The Government Technology Insider Podcast

State and local government agencies are facing an incredibly challenging situation. Nation-state threat actors are using automation to create endless waves of cyberattacks in an attempt to overwhelm agencies and increase their chances of a successful attack. To combat these attacks, many state and local agencies, such as the State of North Dakota, are turning to automation to beat cybercriminals at their own game. We sat down with Thomas MacLellan, Director of Government Affairs & Strategy at Palo Alto Networks, to discuss how having an automation-first mindset can help state and local governments to empower whole of state security.

The challenge of moving from public service to civilian life is one that weighs heavily on service members. The Department of Veterans Affairs has made strides toward easing the transition to veteran status with improvements to medical care and benefits administration, but the process of building a civilian career can be overwhelming. Finding ways to ease service members’ transition as they adapt to veteran status has become a priority for both retiring service personnel and the agencies that support them.The attention being paid to this issue appears to be paying off: there is plenty of good news for those retiring from military service, according to Matt Keller, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Chenega MIOS. We spoke to Keller about the challenges veterans face and strategies and opportunities for finding a new role and mission after a life of service.Military veterans are an untapped source of highly competent workers at a time when the U.S. labor market is struggling to identify qualified candidates for many open positions,” Keller said. “Once an Army veteran gets to the interview process, they stand out with their ability to learn quickly, adapt to change, and be mission-focused; three skills that are invaluable in the civilian market.”

When it comes to the modernization of federal services, taking a holistic approach to user experience could help agencies integrate technology seamlessly and securely. Government Technology Insider talked with Joe Jeter, Senior Vice President of Technology Services at Maximus, to discuss how using a total experience strategy can help agencies pair technology with human-centered design to create meaningful, personalized experiences. By unlocking a total experience strategy, agencies can take a holistic approach to modernizing federal services and programs in a way that is most impactful for their employees and other key stakeholders.“Total experience looks holistically at the landscape of … all of the surrounding people and interactions that happen in delivering a service to a user … [Then] instead of building it technology in, we built it people out," Jeter explained.

The digital evolution of government has taken on a new life as federal agencies work to meet the requirements set by the customer experience Executive Order. As agencies strive to use technology to create more customer-centric experiences, it’s vital that they establish a strong foundation to ensure modernization efforts are continuously evolving with the mission. Government Technology Insider talked with Katherine Peiffer, Chief Delivery Officer at COREONYX, who discussed how agencies can overcome modernization challenges and embrace the digital evolution.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is currently navigating the transition to commercial 5G networks while also exploring the integration of private networks as a foundational step toward wireless connectivity. The DoD aims to leverage commercial 5G in the future, when feasible, and complement it with private networks for targeted use cases. By using a combination of commercial and private networks, the DoD can provide optimal solutions for the military, which include enhancing Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) capabilities on military installations, as well as logistics, tracking, vehicle maintenance, and overall military missions.In this new podcast Bryan Schromsky, Managing Partner, 5G Public Sector at Verizon, and Mike Loomis, General Manager of Nokia Federal, discuss the benefits of both private networks and commercial networks for the DoD.

Employing qualified candidates to work in government is a challenge that federal agencies have been grappling with for years. In addition, agencies are also struggling with the impacts of the pandemic-era surge in retirements. However, as a result of the recent layoffs in the tech industry, thousands of skilled workers are now looking for new opportunities. We talked with Teresa Weipert, Maximus’s General Manager of Federal Services, to discuss how companies, like Maximus, are working with federal agencies to drive workforce innovation. In the conversation, Weipert discussed how agencies should focus on finding qualified candidates with diverse skillsets and knowledge who can integrate easily into the government workforce. “At Maximus we’ve made it a priority to bring in the right people who are aligned to our strategic plan and the pillars of our business,” Weipert said. “Bringing together a diverse skill set, the right knowledge base, and experiences enables us – and our clients – to innovate.” When federal agencies invest in improving the employee experience, it results in better employee retention rates, better outcomes for customer programs, and creates a workplace culture that inspires innovative thinking. By providing more incentives and hybrid work opportunities, federal agencies will be able to build teams that drive mission success and foster the modernization of government service delivery.

