Top 10 5G Events for Government in 2026

Posted on by Mark DeMerse

As next-generation wireless technology continues to transform Public Sector operations, 5G stands at the forefront of mission-critical innovation. From strengthening national security and enhancing public safety to enabling smart city initiatives and improving citizen services, 5G capabilities are revolutionizing how Government agencies achieve success. Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, maintains strategic partnerships with leading 5G solutions providers to help Federal, State and Local agencies harness this transformative technology. With deep expertise across the connectivity landscape and proven experience supporting Government digital transformation, Carahsoft is committed to advancing 5G solutions that enable agencies to achieve unprecedented levels of speed, reliability and operational efficiency. Join us at these pivotal 2026 events to discover how 5G is reshaping Government operations and driving progress across the Public Sector.

2026 Defense R&D Summit | Potomac Officers Club

January 29, 2026 | McLean, VA | In-Person Event

Hosted by the Potomac Officers Club, the 2026 Defense Research & Development (R&D) Summit brings together top defense leaders, researchers and innovators to discuss emerging technologies shaping the future of warfare and national security. The event features expert-led sessions focused on advancing United States military capabilities through cutting-edge research and strategic insights. Speakers include military personnel, subject matter experts (SMEs) and corporate executives in the technology sector.

Sessions to Look Out For:

Bridging Domains: 5G to FutureG in Defense

Innovating for Advantage: Advancing Secure Interoperable IT for Space Defense

Carahsoft is a key exhibiting sponsor at the 2026 Defense R&D Summit, reflecting its strong role in supporting technology innovation across the Public Sector. Through partnerships with leading technology providers, Carahsoft helps Government agencies access secure and scalable 5G solutions that strengthen digital infrastructure, improve communications and advance defense modernization efforts. This sponsorship underscores Carahsoft’s commitment to enabling defense organizations to leverage next-generation wireless capabilities that support mission-critical operations and enhance warfighter readiness.

MWC26

March 2-5, 2026 | Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain | In-Person Event

Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2026 serves as an essential forum for the Government 5G space, bringing together global regulators, telecom leaders and technology vendors to shape the next phase of national connectivity strategy. With 5G-Advanced, secure infrastructure and private-network deployments accelerating, MWC provides Governments a front-row view of emerging technologies impacting public safety, critical infrastructure, smart cities and digital-service modernization. This venue offers one of the only opportunities for policymakers to directly collaborate with industry on spectrum, security, standards and regulatory frameworks that will define how 5G is deployed and governed over the next decade.

Sessions to Look Out For:

IoT Summit 2026

5G Goes Pro: Standalone, Advanced and Always On

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its partner Palo Alto Networks at MWC 2026, where Palo Alto Networks will showcase its platform-based, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approach to securing 5G, cloud and next-generation mobile infrastructures. Through this partnership, Carahsoft enables Public Sector and enterprise customers to access Palo Alto Networks’ Zero Trust and advanced threat prevention solutions that support secure, resilient digital transformation in an increasingly connected world. This collaboration ensures Government agencies can implement 5G technologies with the robust security frameworks necessary to protect sensitive data and maintain operational integrity across evolving threat landscapes.

Smart Cities Connect: Spring Conference and Expo

March 10-12, 2026 | Raleigh, NC | In-Person Event

The Smart Cities Connect Spring Conference & Expo 2026 brings together city leaders, urban planners, technologists, policymakers and industry experts to explore and accelerate smart city solutions. The event features keynotes, panels, workshops and an expo showcasing innovations in connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, sustainability and Public Sector infrastructure. Attendees gain insights into digital transformation, urban operations, governance and community engagement while networking with vendors, solution providers and municipal peers.

Sessions to Look Out For:

Smart Lighting Brings Free Public Wi-Fi Powered By 5G

Smarter Cities Using Wireless WAN Connectivity—Real-Life Use Cases!

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its vendor partners Dell and NVIDIA participating in the Smart Cities Connect: Spring Conference and Expo, where they will showcase innovative technologies that help cities become more efficient, resilient and citizen-centric. Through these partnerships, Carahsoft enables Government and municipal organizations to access emerging solutions from Dell and NVIDIA that support data-driven infrastructure, advanced analytics and intelligent urban services for smarter, more connected communities. These solutions demonstrate how 5G-enabled technologies can transform urban operations, from traffic management and public safety to environmental monitoring and citizen engagement.

OFC 2026

March 15-19, 2026 | San Francisco, CA | In-Person Event

Step into the future of optical communications and networking at the Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) Conference 2026. This premier event showcases the latest breakthroughs, innovations and next-generation commercial solutions through hundreds of exhibitors, expert speakers and thought leaders from industry and academia. Throughout the week, attendees can participate in symposia, immersive tutorials, interactive workshops and dynamic panels, offering insights into emerging technologies, market trends and the evolving state of the industry.

Sessions to Look Out For:

5G Network Evolution and Next-Generation Optical Infrastructure

Enabling 5G Services with Intelligent Optical Networks

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its vendor partners Intel, Nokia and Ciena participating in OFC 2026, where they will showcase advanced optical networking and communications technologies that are shaping the future of high-capacity, resilient infrastructure. Through these partnerships, Carahsoft helps Government and enterprise customers access breakthrough solutions that drive innovation, improve network performance and support the growing demands of data-intensive applications. These optical networking solutions provide the critical backbone infrastructure that enables 5G networks to deliver on their promise of ultra-low latency, massive bandwidth and reliable connectivity for mission-critical Government operations.

