FedRAMP Accelerated

On Monday, the U.S. General Services Administration’s Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) brought together over 400 cloud services providers (CSPs), third party assessors (3PAOs), and federal officials at GSA’s headquarters and via livestream to unveil FedRAMP Accelerated, a new faster authorization process with the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). FedRAMP Accelerated will reduce the time it takes CSPs to earn FedRAMP authorization by 75 percent — in as little as 3 months, without compromising the program’s rigorous security standards.

Spotlight

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT. Headed by an Administrator who is appointed by the President of the United States, the FTA functions through a Washington, D.C., headquarters office and ten regional offices which assist transit agencies in all states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Until 1991, it was known as the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA).

OTHER ARTICLES

Wastewater projects can rarely be delayed; contracting opportunities are abundant

Article | May 27, 2021

Wastewater is an integral part of public infrastructure, and contracting opportunities related to wastewater projects often represent multi-million-dollar efforts. However, because of their very nature, wastewater projects are often overlooked by companies. The projects, for some reason, rarely merit the type of visibility that road, bridge, and rail projects receive. The COVID-19 pandemic has curbed many things, including public initiatives, but numerous wastewater projects continue to be launched because they are considered critical. Almost all wastewater projects are necessary to either maintain or expand services that citizens must have without interruption. The following represents only a fraction of wastewater-related infrastructure project opportunities currently being planned throughout the U.S. Nebraska In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration awarded South Sioux City a $12.2 million grant for a wastewater treatment plant. The project, which will support business growth, will be launched in an area that suffered severe flood damage in 2019. The new plant will be built near an opportunity zone, and the grant, which will be matched with another $12.2 million in local funding, should result in the creation of about 60 jobs. This opportunity will move quickly because the completion date and the timeline established for full operation is less than two and a half years. Arizona The city of Buckeye has appropriated $3.1 million for construction of an additional discharge point for the Sundance Wastewater Reclamation Facility. Planning and design of the facility is scheduled to begin soon, and construction is planned for the city’s upcoming fiscal year. The city of Goodyear has announced plans to install wastewater collection lines as part of a 10-year infrastructure improvement plan which is necessary to support population growth. Funding for this project has been secured, and the city will invest more than $20.5 million in this particular construction project. Oklahoma One of the challenges with operating any wastewater treatment plant is odor control. In Oklahoma City, the water utilities trust has set aside $5.3 million in fiscal year 2021 to deal with that issue. Due to robust development within close proximity of treatment plants and lift stations, the city will install new odor control systems at various wastewater plants in areas where they are needed. To augment water supply and to expand the water reuse system, Oklahoma City also has planned other wastewater reuse improvements. A total of $31.4 million has been budgeted for these purposes. Oregon With the help of a $2.45 million Community Development Block Grant, the city of Ontario will, in the near future, enter the construction phase of a project to improve its wastewater system. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality requires that wastewater discharge into the Snake River be at a limit for arsenic that is lower than the federal drinking water standard. To meet those requirements, the city has completed the final design and environmental assessment of wastewater system improvement needs and almost is ready to begin construction. Officials announced in July that funding has been secured. Minnesota In the city of Shakopee near Minneapolis, the Blue Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant produces Class A fertilizer. The decades-old wastewater solids drying facility is nearing the end of its useful life, and city officials have budgeted $3.1 million in plant design improvements for fiscal year 2021. The cost projection for the construction, which will follow quickly, has been estimated at $45.9 million. Completion of this project may extend over several years. The cities of Lake Elmo and Woodbury are collaborating on a project that will provide interceptor facilities to convey wastewater from portions of each city to the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul. The estimated $5.6 million project budgeted for fiscal year 2021 calls for reconstruction of the Wilmes Lake force main. The project is critical because of population growth in this eastern portion of the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Both design and construction are scheduled to commence in fiscal year 2021. Texas The North Texas Municipal Water District, which serves customers in several DFW-area cities, has several wastewater projects slated for the summer and fall. The various projects include a $20 million improvement project for the South Mesquite Regional Wastewater Plant and a $50 million plus project to improve drainage at the Wilson Creek Regional Wastewater Plant. These projects are moving quickly, and interested contracting firms should seek more detailed information immediately. Washington The state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund has awarded a $66 million low-interest loan to the city of Seattle for a Ship Canal Water Quality Project that consists of constructing a storage tunnel between the Ballard and Wallingford neighborhoods. The large-scale project will significantly reduce sewer outflows in the ship canal. The project, a joint effort between Seattle Public Utilities and the King County Department of Natural Resources, is slated for fiscal year 2021. The Eastsound Sewer and Water District has been granted $4.9 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and has announced plans to upgrade its existing wastewater treatment facility. This project is necessary to address aging equipment, future flow and loading capacity, current standards for redundancy and reliability, and discharge permit requirements. This project also is scheduled for fiscal year 2021. Water, in all its many uses, is a precious asset, and when water issues are combined with environmental requirements, demand issues, or aging infrastructure, there is no option to delay necessary repair or expansion. Contracting opportunities for water projects throughout the country in the next decade will be exceedingly abundant. Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.

