tweeted about the F-35 fighter. Don’t stop there. “It’s a fair bet that if someone tweets about fighter jets all the time he’s interacting or following people on Twitter interested in a similar topic,” says Drapeau.

5. Be authentic about who you are. “People really value authenticity and transparency when it comes to online conversations,” says Drapeau. Both create context. “People respect if you’re a senior government official and you have to hold back a little bit or if you’re the marketer for Lockheed Martin people will get where you’re coming from … they take that into account when analyzing your point of view and, similarly, you do that when you read their blogs,” he adds.

6. Skip the self-promotion. “If you went to a cocktail party and all anyone ever did was talk about their product you wouldn’t want to talk to that person very long,” says Drapeau. The same is true of a Facebook fan page wall or Twitter account. “There might be a small niche of people who want to hear that all the time but most people don’t,” he says. It’s about balance. “I tweet out the links to my own stories but you can’t just do that constantly,” says Drapeau. A good rule of thumb, he adds, is to serve as an information aggregator. “If you’re the marketing person for a company you might consider being sort of an information aggregator about things peripherally related to what you do and that affect business,” he says.

Learn more

Learn how new media is being used by the federal government, and what industry needs to know to keep on top of this emerging trend. Mark Drapeau weighs in Thursday, Oct. 15. Details here.

Share your comments here.

In-Sourcing: two hyphenated words with the power to strike fear into the hearts of government contractors.  While it’s true that at a basic level, in-sourcing means fewer jobs contracted out to private industry and therefore fewer contracting dollars, proponents say the news isn’t all bad.  Here are some thoughts from local, recognizable leaders of government and industry on the subject:

• Congressman Gerry Connolly: “There are some functions, like acquisition, that are properly brought inside government, but in terms of other responsibilities and functions, frankly, I think they should be examined on a case-by-case basis…Bottom line: it’s not a matter of theology.”
• Larry Prior, President and COO of ManTech International: “Government needs to re-badge. [The government] needs to bring talent in that does planning, budgeting, source selection, and acquisition management. They need to make sure, however, they can also execute on missions across every agency.”
• Congressman Jim Moran: “The acquisition process is inherently governmental.  [The process] should not have been contracted out, so we are going to bring it back in.  There are other functions that can far more efficiently be provided by the private sector and those will continue to be done in that way.”
• Shiv Krishnan of INDUS: “If the government starts converting contractors and hiring contractor positions from companies into government employees it creates a challenge in terms of these companies losing their employees and making them all government employees and the business is suffering.”

 Latest Health IT Buzzword: “Meaningful Use”

Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health IT, plans to issue “meaningful use” requirements for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Health IT awards.  “Meaningful use” has not been defined yet, but some leaders believe it to be acretive to implementation and interoperability.  In other words, if it isn’t useful, it isn’t meaningful use.  Here are some thoughts from local industry leaders:

• Krish Venkat of Congnizant’s Healthcare and Life Science practice offers: “stakeholders in this ecosystem should not view this as just a technology change for the sake of technology change. It is a fundamental change in terms of business processes, optimizing cost of care, avoiding duplications, easier exchange of information, and improving the quality of care.”
• Adam Clark of the Health IT Policy Committee said: ”the definition is going to have to be broad enough to include small or even individual practices as well as large practices” and “adaptable to the primary care settings as well as specialty services.” 

Government contractors should be seeing green, because the first “meaningful use” contract awards are coming, even though the standards haven’t been written yet.  The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) has awarded CSC a contract to help them meet “meaningful use” standards to receive the federal incentive payments outlined in ARRA.

Check Your Desktop: The Government Might Already Be There

Glenn Beck reported on his Fox News show on July 31 that a disclaimer on the website for the federal government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program technically transfers ownership of the computer accessing the site to the federal government while connected to www.cars.gov.  Don’t try this at home, because the warning reads “This application provides access to the DoT CARS system.  When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a Federal computer system and is the property of the U.S. Government.”

Also this week, the federal government announced a review of its policy on cookies, ostensibly to improve customer service on government websites.  Vivek Kundra, federal CIO, and Michael Fitzpatrick of the OMB wrote in a blog post dated July 24 that the policy review is intended to improve customer service by allowing agencies to analyze how people use their sites and to remember visitors’ “data, settings or preferences.” But privacy advocates like EFF, EPIC, and the Center for Democracy and Technology have voiced their concerns. “Our primary concern is that the [Federal Government] has failed to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens,” said EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg. 