IWCE 2026 Conference

March 16-19, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV | In-Person Event

The International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) 2026 serves as the definitive event for critical communications, connecting the complete ecosystem from 911 centers to enterprise security and accelerating life-saving technology deployments. This comprehensive conference brings together stakeholders across public safety, Government, emergency management, utilities, education, transportation, healthcare and other critical infrastructure sectors. Trainings, panels and power sessions provide practical insights into implementing mission-critical wireless solutions.

Carahsoft, 5G Top Events blog, embedded image, 2026

Sessions to Look Out For:

Next-Generation 5G Networks for Public Safety and Smart Cities

Secure and Scalable 5G Solutions for Government Agencies

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its leading vendor partners T-Mobile, Verizon, iBwave and Druid at IWCE 2026 Conference, where they will showcase cutting-edge communications and network solutions for mission-critical public safety and enterprise environments. Through these partnerships, Carahsoft helps Government and enterprise customers access advanced wireless connectivity from T-Mobile and Verizon, intelligent in-building design with iBwave and real-time communications platforms from Druid, reinforcing its commitment to enabling resilient, secure and interoperable communications for today’s most demanding operational challenges. These solutions ensure that first responders and emergency management teams have the reliable, high-performance connectivity they need to protect communities and save lives.

FutureG for Warfare & Defense Summit

March 25-26, 2026 | Alexandria, VA | In-Person Event

Defense Strategies Institute’s (DSI’s) 3rd annual FutureG for Warfare & Defense Summit convenes senior leaders from the Department of War (DoW), Federal Government, industry and academia in a dynamic town-hall style event to focus on operationalizing current 5G networks, securing supply chains and charting the research roadmap toward 6G (FutureG). This must-attend two-day event details the strategic objectives and goals around the full-scale integration of secure, resilient commercial and military network technologies in support of the Warfighter.

Sessions to Look Out For:

Preparing for the Next Generation of Wireless Network Technologies Across DoD

Integrating 5G Capabilities for the Future Soldier

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its vendor partners at the FutureG for Warfare & Defense Summit, showcasing next-generation communications and defense solutions that support modern mission needs. Last year, Carahsoft’s partners were highly active at the summit, demonstrating advanced capabilities in secure connectivity, resilient networking and intelligent systems. Carahsoft’s continued participation in this summit reflects our deep commitment to supporting the DoW’s vision for 6G technologies and ensuring warfighters have access to the most advanced, secure wireless capabilities available. We look forward to sharing the full list of participating partners for 2026 once it is released.

Connectivity Expo 2026

May 4-6, 2026 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | In-Person Event

Connectivity Expo 2026 is a leading event for the wireless and telecommunications industry, bringing together carriers, technology providers, innovators and Government agencies. The expo highlights the latest advancements in 5G, private networks, IoT and next-generation connectivity solutions, while offering networking opportunities, workshops and demonstrations to explore the future of global communications infrastructure.

Sessions to Look Out For:

Slicing the Pie: Monetizing Public and Private 5G with Network Slicing

Cell Site of the Future: Open RAN, AI-RAN, Edge Compute and How We Get There

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its vendor partner, Nokia, participating in Connectivity Expo 2026, where they will showcase advanced networking and connectivity solutions that help drive innovation across Public and Private Sector infrastructures. Through this partnership, Carahsoft enables Government and enterprise customers to access Nokia’s cutting-edge technologies that strengthen digital networks, improve performance and support the evolving demands of connected communities and organizations. Nokia’s expertise in Open Radio Access Network (RAN), network slicing and AI-enabled RAN positions Government agencies to deploy flexible, future-ready 5G infrastructures that can adapt to changing mission requirements and emerging use cases.

International Telecoms Week 2026

May 19-21, 2026 | National Harbor, MD | In-Person Event

International Telecoms Week 2026 is the leading global forum for digital infrastructure and connectivity leaders. The event brings together innovators, carriers and decision makers to explore cutting-edge technologies—including 5G, satellite and subsea networks—while providing unparalleled networking opportunities across the international communications market. Attendees can engage with sessions on the “NextGen Networks” stage and the “Connectivity Infrastructure / Digital Disruption” stage, gaining insights into the technologies shaping the future of global connectivity.

Carahsoft is proud to highlight its vendor partners Nokia, AT&T and Verizon participating in International Telecoms Week 2026, where they will showcase leading innovations in telecommunications and connectivity that are driving global network transformation. Through these partnerships, Carahsoft helps Government and enterprise customers access advanced solutions that strengthen digital infrastructure, enhance network performance and support the future of connected services. These strategic relationships enable Carahsoft to provide Public Sector agencies with comprehensive 5G solutions spanning network equipment, carrier services and end-to-end connectivity platforms that meet the unique security, reliability and performance requirements of Government operations.

2026 UTC Telecom & Technology Conference

June 1-4, 2026 | Minneapolis, MN | In-Person Event

The 2026 Utilities Technology Council (UTC) Telecom & Technology Conference brings together utility and information and communication technology professionals to explore next-generation communications, private 5G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, grid modernization and innovative technology solutions through workshops, sessions and an exhibit hall. Key sessions provide utilities and Government organizations with practical strategies for implementing secure, reliable wireless communications infrastructure.

Sessions to Look Out For:

Wireless Summit—Private 5G for Utilities

UtiliSite/Small Cell & 5G Infrastructure

Carahsoft is looking forward to highlighting its vendor partners at the 2026 UTC Telecom & Technology Conference, where leading technology providers will showcase innovations that support robust, secure and future-ready communications infrastructures. While the full list of participating sponsors has not yet been released, Carahsoft’s ecosystem of partners continues to deliver advanced solutions that help utilities and Government organizations enhance connectivity, resilience and operational performance. This event provides a critical platform for demonstrating how private 5G networks can transform utility operations, enabling smart grid applications, remote monitoring and improved workforce communications across distributed infrastructure.