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Government Business

Coronavirus Relief Blows Up the Federal Budget

Article | March 11, 2022

We’re starting to get the first independent analysis of the impact of the measures the U.S. Congress has passed to provide relief will have on the U.S. government’s fiscal situation. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is first out of the gate with its preliminary findings, here is their main takeaway: Our latest projections find that under current law, budget deficits will total more than $3.8 trillion (18.7 percent of GDP) this year and $2.1 trillion (9.7 percent of GDP) in 2021. We project debt held by the public will exceed the size of the economy by the end of Fiscal Year 2020 and eclipse the prior record set after World War II by 2023. Keep in mind that prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government was planning to spend $4.8 trillion in its 2020 fiscal year, borrowing $1.1 trillion. With the CRFB’s estimate of $3.8 trillion, the U.S. government will be borrowing more than the $3.7 trillion it had hoped to collect in taxes for the year.

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Emerging Technology

Congress considers COVID recovery bond program

Article | July 13, 2022

While congressional leaders work diligently to develop the next COVID recovery bill, other interesting legislation also is being discussed. Many of the conversations focus on public funding options after COVID-19. There are no disagreements when it comes understanding the critical funding needs that will be front and center for cities, counties, states, schools, and hospitals as the country begins to emerge from a total focus on the coronavirus. Many public projects and initiatives will have to be addressed. First of all, crumbling, inefficient and unsafe infrastructure, of all types, must be a priority. Secondly, jobs will be a critical component of the successful re-establishment of economic stability. It is already apparent that a great deal of new funding will flow to long-standing federal programs. That’s a good thing because public officials already are aware of how those programs function. However, a number of new bills under discussion relate to the provision of additional and innovative ways for governmental entities to secure funding for projects that would stimulate the economy, create jobs, and address aging infrastructure. One particularly interesting new concept being evaluated is tax-exempt COVID recovery bonds. The current discussions focus on a federal COVID recovery bonding program that would be launched with approximately $25 billion. A small number of states have already initiated programs such as this on a smaller scale. The funding would be allocated to states based on population. From the governor’s office in each state, funding could be disbursed for projects of specific types. If COVID recovery bonds become a reality, the program would provide another way for public entities to secure funding that does not come solely from public coffers. Individual private sector contractors, investors, and organizations would provide the funding and work collaboratively with public officials. This program would be somewhat similar to private activity bonds which provide alternative funding for public initiatives. The new COVID recovery bonds would be tax exempt when used for permitted purposes such as financing airport, port, transportation, sewage, water, solid waste disposal, certain facilities, and other projects. In the following weeks and months, taxpayers and citizens should watch with eager anticipation. Congressional actions will boost America’s economic recovery and stabilize governmental organizations throughout the country. Inaction is a possibility, too, but that would risk missing out on recovery opportunities. Congressional representatives base their actions and their votes on input from constituents they represent. There are times when citizens, whatever their opinions, should provide input to elected representatives. This is one of those times. Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.

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Creating Public Value using the AI-Driven Internet of Things

Article | May 26, 2021

Government agencies seek to deliver quality services in increasingly dynamic and complex environments. However, outdated infrastructures—and a shortage of sys­tems that collect and use massive real-time data—make it challenging for the agencies to fulfill their missions. Governments have a tremendous opportunity to transform public services using the “Internet of Things” (IoT) to provide situation-specific and real-time data, which can improve decision-making and optimize operational effectiveness.

