From the Presidential Election to HR Technology – the Year of Disruption
Let’s look at five key shortcomings of agency legacies, and how they will inspire advancements to define 2016 as a year of disruption for federal HR technology.
Posts Tagged: procurement
DorobekINSIDER: Why Government Fails – a List
Why do government systems fail? That is essentially the question raised by MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough following word that IRS data got hacked. MSNBC’s Morning Joe on government IT problems The short but exceedingly provocative discussion that followed spurred me to think: How would I answer that question? What are the big obstaclesRead… Read more »
Why Your Agency Should Consider a “Procurement Pilot”
Pictured: RFP-EZ, a pilot project in federal IT procurement. If you’re a follower of the Department of Better Technology and our blog, you know that we’re a bit obsessed about government procurement – in fact, some of our most widely-shared posts have been on the subject. But when Clay and I first met in 2012 during ourRead… Read more »
A Government Acquisitions Supercenter
Superstores like Target, Walmart, and Costco are hugely popular. You make one stop, and you can get everything on your list – from car tires, to fresh produce, to a sofa, to a pair of sneakers. However, it can be exhausting to wander around and find a particular item, especially when there doesn’t seem toRead… Read more »
Government Managers as Risk-Takers? Not So Much
Wunderkind Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about risk taking: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.[1]” And yet a recent government-industry conference[2] included a discussion on the question of whether federal leaders will take onRead… Read more »
Overcoming Barriers to Cloud Procurement
The government is taking it steady in its relationship with cloud services. It started off with basic awareness but now govies are almost in the mindset to adopt cloud on a wide scale. There has been a significant amount of federal government spending on cloud solutions in recent years and the GSA has even releasedRead… Read more »
Fire, Army and Cloud – What They Have in Common
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! Ok, not the roof, but during GovLoop, Vion and Hitachi Data Systems’ federal cloud procurement event, the basement was literally on fire. And while the jokes were obvious – a topic so hot it burst into flames – the fiery atmosphere did cut the wonderful eventRead… Read more »
Cloud Procurement: Looking For Solutions
Cloud is, ironically, a cloudy topic. At the February 19 in-person GovLoop training event entitled “Buying the Cloud: Procurement Made Easy” the opening keynote speaker, Mark Day, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Integrated Technology Services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, kicked off the event by sharing with the audience the challenges facing theRead… Read more »
Walk the Walk of Cloud Procurement
At our event, Buying the Cloud – Procurement Made Easy, we heard from a number of experts about how current acquisitions processes, forms, and procedures impede agencies from effectively procuring cloud models. Some argued they weren’t flexible enough to fit new service models. Others said they were not specific enough to individual agency needs, thus requiring significantRead… Read more »
“Follow the FAR? Hah – Don’t Make Me Laugh”
These were the words of a career procurement specialist who shall remain unnamed, at an agency that shall remain unnamed, as the point is not to embarrass an individual or agency so much as it is to identify an attitude that is all too widespread in the federal procurement and contract management world. And ifRead… Read more »