Carahsoft | Public Sector 5G Summit 2026

August 25, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The Carahsoft Public Sector 5G Summit 2026 will bring together Government leaders, industry innovators and technology experts to explore how 5G is transforming Public Sector operations and mission delivery. This exclusive event will feature expert-led sessions, technology demonstrations and networking opportunities designed specifically for Federal, State and Local Government professionals seeking to understand and implement next-generation wireless capabilities. Additional details on keynote speakers, session topics and featured technology partners will be released in the coming months.

As the host of this premier Public Sector 5G event, Carahsoft will showcase its extensive ecosystem of leading 5G technology partners and solutions providers at our Conference & Collaboration Center. The summit will provide Government attendees with hands-on access to cutting-edge 5G technologies, practical implementation strategies and direct connections with industry experts who understand the unique requirements and challenges facing Public Sector organizations. This exclusive event reflects Carahsoft’s leadership in the 5G space and our commitment to facilitating meaningful dialogue between Government decision makers and the technology innovators who can help agencies achieve their connectivity and modernization goals.

As 5G technology continues to evolve and mature, these 2026 events provide Government professionals with essential opportunities to stay at the forefront of wireless innovation. From defense and public safety applications to smart city initiatives and critical infrastructure modernization, next-generation connectivity is reshaping how agencies serve their missions and constituents. Each event offers unique insights into emerging technologies, the implementation of best practices and real-world use cases that demonstrate the transformative potential of 5G in the Public Sector.

Whether you are exploring secure 5G deployments for defense applications, evaluating private networks for critical infrastructure or seeking to understand how 5G enables smarter, more connected communities, these gatherings offer invaluable opportunities to learn from industry leaders and connect with solution providers who understand Government requirements. Carahsoft remains committed to supporting Government agencies throughout their 5G journey, providing access to leading technology partners, expert guidance and proven solutions that deliver mission success.

To learn more or get involved in any of the above events, please contact us at 5G@carahsoft.com.

For more information on Carahsoft and our industry-leading 5G technology partners’ events, visit our 5G Solutions Portfolio and 5G Events page.

Top 10 Cybersecurity Events for Government in 2026

Posted on by Steve Jacyna

In 2026, assessment, adaptation and agility remain essential as Government agencies and the tech industry navigate an increasingly complex cybersecurity landscape. From the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and the evolution of cyber threats to enhanced data management strategies and the transformation toward unified platforms, cybersecurity continues to be mission critical. Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, stands ready to support Federal, State and Local Government, as well as education and healthcare organizations, through collaboration with our extensive network of cybersecurity partners and solutions. These premier industry events offer invaluable opportunities to connect with experts, explore next-generation technologies and gain actionable insights into securing your organization’s digital infrastructure.

Rocky Mountain Cyberspace Symposium 2026 (RMCS26)

February 2-5, 2026 | Colorado Springs, CO | In-Person Event

RMCS26 serves as an essential forum where industry, academia and Government converge to discuss and propose solutions to the nation’s most pressing cybersecurity challenges. This year’s theme, “Dominance Through Disruption: Emerging Tech and the Cyber Enterprise,” explores how emerging technologies, empowered cyber forces and integrated strategies are redefining operations across domains in an ear defined by contested information, persistent engagement and rapid technological change. The exhibit hall will feature cutting-edge cyber technologies, providing attendees opportunities to learn about innovative solutions and share ideas with peers from across the globe. RMCS26 is a world-class event that supports the community through investments in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarships, grants and educational activities.

Carahsoft is excited to announce that we will be hosting a networking reception for our partners and attendees participating at RMCS26. Please join us for our reception following the exhibit hall hours on Wednesday, February 4, at the Broadmoor’s Lake Terrace Dining Room from 6:00pm – 8:00pm for food, drinks, music and entertainment.

Public Sector Day 2026 at RSA Conference (RSAC™)

March 23, 2026 | San Francisco, CA | In-Person Event

2026 marks the 13th Annual Public Sector Day at RSAC™. This specialized security event will explore key areas crucial for Government cybersecurity through dedicated Federal and State, Local and Education panels. This targeted day within the broader Conference provides Government professionals with focused opportunities to address sector-specific challenges while accessing the full event’s extensive resources.

The program will cover:

AI’s role in advancing Federal missions

Building and retaining a skilled Government cyber workforce

Modernizing State cyber defenses with emerging technologies

Navigating Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)

Managing AI-driven threats across an evolving cyber landscape

Strategies for secure and scalable FedRAMP cloud architectures

Carahsoft is excited to host Public Sector Day at RSAC™ for the 13th year in a row, bringing Government and industry together for a day of engaging conversation. We will also be hosting a reception on Tuesday, March 24, at the Conservatory at One Sansome, located in the heart of San Francisco. Join us for an evening of networking, light refreshments and live music!

Carahsoft Cybersmart Summit

April 9, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

Cybersecurity remains a dynamic landscape characterized by new threats, evolving defense strategies and emerging attack surfaces. The development of AI as a commercially viable technology introduces new considerations, including growing recognition that it substantially increases the need for risk management. Attendees will gain knowledge in key areas, including identifying where new AI tools can reinforce existing cyber defenses, examining data privacy protection within AI-enabled systems, evaluating software supply chains for Zero Trust implementation, delineating elements of universally applied Zero Trust Architectures (ZTAs) and reviewing agency operations to locate Operational Technology (OT) usage and conduct risk assessments.

Sessions to look out for:

“The Intersection of AI and Cyber Defense” examines how AI functions as a double-edged sword.

“Zero Trust and Supply Chain Security Belong Together” explores expanding the “never trust, always verify” mandate to include software from multiple vendors.

