TechWonk Blog Subsection
TechWonk Blog
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The Senate takes up its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) this week, leading many in the federal contracting community to quickly analyze provisions that could affect federal contractors. From a proposed restructuring at the Department of Defense鈥檚 (DOD) Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) branch, to a complete overhaul of the DOD鈥檚 Cost [...]
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After several months of patient work, 91快活林 saw important results in the forward-leaning cybersecurity principles document issued at the G7 Leaders Summit held in Japan last week. The principles document closely follows a more comprehensive statement developed at the G7 ICT ministerial April 29-30 in Takamatsu, which 91快活林 supported through various discussions, events, and written statements, including [...]
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Tomorrow, lawmakers will be sitting down to hear about a brewing problem in the federal government: Uncle Sam鈥檚 addiction to outdated and antiquated legacy information technology (IT) systems that cost taxpayers an estimated 80 percent of the annual IT budget each year. It鈥檚 an issue the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS), a division of 91快活林, and our member technology companies have advocated solutions [...]
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Emerging from their first meeting in 20 years, G7 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministers agreed on a new global approach to ICT policy over the weekend in Takamatsu, Japan. They announced agreement on two documents: 1) a G7 鈥淐harter for the Digitally Connected World;鈥� and 2) a 鈥淛oint Declaration,鈥� which is a government-led action plan for implementing the Charter. Both of these documents [...]
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This week, many of the most dynamic companies around the globe will descend on northern Germany for Hannover Messe, the world鈥檚 largest industrial trade fair. These firms will showcase the cutting-edge technologies behind a new generation of digital factories, smart grids, industrial robots, and advanced materials manufacturing. Yet Hannover Messe is not only about exhibiting products and doing business [...]
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Consumer technology has changed immensely over the past twenty years because of competition. But the video set-top box market is an area where this has not been the case. With few exceptions, navigating video on a box provided by your pay-TV provider reflects the same experience a consumer would have experienced in the mid-90s. That is why 91快活林 filed comments today in the Federal Communications Commission [...]
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On this Earth Day, it's time to move beyond debating climate change and get to work rolling up our sleeves and tapping the best and brightest minds so we can tackle this challenge. For too long, taking action on climate change has been the can kicked down the road because some feared solving this problem could hinder economic growth. However, for the past two years, carbon emissions have fallen, while [...]
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With the federal government鈥檚 increasing reliance on information technology (IT) and software solutions as a central element to carrying out its mission and delivering services to citizens, the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) understands OMB鈥檚 efforts to address open source software. This week the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) closed the comment period on their draft Federal Source Code [...]
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H-1B visas allow companies to hire highly skilled immigrants who are a valuable part of the U.S. economy and yesterday, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the agency reached its congressionally mandated H-1B visa cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2017, as well as more than the 20,000 H-1B petition limit the agency can allocate under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. This news came [...]
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The IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) recently sent a letter to the Arizona Department of Administration opposing its decision to include Most Favored Customer (MFC) language in future open bid opportunities. This restrictive contract clause is of major concern to the information technology (IT) industry because it substantially decreases competition, significantly increases procurement cycles, [...]
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