Twitter Goes Down on Anniversary of 2008 Russo-Georgian Conflict

Twitter shut down briefly on Thursday morning because of a massive denial-of-service attack (DDoS). The perpetrators are unknown, but suspects include Russian and Georgian sympathizers, since Thursday marks exactly one year since the Russian-Georgia conflict. LiveJournal and Facebook , also experienced similar attacks on Thursday morning.  Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, released a statement on the site describing the downage as caused by ”a single, massively coordinated attack.” Then again, it might just be coincidence that the attacks on the wildly popular social networking sites occurred exactly one year after the border dispute.

Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) spoke to us recently about Capitol Hill’s view of government contractors, what jobs he feels are best left inside the government, compensation for procurement personnel, CIO Kundra’s federal dashboard, and more.  Moran told us what the new Armed Services bill means for IT RFPs, and weighed in on who the new Cyber Coordinator should be.

ExecutiveBiz:  Where do you feel the balance lies between government insourcing and contracting with respect to driving innovation?

Jim Moran:  That is a difficult question because there should always be a constructive tension between the private and public sectors.  We tipped that balance in the last few years by outsourcing inherently governmental work, in my opinion.  That’s why I support Secretary Gates’ effort to establish 20,000 more acquisition personnel as an example, 9,000 new positions and 11,000 converted from contracting positions.  The acquisition process is inherently governmental.  It should not have been contracted out, so we are going to bring it back in.  There are other functions that can far more efficiently be provided by the private sector and those will continue to be done in that way.

ExecutiveBiz:  What role do you think Congress should play in getting the highest quality executives involved in the procurement process and retaining those executives?

Jim Moran:  I think that there needs to be more flexibility in terms of compensation for government personnel particularly in the Pentagon’s principle areas of responsibility.  The personnel system that was established has merit.  I think it needs to be refined but I think we will move forward on it because we have seen that we have lost much too high a quantity and some of the best quality people to the private sector because federal salaries have not been competitive.  We need to make those salaries more competitive, taking into consideration the generous benefits package that can be offered to the federal government.  I introduced three pieces of legislation on the Armed Services Authorization Bill and hopefully will be incorporated by the Senate that would provide incentives for personnel to come back from the private sector back in to the government.  For example, if people want to work part time they won’t be penalized. They’ll be paid consistent with the level of the compensation they received for most of their career.  If they made withdrawals from their retirement funds, they will be able to pay those withdrawals back so they will not be penalized after a hiatus spent in the private sector.   We will fix the sick leave system so that unused sick leave benefits can be cashed out at the end of a career.  These are things that we need to work on, but primarily we need to be more competitive with the private sector in terms of compensation.

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“On the whole I’d have to say there is a relatively negative attitude towards contractors and we are working every day to improve that image and to try to discourage the kinds of activities and rhetoric that underscore people’s negative feelings towards contactors. It is a two way street.”

-Congressman Jim Moran

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ExecutiveBiz:  How do you think Congress should remedy the IT RFP requirements to make them more innovation friendly?

Jim Moran:  I think the Armed Services Bill that just passed through the House does some of that.  It enables more partnering and provides for some venture capital investments to make bids more competitive.  We’ve got ten pilot projects which are designed to find the most effective ways of issuing IT contracts using different acquisition processes.  That’s an admission that things need to be improved.  The Pentagon can also assign some of its current employees to work with the private sector and can take people in the private sector into the Pentagon so as to enable a contract to be more effectively understood and applied to meet the Pentagon’s needs.  There is also a provision that amends their current reporting requirements dealing with the acquisition of software in terms of programs. 

ExecutiveBiz:  What do you think the consensus view on Capital Hill is of government contractors?

Jim Moran:  Well, where you sit is where you stand.  In the Washington area I think you would get some pretty positive reviews because that is a large share of the economy that we represent and benefit from.  Out in the Midwestern plains areas and much of the south I think contractors have gotten a bad rap and a bum rap.  In California I think you will see more support for contractors.  The members are normally going to reflect the disposition of their constituencies.  On the whole I’d have to say there is a relatively negative attitude towards contractors and we are working every day to improve that image and to try to discourage the kinds of activities and rhetoric that underscore people’s negative feelings towards contactors.  It is a two way street.  Contractors have to conduct themselves in such a way that it brings honor to the industry and the Congress needs to fair in its assessment of what it expects of contractors.  Clearly there was some gross abuse on the part of contractors in Iraq.  I think you see less of that in Afghanistan.  There was just too much money being made available to contractors with too little oversight and too many connections with the executive branch.  It contributed to a negative attitude that was understandable toward contractors.