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Spotlight

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT. Headed by an Administrator who is appointed by the President of the United States, the FTA functions through a Washington, D.C., headquarters office and ten regional offices which assist transit agencies in all states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Until 1991, it was known as the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA).

Related News

Emerging Technology

SuccessKPI Achieves FedRAMP Authorization

SuccessKPI | December 12, 2022

SuccessKPI, Inc., a cloud-native contact center customer experience insight and action platform provider, today announced that they have achieved FedRAMP authorization at a moderate impact level through the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). FedRAMP (Federal Risk Authorization Management Program) is a United States federal government program providing a standardized methodology for security assessment, authorization, and monitoring of cloud products and services. The JAB provides authorization for certified cloud platforms for use by government agencies. "SuccessKPI is an essential part of our cloud-based Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) analytics offerings. Their suite of AI and ML powered solutions help us collaborate with our partners to drive operational efficiencies and improve the citizen experience." -Andy Beamon, Senior Vice President, Total Experience Technologies, Maximus. Maximus is a leader in government customer engagement center practices, offering omni-channel technologies and professional consulting services to improve the customer experience through automation and operational performance. Maximus moves people forward and enables successful mission outcomes. As agency missions continue to require increased levels of service for citizens, faster decision making, and decisive action on the front lines, the SuccessKPI platform brings a full suite of tools to meet these challenges. The SuccessKPI platform combines a business intelligence layer, data lake architecture, speech and text analytics, quality management, and automation tools specially designed for large customer engagement centers. "We are delighted to continue to expand our partnership with Maximus to support government digital transformation, FedRAMP authorization serves as further validation of our joint commitment to our Federal customers." -David Rennyson, President and CEO of SuccessKPI. About SuccessKPI: SuccessKPI is a revolutionary on-demand experience analytics software provider enabling organizations to utilize artificial intelligence and automation to improve business outcomes and transform customer experiences. SuccessKPI's insight and action platform removes the obstacles that agents, managers, and executives encounter in delivering exceptional customer service. We are trusted by some of the world's largest government, BPO, financial, healthcare, and technology contact centers in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. About Maximus: As a leading strategic partner to governments across the globe, Maximus helps improve the delivery of public services amid complex technology, health, economic, environmental, and social challenges. With a deep understanding of program service delivery, acute insights that achieve operational excellence, and an extensive awareness of the needs of the people being served, our employees advance the critical missions of our partners. Maximus delivers innovative business process management, impactful consulting services, and technology solutions that provide improved outcomes for the public and higher levels of productivity and efficiency of government-sponsored programs.

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Emerging Technology,Cybersecurity

IronNet Prioritized by FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board to Pursue Provisional Authority to Operate

IronNet | December 06, 2022

IronNet, Inc. (NYSE: IRNT), an innovative leader Transforming Cybersecurity Through Collective DefenseSM, announced today it has been prioritized by the United States Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) to pursue a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) from the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). FedRAMP is a government-wide program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment for cloud technologies and federal agencies. As the primary governance and decision-making body for FedRAMP, the JAB is comprised of the Chief Information Officers from the Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, and Department of Defense. “Prioritization to pursue a P-ATO is an important step towards expanding the deployment of the IronNet Collective Defense platform into more federal agencies. As cyber attacks become increasingly more sophisticated, any organization that is still attempting to defend its networks alone is accepting unnecessary risk, Our unique Collective Defense platform includes advanced behavioral analytics and leverages a sophisticated expert system to reduce false positives in order to defend against global cyber attacks. We’re committed to the FedRAMP process to deliver this protection to government agencies at scale as we continue working together to strengthen our nation’s cyber defense.” -General (Ret.) Keith Alexander, CEO and Founder of IronNet. The goal of the FedRAMP program is to grow the use of secure cloud technologies in use by government agencies and enhance the framework by which the government secures and authorizes cloud technologies. IronNet is pursuing FedRAMP High certification to help protect the government’s most sensitive, unclassified data in cloud computing environments. The IronNet Collective Defense platform, powered by AWS, identifies anomalous behaviors and delivers actionable attack intelligence to all the other participants in the IronNet community. The Collective Defense platform serves as an early warning system for all participating companies and organizations, strengthening network security through correlated alerts, automated triage, and extended hunt support. About IronNet, Inc: Founded in 2014 by GEN (Ret.) Keith Alexander, IronNet, Inc. (NYSE: IRNT) is a global cybersecurity leader that is transforming how organizations secure their networks by delivering the first-ever Collective Defense platform operating at scale. Employing a number of former NSA cybersecurity operators with offensive and defensive cyber experience, IronNet integrates deep tradecraft knowledge into its industry-leading products to solve the most challenging cyber problems facing the world today.

