As the price of sensors has dropped, the number and variety of uses for the Internet of Things (IoT) has expanded. Traffic management remains the most common application – cities have been using IoT to improve traffic patterns and provide more efficient communication, streamlined traffic management, and real-time accident notification. Learning Objectives: Evaluate existing IoT use cases to determine their suitability for your agency...

U.S. cities continue to look for ways to improve operations, particularly to reduce stress on infrastructure (roads, water, electricity, to name a few), public safety, and emergency services. Many also are looking to improve resilience as climate change triggers longer, more intense heatwaves, more frequent flooding, and longer power outages. Learning Objectives: Evaluate existing IoT use cases to determine their suitability for your agency...

One of the biggest challenges in cybersecurity is how to monitor cybersecurity and risk across multiple systems, whether within a single federal agency or throughout a sprawling department. The U.S. Department of Defense has a program in place – Continuous Monitoring and Risk Scoring (CMRS) – to address the challenge. As the largest military force in the world, one with a global network of communications and IT systems, it is criti...

Emerging technologies, from artificial intelligence to machine learning to 5G, are encouraging the exponential growth of connected devices and systems – causing an explosion in data generation and powering the spread of edge computing. In this landscape, 5G is part of the cause of such rapid growth, but it also is part of the solution – it is faster than 4G (and earlier) networks, it has far greater traffic capacity, and it provide...

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has come about so quickly, new tools and techniques continue to expand even as many agencies are still trying to understand use cases, vocabularies, and risk scenarios of implementing an AI solution. Already a search for “hot topics in AI” turns up a daunting list – everything from generative AI to AI analytics, machine learning to natural language processing, along with the impact of A...

Artificial intelligence offers a transformative opportunity within federal agencies. The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) efforts to modernize operations, enhance taxpayer experiences, and optimize workforce management, provide an excellent example of AI’s potential for consequential change. The IRS is employing a use-case-driven strategy in adopting AI, focusing on addressing specific, tangible challenges. Further, AI is reshaping...

2025 promises to be a very busy year for the Department of Defense (DoD) and its contractors. In October 2024 the department issued a new rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 program, requiring contractors to implement required security measures to protect federal contract information (FCI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI). The rule rolls out the requirements in four phases over the course of...

Federal leaders feel immense pressure to modernize legacy applications to improve user experiences and accelerate mission outcomes. As Americans’ expectations of government services continues to grow, harnessing generative AI (GenAI) provides leaders with opportunities to improve delivery through streamlined software development, enhanced workforce efficiency, and strategic decision-making. Harnessing AI is a useful way to advance modern...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, turning data into graphical images that show relationships must be just as valuable. Agencies across the country, looking for ways to better leverage the value of the data they already gather, are wrestling with how to implement data modeling to make use of the information. There are four key areas where data modeling tools provide value: Data governance and compliance is easier when a data modeling tool...

Effective cybersecurity requires collaboration across IT infrastructure, security, and data protection, since each team has distinct roles and responsibilities. Integrating IT infrastructure, data protection, and data security provides significant value by offering a unified perspective on user activity, data monitoring, and data access during a cybersecurity incident. By understanding the data—its location, accessibility, and how to res...