ExecutiveBiz:  We are all still waiting on the announcement of the new position of Cyber Security Coordinator.  What kinds of qualifications and what kind of qualities do you feel like that person should appoint and do you have any idea of who it might be?

Jim Moran:  It should be a person just like Tom Davis, if not Tom Davis himself. 

ExecutiveBiz:  What do you think of the job that Aneesh Chopra who is one of your constituents is doing as Federal CTO?

Jim Moran:  Terrific, I think the world of Aneesh Chopra.  I think he is an example of just the kind of bright, energetic, creative, hard working person we need in the federal government.

ExecutiveBiz:  How do you plan on protecting government contracting jobs?

Jim Moran:  By maintaining the funding for the programs for which contractors provide an essential support function and defending them against unfair accusations both in the media and on the floor of the House. 

ExecutiveBiz:  In meeting the President’s priorities in areas like energy independence, government transparency, and better education, a lot has been made of employing information technology.  Do you think that increased centralization of information technology via the internet makes us more vulnerable to cyber attacks?

Jim Moran:  I think we need to march forward and not be intimidated by the possibility of cyber attacks.  As we march forward even with the centralization of information we need to be conscious of ways to protect the security of that information, to block out cookies, to preclude people from being able to hack into the conduits of information.  We are fully capable of doing that.  I certainly don’t think we should restrict ourselves from technological progress out of fear of the information going into the wrong hands.  We can do both.  We can enhance our IT capabilities while doing a better job of protecting the integrity of that information. 

ExecutiveBiz:  What do you think of CIO Kundra’s new dashboard for IT spending in the federal government?  Do you think that the measures to increase governmental transparency in the stimulus spending?

Jim Moran:  I think it remains to be seen.  The jury is out.  I think the intention is great.  The follow through has yet to be proven but I think it is too early to reach an assessment.

ExecutiveBiz:  Is there anything else that you want to add?

Jim Moran:  Just that all of these issues are ongoing and it behooves the IT contractors particularly to work with my office and with Gerry Connolly’s and Steny Hoyer’s, people who represent large IT defense workforces.  The more participation and contact we have, the better results we get for all concerned.

First came the IT dashboard. Now comes judgment day. Federal CIO Kundra tells Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller that Aug. 7 is the day the CIO Council will analyze portfolios across agencies.

“This [Aug. 7 evaluation] will require first CIOs who may not have had power before to collect information and to vet the information,” says Kundra to Federal News Radio. “There is not a target in the number of projects that will be put on hold, but we want to make decisions that make sense.”

The upcoming evaluation comes on the heels of the VA’s decision to temporarily halt 45 information technology projects totaling $200 million this year; they’d either exceeded their budget or timeline this year. (To brush up on tips for keeping your IT projects on track, check out our recent piece with GDIT’s Woody Hall here.)

To hear Kundra’s talk, click on the player below (courtesy Federal News Radio):

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How can CIOs prep for the Aug. 7 evaluation? Share your comments here.

The post-9-11 world requires a different approach to cybersecurity — we all know that. Knowing what to do about it is the hard part. That’s where Dan Chenok comes in. By day, Chenok is a senior vice president and general manager at Pragmatics, Inc. Chenok has also served on several prominent boards, including the Technology Innovation and Government Reform Group with Vivek Kundra and Aneesh Chopra during the Obama presidential transition. These days, Chenok chairs the Federal Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, a 12-member public-private committee chartered by FISMA that advises the Department of Commerce and the Office of Management and Budget and reports to Congress on issues surrounding information security and privacy. The board recently issued a white paper, Toward a 21st Century Framework for Federal Government Privacy Policy, which suggests updating the Privacy Act of 1974 in light of technological advances. On the heels of that report, ExecutiveBiz caught up with Dan Chenok for ideas on balancing national security with privacy while strengthening cybersecurity.

ExecutiveBiz: Let’s start with the question of the day. How can we balance national security and civil liberties on the way to stronger cybersecurity?

Dan Chenok: That is a key question and has remained so for a long time. It’s only been magnified in the post-9-11 world and recently, because cybersecurity has really become an instrument not only of diplomacy but of potential warfare.  This can be seen in DoD’s coming up with cyber command. We’ve really seen the advent of a “need to share” world where civilian and national security agencies, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, are sharing information in different ways. That reality requires different approaches to cybersecurity to ensure that civilian missions around openness and transparency, on one hand, and privacy of information, on the other, are consistent with national security imperatives.

ExecutiveBiz: What’s your outlook on the government’s response to privacy concerns?

Dan Chenok: Having worked on the transition, I’m optimistic that the administration is moving in a positive direction and that openness and transparency will continue to be pursued at the same time. Privacy and security are certainly on the minds of everyone in government and industry.