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Emerging Technology

OpenText Achieves FedRAMP 'In Process' Designation

OpenText | November 22, 2022

OpenText™ (NASDAQ: OTEX), (TSX: OTEX), a global leader in information management, today announced it has achieved the "In Process" designation for its OpenText Cloud for Government offering as one of the initial steps in the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization process. The FedRAMP program promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security authorization for cloud service offerings. The authorization process includes an in-depth examination of a solution's data security and data governance capabilities, as well as the security practices of its cloud services. The OpenText Cloud for Government offering includes OpenText™ Extended Enterprise Content Management (xECM) Platform and OpenText™ AppWorks™, two core business applications within the OpenText Content Services information management portfolio. OpenText is committed to making its entire portfolio of market leading Content Services and Experience software products available as FedRAMP Authorized cloud solutions. "The availability of FedRAMP Authorized information management cloud solutions from OpenText is a crucial step towards transforming the citizen experience across U.S government agencies, Cloud for Government combines content capture, storage, and document organization with archiving, records management, and imaging on a FedRAMP-compliant platform." -Mark J. Barrenechea, CEO & CTO at OpenText. The shift to cloud computing offers several important benefits including reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Lowering TCO enables organizations to shift focus and investment to their core, high-impact missions rather than on data center operations and application management. We're also excited by the potential for our information management cloud solutions to accelerate the pace of innovation, further enhancing the citizen's experience, said Michael Beck, President, US Public Sector at OpenText. About OpenText: OpenText, The Information Company™, enables organizations to gain insight through market-leading information management solutions, powered by OpenText Cloud Editions.

Read More

Emerging Technology

SuccessKPI Achieves FedRAMP Authorization

SuccessKPI | December 12, 2022

SuccessKPI, Inc., a cloud-native contact center customer experience insight and action platform provider, today announced that they have achieved FedRAMP authorization at a moderate impact level through the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). FedRAMP (Federal Risk Authorization Management Program) is a United States federal government program providing a standardized methodology for security assessment, authorization, and monitoring of cloud products and services. The JAB provides authorization for certified cloud platforms for use by government agencies. "SuccessKPI is an essential part of our cloud-based Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) analytics offerings. Their suite of AI and ML powered solutions help us collaborate with our partners to drive operational efficiencies and improve the citizen experience." -Andy Beamon, Senior Vice President, Total Experience Technologies, Maximus. Maximus is a leader in government customer engagement center practices, offering omni-channel technologies and professional consulting services to improve the customer experience through automation and operational performance. Maximus moves people forward and enables successful mission outcomes. As agency missions continue to require increased levels of service for citizens, faster decision making, and decisive action on the front lines, the SuccessKPI platform brings a full suite of tools to meet these challenges. The SuccessKPI platform combines a business intelligence layer, data lake architecture, speech and text analytics, quality management, and automation tools specially designed for large customer engagement centers. "We are delighted to continue to expand our partnership with Maximus to support government digital transformation, FedRAMP authorization serves as further validation of our joint commitment to our Federal customers." -David Rennyson, President and CEO of SuccessKPI. About SuccessKPI: SuccessKPI is a revolutionary on-demand experience analytics software provider enabling organizations to utilize artificial intelligence and automation to improve business outcomes and transform customer experiences. SuccessKPI's insight and action platform removes the obstacles that agents, managers, and executives encounter in delivering exceptional customer service. We are trusted by some of the world's largest government, BPO, financial, healthcare, and technology contact centers in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. About Maximus: As a leading strategic partner to governments across the globe, Maximus helps improve the delivery of public services amid complex technology, health, economic, environmental, and social challenges. With a deep understanding of program service delivery, acute insights that achieve operational excellence, and an extensive awareness of the needs of the people being served, our employees advance the critical missions of our partners. Maximus delivers innovative business process management, impactful consulting services, and technology solutions that provide improved outcomes for the public and higher levels of productivity and efficiency of government-sponsored programs.