“Bringing Cybersecurity to Critical Infrastructure” addresses the expanding cyber attack surface, including hostile nation-state targeting operations technology at maritime ports and other critical infrastructure.

Carahsoft is proud to partner with FedInsider to host the Cybersmart Summit at the Carahsoft Conference and Collaboration Center. Join us on Thursday, April 9^th to listen to industry and Government thought leaders discuss current trends in cybersecurity and examine the threats and opportunities that may arise from them.

EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity Privacy Professionals Conference

April 28-30, 2026 | Anaheim, CA | In-Person Event

The EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity Privacy Professionals Conference provides higher education professionals with the tools, resources and peer connections needed to develop and enhance cybersecurity and privacy programs across institutions. At the Conference, participants will learn the risks colleges and universities face, how to implement effective security methods and which precautions to take to keep students and institutional data protected. The Conference helps institutions identify key messages and determine how and when to communicate with leadership, students, faculty, staff and external partners.

Other areas of focus include:

Developing and promoting tools to help campuses improve cybersecurity programs.

Providing expertise on issues related to public policy that is affecting higher education.

The Cybersecurity and Privacy Guide, which provides effective practices and timely guidance on key topics for higher education institutions.

Carahsoft is a proud sponsor of the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference. Stop by our tabletop exhibit, showcasing a range of cybersecurity solutions, to learn how Carahsoft and our partners support the higher education community. We will also host a reception; more details will be released closer to the event.

AFCEA TechNet Cyber

May 2, 2026 | Baltimore, MD | In-Person Event

Carahsoft, Cybersecurity Top Events blog, embedded image, 2026

As a flagship event, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s (AFCEA) TechNet Cyber brings together the policies, strategies and operations needed to meet global security challenges and successfully operate in a digital environment. The conference connects military and Government leaders with industry professionals through conversations led by the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Department of War (DoW) Chief Information Officer (CIO) and more. At AFCEA TechNet Cyber, attendees will have the chance to explore global security challenges and solutions with IT professionals and learn about new ways to combat sophisticated cybersecurity threats.

Carahsoft’s pavilion will feature more than 50 partners showcasing a full range of cybersecurity, AI, DevSecOps and cloud solutions. Fed Gov Today with Francis Rose will also be in the Carahsoft booth taping a broadcast TV episode showcasing Government and industry thought leaders at the event. In addition to our pavilion, Carahsoft will be hosting a networking reception. More information to come!

EDGE26 Summit

July 9-11, 2026 | San Diego, CA | In-Person Event

The Government Business Executive Forum (GBEF) will host the annual EDGE26 Security Summit, joining together 400 senior security professionals across multiple industries for three full days of discussion on the latest global and emerging security threats, strategies and technologies. The summit’s highly interactive, off-the-record executive roundtable agenda offers attendees and participants the opportunity to network, share perspectives and speak candidly on technology and mission issues. Additional impactful multimedia presentations will be broadcast live for virtual attendees, allowing for expanded interaction and insight into the progression of worldwide security innovation.

Sessions to look out for:

Your Biggest Cyber Risk Isn’t Technology – It’s AI-Powered Manipulation

Gen Z and Zconomy: New Discoveries and Specific Solutions to Unlock the Potential of Gen Z

This exclusive, invite-only event is reserved for GBEF members, Government officials and Carahsoft partners. Carahsoft’s participation in EDGE26 reflects our commitment to fostering high-level dialogue among senior security leaders and facilitating candid discussions on the most critical security challenges facing Government and industry.

SANS Government Security Forum

July 22, 2026 | Online Event

The SANS 2026 Government Forum, presented in partnership with Carahsoft, brings together Federal, State and Local Government cybersecurity professionals to explore the technology shaping secure, mission-ready environments. The program will examine how agencies can strengthen resilience amid rising nation-state threats, modernize legacy systems, secure hybrid infrastructures and adopt AI-enabled defense capabilities. Attendees will gain actionable insights from SANS instructors, Government leaders and industry experts on building security programs that are adaptable, auditable and operationally effective. Through technical briefings, case studies and expert-led discussions, the Forum highlights emerging defense strategies, interagency collaboration models, procurement considerations and proven approaches for securing critical services.

Attendees can expect:

Sessions highlighting proven strategies for modernizing Government cybersecurity programs.

Case studies from Federal, State and Local agencies, as well as insights from SANS instructors and Carahsoft partners.

Guidance on adopting secure architectures, AI-enabled defense, automation and aligning modernization with compliance.

Carahsoft looks forward to partnering with the SANS Institute to present the Government Forum for the sixth year in a row, demonstrating our shared commitment to empowering Public Sector cybersecurity professionals. This must-attend virtual event reflects our dedication to providing Government agencies with access to educational opportunities and preparing Public Sector professionals for the next generation of cyber challenges.

Black Hat USA

August 1-6, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV | In-Person Event

Black Hat USA, one of the world’s most respected information security conference series, is returning to Las Vegas in 2026. The event brings together cybersecurity professionals, hackers, executives and security researchers at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Black Hat USA features a six-day program with specialized training courses and a two-day main conference showcasing more than 100 selected briefings, demonstrations and networking opportunities. This essential gathering provides unparalleled chances for Government professionals to connect with leading experts, explore emerging threats and discover innovative defensive techniques.

Last year’s highlights:

Trainings exclusive to Black Hat, taught by experts from around the world, provided hands-on technical skill building.

Briefings led by security experts featured the latest cybersecurity risks, trends and groundbreaking research.

The 2025 Business Hall offered unique opportunities for attendees and vendors to network with cybersecurity professionals and explore a broad range of security products and solutions.

This year, Carahsoft is excited to announce that we will be hosting a networking reception again, providing a great opportunity to connect with industry peers. Our team looks forward to engaging with attendees throughout Black Hat USA and demonstrating how our partners’ solutions support mission-critical security requirements. Stay tuned for updates as plans develop!