ExecutiveBiz: Some people say FISMA is outdated; what’s the board’s take?

Dan Chenok: I think the primary element of FISMA — engaging senior management’s attention to cybersecurity — was instructive. FISMA remains an important part of any statutory framework going forward. That said, the board would agree that FISMA is in need of reform. FISMA has become too compliance-oriented in its application; rather than paying attention to improving real security both at the technical, operational, and management levels, a large, sometimes voluminous certification and accreditation [process] has become the focus of security activities. There are a number of bills in Congress from senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) that would refine the statute. I think we will see a lot of activity in this area, as well in reform, in the next session.

ExecutiveBiz: Turning to transparency, what do you think will emerge from the transparency government is now stressing?

Dan Chenok: From a contractor’s perspective, the transparency that Vivek Kundra and Aneesh Chopra are offering helps create a more competitive environment. The dashboard, for example, provides a real view into what the government is doing, what information is available on a program, and how it’s performing. The push for greater transparency also helps set the stage for contractors to develop innovations in key areas that government is looking to address.

ExecutiveBiz: How can government help foster innovation from the private sector?

Dan Chenok: I think it is a challenge because there are a number of requirements, whether legal, policy, or cultural, that have not let the private sector necessarily bring forward their best thinking. That said, I think that as the nation’s first chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra is doing a fine job of speaking to private sector leaders about bringing their best ideas to government in a spirit of partnership. I am optimistic about that.

ExecutiveBiz: What’s the board’s position on Web 2.0 and social networking in government?

Dan Chenok: That’s a great question. The board had a December conference that included a number of presentations on cybersecurity and cloud computing in terms of new technologies being promoted by the administration. Most recently, the board has been looking into the concept of Web 2.0 and the use of social media and cybersecurity. I was fortunate to speak at a recent DHS conference about this with a number of panel members. The board will continue to look at this issue because it is key to the administration — using technology to get information out to the American people in a private, secure manner.

ExecutiveBiz: Tell us about your day job at Pragmatics. What’s going on?

Dan Chenok: Pragmatics is in both the federal government civilian and defense space. We have a number of core competencies, including IT infrastructure management, software engineering and systems integration, systems engineering, information assurance, and program management support. We do a lot with agile software development, especially for DISA at DoD  and the Federal Aviation Administration. I run Pragmatics’ civilian agency business, and we have a lot of work with DHS through the EAGLE contract and other vehicles. We’re a CMMI Level 4 company, which means we’re always looking for continuous improvement in how we do business. While we continue to grow, we are always looking for new talent and areas to expand our service.

ExecutiveBiz: What is something most people don’t know about you personally?

Dan Chenok: I sing. I am a member of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, although I am on a bit of a sabbatical because of the age of my young children. I have been with that group since 1991. In fact, in 1995 I was a part of the recording of a piece by composer John Williams that ended up winning a Grammy Award for best classical album.

What do you think of Chenok’s take? Share your comments here.

Interview conducted by JD Kathuria.

Read more interviews here: http://blog.executivebiz.com/category/interviews/

Through the years, Symantec’s Jim Russell has offered this blunt assessment of FISMA: It lacks “teeth.” The current law’s inability to hold agencies accountable for data breaches, plus staff and budgetary issues, have driven inaction by many smaller agencies. Forty-two percent of them don’t even have dedicated IT staff. But the tide is turning. More frequent cybersecurity breaches, as well as the Obama administration’s reliance on a more open “Blackberry PDA-device world,” are contributing to increased IT budgets and staff. A stronger version of FISMA is likely to follow. “FISMA will get more teeth and will be enforced much more stringently,” predicts Russell, vice president of public sector at Symantec. In advance of that day, Russell recently offered ExecutiveBiz his take on how you can help smaller agencies develop a stronger cybersecurity posture — sooner rather than later.

1.) Identify each endpoint in the agency environment. Just a few years ago, an endpoint was a PC or laptop. No longer. These days, endpoints include devices such as Blackberries and cell phones. That’s why it’s so crucial to ask, “What’s the environment we’re trying to protect?’” “Understanding what’s out there as far as hardware as well as software is a challenge,” says Russell. “What we’ve found with some of the smaller agencies — and the actual work with contractors — is that although a comprehensive security strategy may be in place, points of vulnerability will always exist … which means protecting information is just as important as protecting endpoints.” In Symantec’s case, its acquisition of Vontu a few years ago now affords the company the ability to lock down personally identifiable information and engage in data loss prevention. “That’s what we want to see in a perfect cybersecurity world — prevention,” says Russell.