Read More

Emerging Technology,Cybersecurity

IronNet Prioritized by FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board to Pursue Provisional Authority to Operate

IronNet | December 06, 2022

IronNet, Inc. (NYSE: IRNT), an innovative leader Transforming Cybersecurity Through Collective DefenseSM, announced today it has been prioritized by the United States Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) to pursue a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) from the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). FedRAMP is a government-wide program that promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security and risk assessment for cloud technologies and federal agencies. As the primary governance and decision-making body for FedRAMP, the JAB is comprised of the Chief Information Officers from the Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, and Department of Defense. “Prioritization to pursue a P-ATO is an important step towards expanding the deployment of the IronNet Collective Defense platform into more federal agencies. As cyber attacks become increasingly more sophisticated, any organization that is still attempting to defend its networks alone is accepting unnecessary risk, Our unique Collective Defense platform includes advanced behavioral analytics and leverages a sophisticated expert system to reduce false positives in order to defend against global cyber attacks. We’re committed to the FedRAMP process to deliver this protection to government agencies at scale as we continue working together to strengthen our nation’s cyber defense.” -General (Ret.) Keith Alexander, CEO and Founder of IronNet. The goal of the FedRAMP program is to grow the use of secure cloud technologies in use by government agencies and enhance the framework by which the government secures and authorizes cloud technologies. IronNet is pursuing FedRAMP High certification to help protect the government’s most sensitive, unclassified data in cloud computing environments. The IronNet Collective Defense platform, powered by AWS, identifies anomalous behaviors and delivers actionable attack intelligence to all the other participants in the IronNet community. The Collective Defense platform serves as an early warning system for all participating companies and organizations, strengthening network security through correlated alerts, automated triage, and extended hunt support. About IronNet, Inc: Founded in 2014 by GEN (Ret.) Keith Alexander, IronNet, Inc. (NYSE: IRNT) is a global cybersecurity leader that is transforming how organizations secure their networks by delivering the first-ever Collective Defense platform operating at scale. Employing a number of former NSA cybersecurity operators with offensive and defensive cyber experience, IronNet integrates deep tradecraft knowledge into its industry-leading products to solve the most challenging cyber problems facing the world today.

Read More

Emerging Technology

OpenText Achieves FedRAMP 'In Process' Designation

OpenText | November 22, 2022

OpenText™ (NASDAQ: OTEX), (TSX: OTEX), a global leader in information management, today announced it has achieved the "In Process" designation for its OpenText Cloud for Government offering as one of the initial steps in the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization process. The FedRAMP program promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the federal government by providing a standardized approach to security authorization for cloud service offerings. The authorization process includes an in-depth examination of a solution's data security and data governance capabilities, as well as the security practices of its cloud services. The OpenText Cloud for Government offering includes OpenText™ Extended Enterprise Content Management (xECM) Platform and OpenText™ AppWorks™, two core business applications within the OpenText Content Services information management portfolio. OpenText is committed to making its entire portfolio of market leading Content Services and Experience software products available as FedRAMP Authorized cloud solutions. "The availability of FedRAMP Authorized information management cloud solutions from OpenText is a crucial step towards transforming the citizen experience across U.S government agencies, Cloud for Government combines content capture, storage, and document organization with archiving, records management, and imaging on a FedRAMP-compliant platform." -Mark J. Barrenechea, CEO & CTO at OpenText. The shift to cloud computing offers several important benefits including reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Lowering TCO enables organizations to shift focus and investment to their core, high-impact missions rather than on data center operations and application management. We're also excited by the potential for our information management cloud solutions to accelerate the pace of innovation, further enhancing the citizen's experience, said Michael Beck, President, US Public Sector at OpenText. About OpenText: OpenText, The Information Company™, enables organizations to gain insight through market-leading information management solutions, powered by OpenText Cloud Editions.

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