Billington CyberSecurity Summit

September 8-10, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | In-Person Event

The 17th Annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit stands as the leading Government cybersecurity conference, bringing together over 2,500 attendees and 200+ top speakers for more than 40 sessions and breakouts. Attendees will have the chance to network and learn the latest cybersecurity trends, best practices and threats through an agenda that combines feedback from previous summits with current cyber issues. This must-attend event enables professionals to stay in front of cyber issues at every level, meet the most innovative companies working cybersecurity from nearly every angle and engage with a wide-ranging group of thought leaders within Federal, State and Local Government.

The program will feature:

A leadership luncheon

Over 100 cyber-focused vendor booths

A lineup of senior Government speakers

General and breakout sessions exploring key topics

Receptions where participants can engage with other attendees and speakers

Demonstrations of the latest developments and innovations in cybersecurity technology

Carahsoft is sponsoring the 17^th Annual Billington Cybersecurity Summit. Stop by our booth throughout the week to explore and learn more about our partners’ comprehensive range of cybersecurity solutions!

GovRAMP Cyber Summit

November 15-17, 2026 | San Antonio, Tx | In-Person Event

GovRAMP Cyber Summit is the premier event where Public and Private Sector leaders examine crucial cybersecurity, risk management and compliance topics and trends. Attendees will gain insights on framework harmonization and AI, best practices in supplier risk management and procurement, real-world case studies from top cybersecurity experts and discussions on emerging technologies and their compliance impact. Join national thought leaders as they explore opportunities for alignment across frameworks like FedRAMP, GovRAMP, Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy and more.

Carahsoft proudly serves as the presenting sponsor of the GovRAMP Cyber Summit, demonstrating our commitment to advancing State and Local Government cybersecurity. Our involvement reflects our dedication to helping agencies achieve secure cloud adoption through compliant solutions.

As the Government and cybersecurity community navigate significant transformation throughout 2026, these events offer invaluable opportunities to stay informed, connected and prepared. From comprehensive training opportunities to intimate networking sessions, each event provides unique perspectives on addressing today’s most pressing cybersecurity challenges. Carahsoft remains committed to supporting the Government through our extensive partner network, deep technical expertise and active participation in these essential industry gatherings. Join us at these events to discover innovative solutions, connect with industry leaders and advance your organization’s cybersecurity posture.

To learn more or get involved in any of the above events, please contact our team at CyberMarketing@carahsoft.com.

For more information on Carahsoft and our industry-leading cybersecurity technology partners, visit our cybersecurity solutions portfolio.

Top 10 OSINT Events for Government in 2026

Posted on by Marty Gryski

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) continues to evolve as a cornerstone capability for Government agencies, law enforcement and intelligence professionals navigating an increasingly complex information landscape. As OSINT methodologies advance through artificial intelligence (AI) integration, automated analysis and sophisticated data strategies, staying current with emerging trends and technologies is essential for mission success. Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, has spent years supporting the OSINT community through partnerships with leading solution providers and active participation in premier industry events. This list highlights the top OSINT events for 2026, offering Government professionals invaluable opportunities to learn, network and discover innovative approaches to intelligence gathering and analysis.

National Fusion Center Association Conference

March 30 – April 2, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | In-Person Event

The National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) Annual Training Event serves as the premier forum dedicated to connecting designated state and major urban area fusion centers. Through this gathering, participants gain access to specialized training and technical assistance while engaging in a collaborative environment designed to facilitate the exchange of critical insights. These shared best practices play a vital role in enhancing operational effectiveness and strengthening the overall intelligence capabilities of the national fusion center network. The conference provides an essential opportunity for information sharing professionals to advance their tradecraft and build lasting professional relationships.

Carahsoft will have a booth at the NFCA conference and feature its OSINT vendor partners in demo kiosks, showcasing solutions specifically designed for fusion center operations and information sharing. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore technologies that address the unique challenges of multi-jurisdictional intelligence coordination, threat assessment and real-time information analysis. Carahsoft’s presence at this event reflects our commitment to supporting the fusion center community with innovative OSINT tools that enhance situational awareness and operational collaboration across State and Local intelligence operations.

OSINT Foundation Tech Expo

April 30 – May 1, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The OSINT Foundation Tech Expo is an annual event that brings together professionals and experts in the field, showcasing the latest advancements in OSINT technologies and related services. Attendees can expect a variety of presentations, workshops and networking opportunities designed to enhance knowledge and skills in gathering and analyzing publicly available information. The event aims to foster collaboration and innovation within the OSINT community, making it a must-attend for anyone involved in intelligence and open source analysis.

Carahsoft is proud to host the OSINT Foundation Tech Expo at the Carahsoft Conference & Collaboration Center in Reston, a space dedicated to ensuring collaboration and support across the technology industry and Government. Carahsoft invites partners to join the 50 OSINT vendors and agencies already lined up to showcase their own tabletop exhibits, creating a comprehensive marketplace of OSINT solutions. Carahsoft has also collaborated with FedGovToday’s Francis Rose to interview partners for Innovation in Government and Video Insights, providing attendees with expert perspectives on the future of open source intelligence.

Border Security Expo

May 5-6, 2026 | Phoenix, AZ | In-Person Event

Border Security Expo is the largest and longest-standing event of its kind, bringing together the full border security community, from policy leaders and operational commanders to local law enforcement and industry innovators. It offers a dedicated forum to exchange ideas, strengthen professional networks and explore emerging technologies shaping the future of border operations. With its comprehensive conference sessions, hands-on demonstrations and expansive exhibit hall, the expo provides invaluable insights for professionals working to enhance border security capabilities.