2.) Stay informed of the security landscape. “Staying informed is actually pretty easy as long as you have time to read reports on a regular basis,” says Russell. Along with Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report, a number of companies routinely put out reports that offer different ways of monitoring the threats: everything from internet traffic to what goes through military and unclassified networks. Also, the Department of Homeland Security’s US-CERT website provides links to various online services and reports.

3.) Use layered security. “Employ defense in-depth strategies including the deployment of antivirus software, firewalls, and security patch updates,” says Russell. “Attackers today are increasingly sophisticated and organized,” he adds, “smaller agencies need to augment these traditional antivirus solutions today with easy-to-use, all-in-one suites that protect critical business assets.”

4.) Back-up data. “No matter how much you buy or implement, you’re not going to have a completely 100 percent ‘safe security’ solution,” says Russell. “That’s why you need to back-up your data … [for example] say that someone is able to penetrate or compromise it, you must have a way to retrieve your data or, if need be, to close down things so that you can address the needs and get a separate copy of your data.”

How are you helping smaller agencies strengthen cybersecurity? Share your comments here.

If ever there were a time to get the long view on federal contracting, this is it. From competitive insourcing to fixed price contracts, these are days of change for the community. And few have the perspective on how to navigate them like Renny DiPentima, whose 40-year career spans both commercial and federal markets. Before retiring in April 2007, DiPentima served as president and CEO of SRA, which he helped grow from $135 million to over $1 billion. (“It was by no means directly attributable to me,” says DiPentima, “I was part of a team”). So, what does it take to maintain that kind of longevity — and growth —  in the industry? Here, in his own words, are five questions that DiPentima says government contractors, particularly systems integrators and professional services firms, should be asking themselves now.

DiPentima’s Five Must-Ask Questions

1.) Are my services inherently governmental? “I’m not as concerned about insourcing as other people might be,” says DiPentima. “I see how much the government everywhere relies on contractors to support what they’re doing. That said, if there is going to be insourcing, two areas most affected will be front-end policy, planning, and program management, and some infrastructure outsourcing. To the extent a company is providing services at the higher end of the pyramid (i.e., complex software systems, databases, cybersecurity solutions, etc.), they are going to be less affected than if they are providing more commoditized type work such as maintaining help desks.”

2.) Am I reading between the lines? “Within the federal government, the customers tell you what they want to buy; it’s in their budgets, it’s reflected in their RFIs and RFPs. At the same time, sometimes an agency states a solution in search of a problem. So, when you take a look at an RFP, it’s important to ask yourself: ‘What is the true problem or need that has resulted in this customer putting out an RFP?’ If, for example, the government says, ‘We would like to implement an HR system wrapped around something like PeopleSoft, the real question should be, ‘What is the real problem that this agency is facing that they believe this RFP is going to solve?’ You have to do more than just repeat back to them the words in their RFP.”

3.) Have I done due diligence? “You get insight [into RFPs] by doing your homework. That allows you to put the RFP into perspective. If I were going in to see a customer, I would read any GAO reports about that customer’s agency, as well as any published IG [U.S. Inspector General] reports. I would certainly read industry and news reports. I would do my homework so I knew that when I dealt with that customer, I could pretty much guess and describe the two or three things most on their mind.”

4.) Have I nailed down the requirements? “The biggest challenge, when you are working with a customer, is nailing down the requirements. If you look at most programs that get into difficulty, it’s almost always around the requirements part of the program. This issue becomes even more challenging in this environment of fixed price contracting; you can’t do fixed price contracting well without really understanding your customer’s requirements. So, it’s important to ask yourself: ‘Do I have a set of skilled facilitators who know how to talk, deal, and pose questions for the customer to find out their true needs?’ It’s around those requirements that you really start solidifying (or jeopardizing) your relationship with your customer.”

5.) Have I made my employees feel like they’re part of an exciting environment? “If you’re a systems integrator or professional services company, your people are your business. And in this business, they go home every night. You want to make sure they come back the next morning. The only way do that is to emphasize that, along with customer care and service, you have true care for your people. SRA calls it ‘Honesty in Service.’ Letting them know that you care about them as individuals is not something you can do on a calendar or schedule. You do it every single day, in every day exchanges, that demonstrate what you stand for: integrity, customer care, and employee care. Also, it’s important to remember: People want to belong to something larger than themselves; they want to feel as if they’re contributing to the success of their company and the government as a whole. Boy, if you can’t build morale around that, then there’s something wrong.”

How else can systems integrators and professional services firms stay relevant? Share your comments here.