The ATARC Cloud Workload Management Whitepaper is Out

ATARC has just released an outstanding Cloud Computing White Paper, which features a variety of recommendations to government and was compiled at the ATARC Federal Cloud Computing Summit on July 26. I had the honor of being a participant in the discussions that guided the creation of this whitepaper. 

To view the Cloud White Paper, as well as the Session Outputs/White Boards, please visit: https://atarc.org/project/mitre-atarc-cloud-white-paper-july-26-2016/ 

Here are the list of topic areas discussed in the MITRE-ATARC Cloud Collaboration Symposium and the resulting whitepaper. 

Cloud Challenge Areas

• DevOps vs. NoOps: Managing Public Clouds

• Secure Cloud Access: From APIs to Mobile & IoT Devices

• Workload Management for Cost Savings

• Cloud Category Management

• Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Opening Remarks for Getting the Fix on SLAs

I had the privilege of providing the opening remarks for Dr. Robert Bohn, Cloud Computing Program Manager at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at  The FCW Cloud Summit 2016  which took place on August 10th. His session was entitled "Getting the Fix on SLAs".

https://nsp.performedia.com/node/15427?output=frame&p=html5


Here's a brief summary of this session:

One of the foundations of a cloud initiative is the service level agreement (SLA). Yet agencies often have found it difficult to define SLAs that achieve the intended results. In our afternoon keynote, Mr. Bohn will discuss a NIST effort to leverage a forthcoming ISO standard to create a government-wide base model for SLAs that can be tailored to meet the needs of individual agencies..

For more information about the session: Conference Home Page

I will be leading a panel discussion entitled: “Workload Management for Cost Savings”

This event is part of the ATARC Federal Cloud Computing Summit which will be held on July 26, 2016 at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, D.C.

This educational, one-day symposium will examine the tools and technology the Federal government is using in cloud computing to enhance any agency's mission. For more information about the event, please visit this URL: ATARC Federal Cloud Computing Summit

I will be speaking at Cloud Expo 2016  (June 7-9th). My session will be entitled "Government Cloud Enablement, A Federated Model".

Here's a brief summary of this session:

While many government agencies have embraced the idea of employing Cloud Computing as a tool for increasing the efficiency and flexibility of IT, many still struggle with large scale adoption. The challenge is mainly attributed to the federated structure of these agencies as well as the immaturity of brokerage and governance tools and models. Initiatives like FedRAMP are a great first step toward solving many of these challenges but there are a lot of unknowns that are yet to be tackled. This session focuses on providing a quick update about that state of the cloud in the federal government with an emphasis on current trends and drivers. It also introduces a new Government Cloud Enablement Model which aims which codifies the different functional areas that enablement must confront.

For more information about the session: Conference Home Page

The session was also featured on Sys-Con as part of their OpenStack journal. here's a link to the featured article http://ajax.sys-con.com/node/3836160 

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated!

Cancer Genomics in the Cloud

Congrats to ISB and SRA. I am proud to be part of this team.

http://hitconsultant.net/2014/10/16/google-partners-create-cancer-genomics-cloud/

We WON!!! AcuITy takes the win for IT Services & Consulting

Congrats to the SRA AcuITy team for winning an American Technology Award in the category of IT Services & Consulting. I am proud to be a member of the team that envisioned and created AcuITy.

http://www.techamerica.org/american-technology-awards-announces-winners-in-15-categories-awards-breakthrough-technology-of-the-year-to-olympus-3d-videoscope/

Securing the Cloud: A Pragmatic Approach @ Cloud Expo 2014

I will be speaking at  Cloud Expo 2014  (June 10-14th). My session will be entitled "Securing the Cloud: A Pragmatic Approach".

Here's a brief summary of this session:

Fueled by the global economic situation, the government’s focus on data center consolidation and the “Cloud First” initiative, Cloud Computing continues to be the buzzword of the year.  As government agencies start to adopt cloud computing, additional challenges including security in the cloud have become prominent barriers to adoption.
This presentation focuses on providing a quick Cloud Computing technology update with an emphasis on current Cloud Computing security trends and drivers. Examples of these trends include: the utilization and evaluation of Clouds in both active and passive surveillance systems and the use of High Performance Clouds for expanding scientist ability to access data. The presentation also introduces best practices and lessons learned for securing both public and private cloud environments. It offers insight into how Cloud Computing coupled with other technical advancements in mobility and security are changing government IT organizations and provides general guidance and best practices for developing practical and pragmatic cloud strategies.

For more information about the session: Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated! 

The Future of Public Health Informatics @ the 2014 Public Health Informatics Conference

I will be speaking at the 2014 Public Health Informatics Conference (April 29-May 01). The conference is co-sponsored by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

My session will be entitled "Strategic and Future Directions for Public Health Informatics".