Carahsoft will have a booth at Border Security Expo and feature vendors in demo kiosks, highlighting OSINT solutions tailored to border security challenges. The booth will showcase technologies that address critical needs in threat detection, smuggling interdiction and cross-border intelligence sharing. Attendees will be able to engage directly with Carahsoft’s OSINT subject matter experts to discuss how open source intelligence capabilities can enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness along our nation’s borders.

SOF Week

May 18-21, 2026 | Tampa, FL | In-Person Event

SOF Week 2026 is the annual gathering for the international Special Operations Forces (SOF) community. Jointly sponsored by U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the Global SOF Foundation, the event serves as a platform for fostering collaboration, innovation and excellence in modern special operations. SOF Week features keynote addresses from senior leaders, professional development workshops, networking opportunities and sessions focused on non-profit initiatives. This key event brings together over 19,000 attendees to shape the future of SOF operations.

OSMOSISCon

May 30 – June 2, 2026 | Buena Vista, FL | In-Person Event

Carahsoft, OSINT Top Events blog, embedded image, 2026

OSMOSISCon (Online Social Media and Open Source Investigation Summit Convention) serves as the premier open source, skills-building conference, dedicated to educating cyber intelligence investigators, researchers, reporters and analysts on the latest OSINT and Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT) techniques. The event offers specialized training sessions that dive into critical operational skills, including exposing fraud, identifying geolocations, navigating the dark web and cracking complex leads. By bringing together hundreds of professionals from diverse backgrounds, the conference creates an invaluable environment for knowledge sharing and professional development. Sessions will cover signals intelligence for proactive security, OSINT tactics to unmask fraudsters, validating leads from automated OSINT tools and financial technology in human trafficking investigations.

Carahsoft will have an exhibitor booth at OSMOSISCon and feature resources from vendors, serving as a comprehensive resource center for attendees seeking OSINT solutions. This booth will provide information on the latest tools and technologies that support the advanced investigative techniques being taught throughout the conference. Carahsoft’s presence at this skills-focused event demonstrates our commitment to supporting the professional development of OSINT practitioners with access to best-in-class technology solutions that enhance their investigative capabilities.

National District Attorneys Association Summer Summit

July 2026 | TBD | In-Person Event

The National District Attorneys (NDAA) Summer Summit serves as a pivotal event dedicated to enhancing community safety through the adoption of forward-thinking strategies. This conference unites a diverse group of prosecutors, legal experts, community leaders and policymakers to foster collaboration and dialogue. Through this gathering, attendees will explore innovative approaches to crime prevention and the implementation of effective re-entry programs that leverage OSINT capabilities to support investigations and prosecutorial efforts.

Carahsoft will have a booth at the NDAA Summit and feature its OSINT vendor partners in demo kiosks, showcasing solutions designed to support prosecutorial investigations and case development. The booth will highlight how OSINT tools can assist district attorneys’ offices in building stronger cases, conducting background investigations and identifying criminal networks. Carahsoft’s participation at this event reflects our understanding of the critical role open source intelligence plays in the criminal justice system and our commitment to providing prosecutors with advanced investigative technologies.

National Homeland Security Conference

August 10-13, 2026 | Louisville, KY | In-Person Event

The National Homeland Security Conference unites a diverse array of professionals across the fields of Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Fire and Emergency Management. This gathering draws officials from Federal and nonprofit agencies, alongside business owners, university representatives and key decision-makers. Attendees convene to gain insights into emerging security trends and to explore the latest equipment and technologies available to support their missions. The conference provides a comprehensive platform for learning about OSINT applications in homeland security operations.

Carahsoft’s Law Enforcement and OSINT teams will have a booth at the National Homeland Security Conference and feature vendors in demo kiosks, presenting a comprehensive suite of intelligence solutions for homeland security professionals. This joint team presence enables attendees to explore how OSINT capabilities integrate with broader law enforcement and emergency management technologies to enhance threat detection, emergency response and critical infrastructure protection. Carahsoft is committed to supporting the entire homeland security ecosystem with innovative intelligence gathering and analysis solutions.

OSMOSIS: DC Expo

October 6, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

OSMOSIS:DC brings the specialized excellence of the Global OSMOSIS Conference to the nation’s capital, offering a focused, one-day intensive for OSINT practitioners and cyber intelligence researchers. This regional event is tailored to the unique needs of the D.C.-based intelligence community, providing high-impact training on social media intelligence (SOCMINT) and OSINT. The summit is dedicated to refining the skills required to unmask digital identities, navigate emerging platforms and streamline complex investigations. By fostering a local environment for collaboration, OSMOSIS:DC enables professionals to share tactics and stay ahead of the rapidly evolving digital threat landscape.

Carahsoft is proud to support this regional gathering with a dedicated tabletop exhibit, serving as a comprehensive resource center for attendees looking to optimize their investigative toolkit. Our team will be on hand to provide insights into the latest OSINT solutions and facilitate connections with industry-leading vendor partners. Carahsoft’s involvement in OSMOSIS:DC highlights our commitment to localized professional development, ensuring that practitioners have immediate access to the technical resources and expertise required to solve their most challenging cases in the field.

ISS World North America

November 17-18, 2026 | Washington, DC | In-Person Event

ISS World North America stands as the world’s largest gathering of regional law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security analysts. The convention is specifically designed to support professionals tasked with lawful interception, hi-tech electronic investigations and network intelligence gathering. This year’s summit focuses on the methodologies required to combat drug trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities through advanced technical surveillance and data analytics. Attendees will gain deep-dive insights into the latest monitoring centers and investigative techniques essential for modern public safety and national security.

