Today’s IT landscape is constantly evolving – especially cloud usage. Government agencies are relying on cloud technologies to cut costs, save time, and better deliver on the mission. Choosing a Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorized solution ensures that agencies provide the security that is not only expected but required backed by a community of FedRAMP security experts. As agencies continue implementing cloud solutions, it’s important to choose solutions and vendors that are secure and scalable, which is what the recent GovForward: Multicloud Series kick-off event focused on.
“FedRAMP clearly accelerates IT modernization,” said Craig P. Abod, President, Carahsoft, in opening remarks. “The dialogue around these topics are important. How do [government agencies] learn more about these products and technologies?” The premier event brought together experts from the public sector and industry to explore the benefits of cloud solutions, the importance of FedRAMP, and best practices on cloud migration.
Gerald E. Connolly, U.S. Congressman for Virginia’s 11th District, spoke on the importance of IT modernization in the federal government. The current global situation has revealed pain points throughout agency’s IT arsenals and modernization has quickly become a necessity. “Government now understands that IT is no longer a nice thing to have; it has become integral and necessary for the mission and the enterprise,” said Connolly.
Happy to join @Carahsoft’s #GovForward event this morning to talk #FedRAMP and the importance of IT modernization in the federal government. pic.twitter.com/hnZPdTWmjW
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) July 21, 2020
Ashley Mahan, Director, FedRAMP and Secure Cloud Portfolio, General Services Administration and Steven Hernandez, Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Education shared cloud best practices and how security should be top of mind along with automation and scalability. Cloud and the benefits that come along with it have become even more important in today’s environment.
#GovForward: @AshleyBMahan‘s 4 key areas of #FedRAMP‘s focus in 2020:
1) Simplicity
2) Automation
3) Growth
4) Learning Opportunities— Carahsoft (@Carahsoft) July 21,
2020
Matt Lira, Special Assistant to the President for Innovation Policy and Initiatives, White House Office of American Innovation also joined the GovForward event to discuss how FedRAMP promotes innovation and mission readiness for agencies. “Technology is the lynch men for federal operations and increasingly the foundation of effectuating public policy,” he said. “It’s far more than dealing with whizzbang technologies. It’s about making sure the federal government can effectively deliver public policy outcomes to the American people.”
Lira spoke to the importance of the FedRAMP credentials and how this certification ensures that agencies are implementing technology that fits the mission’s needs. “The FedRAMP program has been a net positive,” he said. It has helped brining new technologies into the federal government that drive innovation forward.
David Shive, CIO, General Services Administration also recently discussed the challenges agencies are facing today, and the most pressing, is continuing mission delivery from home, at another Carahsoft event. Most agencies have relied on in-office workers to execute essential services and due to the pandemic, that quickly changed, but cloud solutions are enabling agencies to continue mission delivery in a cost-efficient way.
#GovForward: Need a quick read during the break? Learn how digital services can help agencies support citizens from remote work environments with best practices from Government CIOs in our @GovLoop Guide: https://t.co/SeZcQiJ8zf pic.twitter.com/rygmXswzBx
— Carahsoft (@Carahsoft) July 21, 2020
These were just a few of the topics and experts that came together for the GovForward Multicloud Series kickoff. Speakers from Salesforce, AWS, Red Hat, Okta, ServiceNow, Zscaler, Google and Snowflake, discussed best practices, cloud strategies, success stories, and the first steps to the cloud journey.
This kickoff event was just the beginning. The series continues with Marketplace Technology Webinars presented by Carahsoft’s FedRAMP solutions providers starting July 30th and continuing through November. Join to learn how industry and government agencies are working together to deploy FedRAMP and Multicloud solutions. Register here.
