Articles by John K. Higgins

U.S. government agencies are moving quickly to incorporate social media into their IT programs. For organizations with huge public constituencies, adopting Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as major communication channels makes a lot of sense. However, in the rush to utilize social media, federal agencies have had some misfires in their handling of privacy and security requirements...

The old sports maxim "There is no 'I' in team" is getting repackaged for use in the U.S. government's approach to acquiring information technology and related services. Federal agencies are being urged to utilize a team approach as they collectively spend US$80 billion per year for IT products and services The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (...

The U.S. government is actively pursuing a major shift in information technology operations that emphasizes the use of cloud technology. While this effort eventually may reduce the amount of "on-site" electronic equipment used by federal agencies, other forces are at work that will keep the government's demand for electronic devices and components at a high level. Throughout the federal government, agencies are shifting to using more portable devices such as laptops, cellphones, netbooks and tablets...

The Congressional debate over the U.S. budget has been in the limelight for months, but other critical issues are proving difficult to resolve as well. A case in point is the goal of lawmakers to develop a comprehensive national cybersecurity policy. There are many conflicting approaches to the issue, including a proposal offered by the Obama administration, a Senate bill, suggestions emanating from the House and trade group recommendations...

Federal agencies will be much more careful in how they spend taxpayer funds for information technology in the future. Proposed budget cuts and a new White House initiative designed to cut US$6 billion in professional services contracting underscore a significant change in IT procurement Agencies will not only be more parsimonious regarding how much...

As Washington hunkers down for an era of tight federal budgets, information technology vendors can take some comfort in a projected modest rate of growth in federal IT investments. Between 2011 and 2016, federal spending for IT should grow by 12 percent, in total, for an average compound annual rate of growth of about 1.7 percent. Even with those ...

When the U.S. government goes to the market for information technology, various contracting mechanisms come into play. In fact, as IT evolves, contracting follows, witness recent efforts at the General Services Administration to develop special procurement vehicles for both cloud technology and wireless services However, a key factor in procurement...

Competing for federal contracts is tough -- and protesting the award of a federal contract may be even tougher. But a ruling by a federal agency appears to have improved the ability of all vendors -- not just IT firms -- to utilize key legal channels for protesting the award of federal contracts One of those channels is the General Accountability O...

The mushrooming use of wireless devices by the general public has spilled over to the federal government as agencies try to match their employees' personal use of mobile equipment with similar devices for use on the job. An emerging issue in federal mobile media use is that there is no overall government acquisition mechanism for acquiring wireless capabilities in any rational fashion...

Protecting sensitive information in the electronic age is a critical matter -- but the question of what the term "critical" really means has become a vexing problem for lawmakers dealing with cybersecurity issues. Equally challenging is defining the role that government should play in protecting all parties engaged in the use of information technology.

Thousands of federal employees will be using cloud-based email systems as government agencies take their first steps in meeting a mandate to inaugurate cloud services within their information technology systems. The White House has directed 25 large agencies to launch at least one cloud-migration project by the end of the year and two more by mid-2012...

Federal chief information officers appear to be heeding the unofficial Missouri state slogan: "I'm from Missouri -- Show Me." In a challenging time for procurement of IT systems and services, CIOs are trying to adopt improved methods for acquiring and managing information resources. In a recent survey of CIOs, federal officials charged with IT ope...

Information technology providers and politicians on both sides of the aisle are applauding the Obama administration for wading into the complex issue of cybersecurity. The administration issued its package of Internet security legislative proposals last week, spurring hopes that the U.S. Congress would approve a comprehensive national program this year...

Vendors seeking to provide cloud-based information technology to federal agencies now have some idea of the potential market for their offerings. The General Services Administration (GSA) has asked vendors to submit bid and qualification information that could lead to their selection as contractors for email systems operating via cloud platforms. ...

A key element in the shifting political winds in Washington is a call for less business regulation, especially from the conservative wing of the now ascendant Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. But one leading Republican last week tossed that mantra aside and launched into a tirade of criticism of Internet enterprises and pr...

The Obama administration has come up with a proposal for both improving and simplifying identity protection for consumers using the Internet, computers, and mobile devices. The plan would greatly reduce the need for consumers to use and remember multiple passwords or fill out separate privacy forms for multiple online accounts The administration's ...

The budget deal worked out between the White House and Congress for the 2011 fiscal year will directly impact the federal e-government program. The spending agreement will put a severe crimp in a program that bolsters government transparency efforts, as well as initiatives designed to modernize IT management, according to supporters of the e-government initiative...

In the competitive federal information technology market, Google thought it was a good idea to challenge the U.S. Interior Department on a potentially rich procurement for hosted messaging services. Google claimed that Interior failed to observe government contracting policies by focusing on Microsoft offerings to the exclusion of Google's products...

Vendors competing for federal information technology contracts are required to meet a broad array of standards reflected in much of industry jargon, such as cybersecurity, interoperability and scalability. Technical factors are critical, of course. At a Senate hearing last week, however, it became clear that as the federal government strives to im...

Government reform initiatives are frequently long on saying, and short on doing. White papers and strategic plans are the stuff of good intentions, but actual implementation is often elusive The ambitious goal of the Obama administration to improve information technology management and procurement at the federal level is as vulnerable to gradual sp...