More information about the session

Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated!

Quoted by SaaSAddict

Use this link to read the SaaSAddict article: http://saasaddict.walkme.com/government-adoption-cloud-services-interview-sra/

Building the Case for a Cloud-Based Government @ the DC Cloud Computing Symposium

I will be speaking at the Cloud for Defense, Intelligence and Homeland Security Symposium (April 24-25, 2014). My session will be entitled "Building the Case for a Cloud-Based Government – Trends, Drivers, Guidance and Best Practices".

Here's a brief summary of this session:

The US Government, as well as governments around the world, is looking to invest heavily in Cloud Computing. The cloud promises a lot of efficiencies and cost savings but it also presents a new revolutionary way to approach citizen services. This session offers insight into how Cloud Computing coupled with other technical advancements in mobility and security are changing government IT organizations. It also provides general guidance and best practices for developing practical and pragmatic cloud strategies.


Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated!

Quoted in the Washington Post: SRA releases new federal cloud service

  Use this link to read the Washington Post article: http://wapo.st/1bmzCIc

The Perfect Mobile Phone – Designed By Me for Me

It’s been almost 16 months since I switched my iPhone 4S with the Android based Samsung Galaxy SII and once again I find myself facing a dilemma. You see, I am now eligible for an upgrade which means that I have to, once again, decide on which phone platform to choose. Things have changed a bit since I bought my SII. Both Blackberry and Microsoft have introduced new substantially more competitive phones. The big dogs (Apple, Samsung and HTC) have released more powerful and much cooler versions of their flagship phones. And they all are working on even niftier phones that might be released towards the end of the year…

I did research and read about the current top 3 contenders (Apple’s iPhone 5, Samsung’s Galaxy S4, and the HTC One) but I did not fall in love with any of them. They all have their merits but none of them complete my world!!! So I decided to design my own imaginary phone. “The Perfect Mobile Phone”


So here, for your amusement and plausible new venture funding, are the specs of my perfect phone:

Feature	à la
Make it fast. Give me your best and most powerful CPU	HTC One
With a lot of RAM please (2GB or more)	Galaxy S4
A usable form factor that can fit nicely in most pockets, does not require an NBA player sized palm, and provides a good size screen (say 4.5” to 4.7”)	HTC One
Make it an HD screen with outstanding resolution and good pixel density (say 460 ppi or higher)	HTC One
Oh and make it light (130 g or less)	iPhone 5
Give me a good camera. I mean a real good camera. One that can replace my point and shoot. (12 MP or higher)	Galaxy S4
Now couple that camera with a faster shutter (<0.24 s lag), a physical camera button and AF tracking	iPhone 5
Good quality stereo speakers that can rock the room	HTC One
Reduce proprietary stuff. A standard USB charging cable please	Galaxy S4 & HTC One
Strong long lasting battery please (>2200 mAh)	Galaxy S4
Power button on top. Yup, I am picky like that	iPhone 5 & HTC One
Finally, give me all the accessories I can take	iPhone 5

Now why not splurge and get some more functionality out of this phone. Here’s is a list of my nice to haves:

• An infrared port so that I can control my less than smart TV
• Make it expandable with an SD card slot. With storage clouds this might not be my priority…
• A simple reliable kickstand. Yes. I do not want to have to buy a cover for that
• Smudge proof glass… ya ya, once they get their act together and invent it!!!

Note: I focused this list on hardware specs only with the goal to come up with a list for the software side too. Before all of this becomes obsolete!!!

Trying Google Glass @ TechAmerica's 2013 Awards Dinner

AFFRIM 2013 Federal CFO-CIO Summit

 Let's talk Cloud! 

Join me & the SRA team @ the AFFRIM 2013 Federal CFO-CIO Summit at the Washington Convention Center. http://www.affirm.org/partner-events/2013-federal-cfo-cio-summit

Determining High Value IT Initiatives @ the Open Group Conference in Philly

I will be speaking at the "Open Group Philadelphia Conference" on July 15th. My session will be entitled "Determining High Value IT Initiatives". Here's a brief summary of this session:

As IT budgets shrink, enterprise architects must increasingly focus on identifying and achieving infrastructure cost savings based on quantified ROI and risk. Typically, the complexity and heterogeneity of infrastructure environments makes optimization difficult but budget pressures necessitate performance improvements. Utilizing portfolio management and enterprise architecture techniques, this presentation describes an approach to identify solutions with "high return" cost savings.


Key takeaways:

• Understanding of the key efficiency levers that can result in reduced costs
• Approach for prioritizing and selecting highest value initiatives

Session material has been co-authored by Sandra Ambrose (Director, Infrastructure Services Practice @ SRA International)

Conference Event Timetable

Conference Home Page

You attendance is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated!