U.S. Fed approves merger between BB&T, SunTrust Banks

BB&T | November 20, 2019

The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Tuesday it approved a merger between BB&T Corp and SunTrust Banks Inc, sealing the biggest tie-up of banks since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. Analysts have said such a tie-up has been made possible by regulatory easing under the administration of President Donald Trump, which has encouraged banking regulators to take a more relaxed approach to approving mergers, bank applications and enforcement of post-crisis rules.

Spotlight

The virtual private network (VPN) has been a powerful tool in the network security administrator’s toolbox for decades, because it has provided a means for remote computers to communicate securely across an untrusted network such as the internet. Whether for branch offices communicating with headquarters (siteto-site), or an employee working from home (remote access), the VPN provided a secure point-to-point tunnel back to resources on protected networks.

Spotlight

The virtual private network (VPN) has been a powerful tool in the network security administrator’s toolbox for decades, because it has provided a means for remote computers to communicate securely across an untrusted network such as the internet. Whether for branch offices communicating with headquarters (siteto-site), or an employee working from home (remote access), the VPN provided a secure point-to-point tunnel back to resources on protected networks.

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, GOVERNMENT FINANCE

Govgrants® Chosen to Manage the Treasury Department's Grants Program

REI Systems | January 31, 2023

On January 30, 2023, REI Systems announced that it would deploy GovGrants®, a full-lifecycle grants management SaaS product, for the US Department of Treasury IAF (Inter-American Foundation). IAF works with entrepreneurs, innovators, and local leaders in underserved Caribbean and Latin America areas to help them build more peaceful, prosperous, and democratic communities. Since 1972, the foundation has provided nearly 5,000 grants totaling more than $680 million. The IAF sought to reinvent its grants management approach with an extensive cloud-hosted product, with assistance from the Grants Management QSMO (Quality Services Management Office). GovGrants® was chosen because it is a highly secure, role-based, and accessible grants management system that adheres to the Federal Integrated Business Framework (FIBF). Furthermore, it provided the multilingual capability that IAF required to support its grantees. The system includes many native features, such as powerful dashboards and reporting built on Tableau, financial system integrations, and various CRM-type features. GovGrants® is a customizable product built on Salesforce's cloud platform that is FedRAMP-certified, making it dependable, secure, and simple for internal and external stakeholders to use. In addition, the solution is currently listed on the GSA MAS Information Technology contract, ensuring easy procurement and deployment as a software-as-a-service solution by any federal agency. Wagish Bhartiya, REI's Chief Growth Officer, shared, "REI Systems has been a leading provider of grant systems across government for more than 20 years. As the grants market evolves, we are excited to evolve with it. There are numerous agencies seeking pre-built, turn-key capabilities that can be easily tailored to fit their business needs. That's why we built GovGrants as a COTS product. We are thrilled to be serving IAF's mission of advancing democracy by supporting community-led development with a modern technology solution." (Source – PR Newswire) About REI Systems Headquartered in Sterling (Virginia), and founded in 1989, REI Systems provides innovative technology solutions that empower people. The company's 700 problem-solving consultants and technologists are committed to updating technology for the government to help achieve its goals. It serves customers in national security, science and technology, healthcare, and government operations in the federal, state, local, and nonprofit sectors. REI Systems delivers domain expertise and optimum technologies through flexible execution and a dedication to customer service.

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CYBERSECURITY

NASPO Adds Fidelis Cybersecurity Platforms to Its ValuePoint Contracts

Fidelis Cybersecurity | February 02, 2023

National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), has recently added Fidelis Cybersecurity platforms to its existing ValuePoint contracts with Carahsoft Technology Corporation, providing cyber defense solutions to associated Education institutions, States, and Local Governments. Its integrated cloud security platform helps customers delve deeper into their digital environments, detect, and respond to threats faster, improve threat detection, enable continuous risk assessment, and ensure compliance and security. Alex Whitworth, Sales Director leading the Fidelis team at Carahsoft, said, “The addition of Fidelis’ platforms to this contract creates new opportunities for NASPO members to protect their critical operations and safeguard sensitive Government data. “Fidelis’ cybersecurity solutions exceed standard threat protection by enabling proactive cyber defense across cloud environments and on-premises. We look forward to working with Fidelis and our reseller partners to make it easier for our joint customers to acquire this advanced technology.” (Source – Business Wire) Dale McCloskey, Senior Vice President, Federal Sales at Fidelis Cybersecurity, said, “Universities and State and Local agencies are under a continuous barrage of attacks. We are excited to expand our partnership with Carahsoft and enable NASPO’s State and Local agency and higher education customers to shift to proactive cyber defense with integrated Deception, XDR and cloud security and compliance platforms to better protect their hybrid environments from advanced threat actors.” (Source – Business Wire) About Fidelis Cybersecurity Fidelis Cybersecurity is a cyber defense provider for modern IT, serving cyber threat detection, withdrawal, response, compliance, and cloud security. It offers dynamic cyber terrain mapping, multi-facet context, and risk assessment. It reduces attackable surfaces, threat detection, incident response, and automated exposure prevention, providing professionals with context, speed, accuracy, and portability security to the top government agencies, enterprises and commercials that trust it globally. In addition, it secures production assets from adversaries with decoys, countering ongoing attacks and gathering intelligence to prepare for future attacks.

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

Surfacide® Awarded U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Contract

Surfacide | March 20, 2023

Surfacide, an industry leader in UV-C low-level disinfection technology, announced today that it has been awarded a Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This contract will allow government customers and federal agencies to easily procure Surfacide's Helios® UV-C disinfection systems for their healthcare facilities. As a GSA Schedule Contractor, Surfacide has met all the requirements to sell to the federal government, making the federal purchasing process faster and more cost-effective for government agencies. Government buyers will now be able to access Surfacide products through GSA Advantage!, the government's premier online shopping superstore. The Surfacide Helios system is the only patented, low-level UV-C disinfection solution to use a trio of light emitting 'robots' simultaneously, significantly reducing bacteria and virus on colonized surfaces. The Helios system provides UV-C energy to more exposed areas than single devices—boosting power, dosage and efficacy in a single cycle. The system can be easily moved and configured within different high-impact areas of a hospital or clinic such as patient rooms, patient bathrooms, ORs, outpatient/ambulatory surgery, burn units, labor & delivery, isolation rooms, etc. "As a GSA Schedule Contractor, we now have the stamp of approval stating that we've met all the requirements to sell to the federal government, giving us a huge benefit in the federal purchasing process," said Gunner Lyslo, CEO & Founder of Surfacide. "We're proud to have been awarded this GSA MAS contract and are excited to provide our innovative UV-C disinfection technology to government customers more efficiently." Surfacide is rapidly growing and has become widely adopted in the VA space. After seeing the benefits of Surfacide's scientifically-proven technology, more and more VA facilities are transitioning from single emitters to Surfacide's patented triple-emitter Helios System. About Surfacide Founded in 2010, Surfacide is a UV technology and infection solutions company producing scientifically proven, hospital-grade UV devices. Surfacide's award-winning Helios® System is the world's only patented, triple emitter 'robotic' UV light solution to rapidly reduce bioburden and pathogens. A trusted partner in infection prevention, Surfacide has been deployed in over 600 leading hospitals, nursing homes, dental offices, fire stations, prisons, police stations, commercial office spaces, hotels and public venues worldwide. Surfacide LLC is proud to be American-made and manufactured in Waukesha, WI.

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