At the end of 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) released its Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap, which highlighted the four key goals of Zero Trust Cultural Adoption, DoD Information Systems Secured and Defended, Technology Acceleration, and Zero Trust Enablement.With several federal agencies releasing Zero Trust frameworks and strategies, breaking down the guidelines and building a roadmap that establishes greater Zero Trust maturity is essential. However, with many Zero Trust models and cybersecurity strategies out there, defense agencies need to know which one is the best to secure their overall infrastructure.These were the key themes of our latest Government Technology Insider podcast exploring the DoD’s new Zero Trust strategy. In this episode, Wes Withrow, Public Sector Solutions Executive with Verizon; and Patrick Perry, Senior Director Strategic Initiatives at Zscaler, discussed how defense agencies can create roadmaps for bringing this new Zero Trust strategy to life.

In the brave new world of federal IT, two things are certain; hybrid work is here to stay and the cloud will remain a fundamental aspect of the ecosystem. For federal agencies facing a new wave of technology, the prospect of both hybrid work and the cloud is equally exciting as worrying. Uniquely created legacy systems, specific risk factors, and highly sensitive data all require the utmost security from agencies’ IT teams, but equally, those teams must embrace the future of federal IT security solutions.It is at this nexus that many agencies find themselves at the moment. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice between security and efficacy, agencies may find it hard to believe that modern government IT security solutions can account for both. However, that is precisely the case.When utilized effectively, modern IT security solutions can embrace frameworks that enable both citizens and employees easy access to required documents while ensuring their security is never compromised. This is due in large part to the widespread adoption of frameworks like Zero Trust which has received assent from the White House, various executive agencies, and the industry writ large.Joining Government Technology Insider to better explain how a modern federal IT security solution can enable cybersecurity and efficacy, are Lamont Copeland, Managing Director of Federal Solutions Architecture at Verizon Business Group, and Don Wiggins, Senior Global Solutions Architect at Equinix.

5G network slicing can allow federal agencies to create private, secure, and customized logical networks. Network slicing can enable agencies to tailor the network to meet mission specific needs, helping to guarantee resource availability, and enable quality of service based on the application and use case. This can be used when one application sends a private file with the ability for other 5G network slices to deliver additional packets simultaneously. It is the idea that a network can have the attributes needed when required, with the ability to simultaneously change and support slices on the same device and same bandwidth.These were the key themes of our new Government Technology Insider podcast about how 5G network slicing can enable future mission success for agencies. Host Matt Langan talked with Troy Mitchell, National Security Team Account Manager, Verizon, and Stephen Booher, Principal for 5G Solutions at Booz Allen Hamilton, about the 5G network slicing-enabled future. Both executives also discussed particular use cases for agencies, and how each slice is an isolated end-to-end tailorable network.

Increasing the connectivity federal agencies have at satellite and remote offices has been a priority for many years. However, the last three years have really accentuated the importance of driving a connection between work spaces. One solution that's gaining traction is Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). Federal agencies, including the FBI, have already set their eyes on FWA and the capabilities it will support. With funds from the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) program, the FBI allocated more than $400 million to improve network availability through the use of 4G LTE and 5G FWA. As other agencies discover the benefits of FWA, they are following suit.These were the key themes of the recent Government Technology Insider “Driving Connection in the Era of Remote Work: Fixed Wireless Access Enables Agencies to Link Satellite and Remote Offices” podcast, where Rose Mata, Associate Director, Federal Mobility Solutions at Verizon; and Dave Butta, Managing Partner, Federal Government Sales at Verizon, discuss the benefits of FWA for linking satellite and remote offices.