GovLoop

Is Government’s ‘Cloud First’ policy more like ‘Cloud When?’ – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 stories

Emily Jarvis

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

But Up First: Big Data

The New York Times today reviewed the book, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier. On GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER earlier this year, we spoke with Mayer-Schönberger: Big Data revolution, changing the way we live, work and think.

NYT Writes:

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

  1. For critics, government’s ‘Cloud First’ policy reads like ‘Cloud When?’ The Wall Street Journal reports, two-and-a-half years after the White House mandated all agencies “take full advantage of the cloud,” critics say the program’s success is difficult to assess because key indicators were not tracked. “What’s the extent that we’ve migrated to the cloud and what are the savings?” David Powner, director of information management issues for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, tells the WSJ. “We don’t know the magnitude because the right metrics aren’t being tracked.”
  2. Sen. Rob Portman is demanding answers from the Veterans Affairs Department following revelations that nearly half a million electronic records, including active loan files, were deleted from a VA computer system last month as a result of human error, reports Federal Times.
  3. Federal contractor Booz Allen stock tumbled Monday at one point by as much as 5 percent after the company confirmed it employed Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old Maryland man who has claimed to be the source of new details about classified U.S. surveillance programs. Federal Times reports, Snowden’s leaks to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers have shed light on government programs collecting data on millions of Americans’ phone and Internet usage.
  4. The website that is supposed to track agencies’ performance on key missions is having an identity crisis of sorts. The Government Accountability Office says the White House has yet to clarify what Performance.gov is supposed to do or what audience it is meant for. For example, are agencies supposed to refer to the website to coordinate their strategies? Or is the site for the public? The Office of Management and Budget says the site is becoming more public-facing and citizen-centric, reports Federal News Radio.
  5. George Washington University honored 13 feds for career achievements. GW hands out the Arthur S Flemming awards to current federal employees with between three and 15 years of service. The winners included top scientists, three Justice Department attorneys and an intelligence expert on disruptive events, reports Federal News Radio.
  6. At least a dozen children or other relatives of Energy Department officials have received summer jobs at the department. Inspector General Gregory Friedman says the jobs are an apparent violation of federal nepotism rules. Friedman says one senior official called a dozen colleagues, looking to place his three college-aged children in jobs.
  7. And on GovLoop: Here is a staggering stat: 130 millions Americans own a smartphone, including roughly 1 out of 2 adults. That’s a technology that wasn’t even around 5 years ago. So how can government leverage this technology to connect, engage and empower government employees and the general public? Tune in to find out with the DorobekINISDER LIVE panel on June 26th at noon ET. Register for the free online webinar now.

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder

Want More GovLoop Content? Sign Up For Email Updates

Exit mobile version