Carahsoft will maintain a prominent presence at ISS World North America, hosting an exhibitor booth that serves as a central hub for cutting-edge OSINT solutions. In addition to showcasing a robust portfolio of vendor partner technologies, Carahsoft will lead three 40-minute panels dedicated to critical OSINT topics. These expert-led sessions are designed to bridge the gap between complex data challenges and actionable intelligence, providing practitioners with the tools and strategies necessary to enhance their investigative workflows. Our participation underscores Carahsoft’s dedication to empowering the OSINT community with both high-level educational content and best-in-class technology.

DoDIIS Worldwide

TBD, 2026 | TBD | In-Person Event

The 2026 Department of Defense Intelligence Information System (DoDIIS) Worldwide Conference, hosted by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), will bring together leaders from the DoW, industry and academia experts, the Intelligence Community (IC) and Five Eyes (FVEY) partners to discuss the future of Information Technology (IT), cybersecurity and intelligence integration. The conference will feature keynote addresses from top defense officials and breakout sessions on AI, data analytics, cloud computing and emerging threats. This dynamic event represents the principal gathering for advancing national security through innovation and technological integration.

Carahsoft will showcase its Partner Pavilion with interactive demo kiosks and exhibitor booths, including several technology vertical alleys for attendees to visit. Carahsoft will also offer several speaking opportunities to its partners, including FedGovToday interviews, executive briefing sessions and an OSINT Panel. All DoDIIS attendees are invited to join Carahsoft for a networking reception, providing an unparalleled opportunity to engage with DoW intelligence professionals and explore how OSINT capabilities are transforming defense intelligence operations.

The landscape of open source intelligence continues to expand, with AI-driven analysis, automation and advanced data strategies reshaping how Government agencies gather, analyze and act on publicly available information. These premier events provide essential opportunities to stay ahead of emerging trends, connect with industry leaders and discover innovative solutions that enhance intelligence operations. Whether you are focused on national security, law enforcement or IC missions, joining Carahsoft at these events will equip you with the insights and connections needed to advance your OSINT capabilities.

To learn more or get involved in any of the above events, please contact us at OSINTVerticalMarketing@carahsoft.com.

For more information on Carahsoft and our industry-leading OSINT technology partners’ events, visit our OSINT solutions portfolio.

Top 10 GovExperience & CX Events for Government in 2026

Posted on by Tiffany Goddard

As Government agencies increasingly prioritize citizen-centric service delivery, customer experience (CX) has emerged as a critical mission imperative. Modern constituents expect seamless, responsive interactions across all touchpoints, from digital services to contact centers, mirroring their experiences in the Private Sector. Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, stands at the forefront of this transformation, offering a comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading solutions designed to enhance service delivery, improve citizen engagement and drive operational efficiency across Federal, State and Local agencies. Throughout 2026, a series of premier events will showcase the latest innovations, best practices and strategies that are reshaping how Government serves its communities. Here are the top Government service delivery and CX events Public Sector professionals should attend this year.

Adobe Government Forum 2026

February 5, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | Hybrid Event

The 16th Annual Adobe Government Forum highlights how Federal, State and Local leaders are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)-native tools and innovative strategies to shape the future of Government services. This year’s forum focuses on delivering faster, smarter and more personalized experiences that accelerate mission impact and reimagine citizen and employee engagement. The program features three tracks aligned with Government priorities: Creativity, turning ideas into impact; Experience, designing connected public services; and Productivity, empowering an AI-ready workforce.

Sessions to look out for:

Going Beyond Bureaucracy – Lessons from the Private Sector to Enhance Government Digital Services

Becoming Accessible by Default and Inclusive by Design

Transforming Communication Strategies with AI

Carahsoft is proud to be a Diamond Sponsor and host of the Closing Remarks Reception. We will also be hosting a Partner Networking Reception for our partner ecosystem the evening before, on February 4^th, creating additional opportunities for meaningful connections within the Government community.

X4 2026: The Experience Management Summit

March 17-19, 2026 | Seattle, WA | In-Person Event

Hosted by Qualtrics, this three-day summit is a must-attend event for experience management (XM) leaders across industries. The conference features inspiring keynotes, hands-on Basecamp sessions and real-world case studies demonstrating how organizations, including Public Sector agencies, are transforming customer, employee and citizen experiences. Attendees gain practical strategies, peer-driven insights and authentic connections to tackle today’s most pressing experience challenges while learning how agentic AI and emerging technologies are reshaping experience management across sectors. Session types include Main Stage Vision with company announcements, Basecamp & Deep Dives offering hands-on training and over 250 Breakout Strategy Sessions featuring real-world success stories.

Carahsoft is excited to be a Silver Sponsor at X4 2026. We are also proud to host a morning networking breakfast for State, Local and Education attendees, as well as an evening reception open to all Public Sector customers and partners, demonstrating our commitment to fostering collaboration across the Government CX community.

ACT-IAC Contact Center Summit

April 8, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The 2026 Contact Center Summit brings together Government and industry leaders for focused discussions on the evolving role of contact centers in delivering modern, digital-first services. Presented by the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC), the program explores best practices, emerging technologies and innovative strategies shaping the future of Government contact centers. Attendees gain actionable insights on enhancing CX through omni-channel engagement, AI and data-driven operations while connecting with peers driving transformation across the Public Sector. This event addresses the critical intersection of technology and service delivery in Government contact center operations.

Carahsoft is proud to be the facility sponsor, hosting attendees in partnership with ACT-IAC at our Conference & Collaboration Center. Together, we help foster an engaging space for Government and industry leaders to exchange ideas, share best practices and showcase mission-advancing solutions across the Public Sector. Our continued involvement reflects our commitment to empowering agencies with the tools, expertise and partnerships they need to enhance contact centers.

Government Social Media Conference (GSMCON) 2026

May 5-7, 2026 | New Orleans, LA | In-Person Event

GSMCON 2026 is a premier gathering for Public Sector professionals focused on elevating digital communication, strategy and constituent engagement. The event offers practical training, expert guidance and real-world examples tailored to today’s fast-changing digital environment. Attendees learn how to navigate platform shifts, compliance challenges and new technologies like AI, returning with actionable strategies that strengthen public trust and improve agency outcomes.

Sessions to look out for:

Keeping Pace with the Speed of AI

Managing Social Media Response Through Crisis and High-Pressure Events

Screen Reader Ready: Level Up Your Content Accessibility

Carahsoft is excited to be a Gold Sponsor at GSMCON 2026, the premier social media conference for Government agencies. Visit the Carahsoft exhibit booth to connect with our team and partners, such as Hootsuite, and discover how strategic social media solutions can transform your agency’s constituent engagement.

GovExperience Summit: Advancing Government Service Delivery & CX

June 2, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

Carahsoft, CX Top Events blog, embedded image, 2026

The GovExperience Summit (formerly the Government Customer Experience & Engagement Summit) showcases how AI, automation and data intelligence are transforming Government service delivery, from citizen engagement to workforce optimization. Sessions are offered in two tracks, Emerging Technology and Change Management, covering key priorities for Federal, defense and State and Local agencies. This event provides a comprehensive forum for exploring the intersection of emerging technologies and human-centered design in Public Sector service delivery, enabling attendees to develop strategies that balance innovation with accessibility.

Carahsoft, in partnership with GovExec, is proud to host our 16th annual summit, bringing together Government and industry experts to discuss the future of Public Sector CX and service delivery and to share strategies for driving innovation and impact. This long-standing partnership demonstrates Carahsoft’s sustained leadership in advancing the Government CX mission and service delivery.

Government Service Delivery

June 10-11, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | In-Person Event

Government Service Delivery (formerly GovernmentDX) is a leading conference that brings together senior Government leaders and technology innovators from the U.S. and around the world to drive tech-powered innovation and advance public service delivery. The event highlights the role of AI, data and cutting-edge technology in creating seamless, secure and citizen-centric experiences. Attendees participate in invite-only roundtables with global leaders to address shared challenges, alongside open sessions for public servants to learn, network and exchange best practices.

Sessions to look out for:

How Technology Can Modernize Government At All Levels

Data-Driven Delivery: How to Make Better Use of Insights in Government

Carahsoft is participating as a Bronze Sponsor with an exhibit booth and looks forward to connecting with the Government CX community to learn about their goals and initiatives and to showcase how our portfolio of solutions can help support them in their service delivery transformation journeys.

Dreamforce 2026

September 15-17, 2026 | San Francisco, CA | Hybrid Event

Dreamforce is three days of groundbreaking innovation, bold ideas and visionary inspiration, bringing together the world’s brightest minds to explore digital transformation and customer success. The event showcases the latest Salesforce tools and solutions to build engaging, seamless experiences that exceed constituent expectations. Through breakout sessions, hands-on workshops and networking with industry leaders and peers, participants gain practical insights and strategies to drive innovation and accelerate digital transformation. Government attendees will discover how enterprise CX platforms can be adapted to meet unique Public Sector requirements while delivering world-class citizen services.

Carahsoft is excited to sponsor Dreamforce 2026 and host a networking reception for our partners, creating an exclusive forum for Government professionals to connect with Salesforce experts and explore Public Sector CX solutions in a collaborative environment.

Service to the Citizen Awards

September 18, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | In-Person Event

The Service to the Citizen Awards recognizes public servants at all levels of Government, including Federal, State, Local, Tribal and international, along with their industry partners who demonstrate leadership, dedication and innovation in delivering services that positively impact citizens’ lives and rebuild trust in Government. While the event is reserved for award winners and sponsors, nominations open on January 26^th and run until April 10^th, with winners announced on June 17^th. This prestigious ceremony celebrates exemplary public servants who go above and beyond to deliver exceptional citizen experiences and support initiatives that transform Government services.

Submit your nominations here.

Carahsoft is honored to return as a Platinum Sponsor for 2026 and support our partners and customers in their nominations. Join us in honoring exemplary public servants. If you need support with the nomination process, please contact CXmarketing@carahsoft.com to learn how we can assist in recognizing outstanding achievements in Government CX.

ACT-IAC Digital Transformation Forum

September 22, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The 2026 Digital Transformation Forum convenes Government and industry leaders for a day of insights, discussions and networking focused on the future of digital services and innovation in the Public Sector. This forum provides a strategic platform for exploring how emerging technologies are reshaping Government operations and service delivery. Attendees connect with peers who are navigating similar digital transformation challenges while discovering practical approaches to modernization that balance innovation with security, compliance and accessibility requirements.

Carahsoft is hosting the ACT-IAC CX Summit at our Conference & Collaboration Center in Reston. We are committed to supporting Government professionals with the solutions and expertise needed to transform citizen services.

ACT-IAC CX Summit

November 13, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

Explore the future of digital services and CX across Government at the ACT-IAC CX Summit. This event brings together Federal and industry leaders for a day of conversations and insights focused on innovation, service delivery and modernizing Government operations. The summit provides a dedicated forum for CX professionals to discuss the strategic imperatives and practical implementations that enable agencies to achieve excellence in an increasingly digital Government landscape. Attendees gain access to expert perspectives on overcoming common CX challenges while discovering emerging solutions that can accelerate their agency’s service delivery transformation.

Whether you are seeking the latest innovations in service delivery and workforce optimization or exploring AI-driven automation and digital transformation strategies, these 2026 events provide essential forums for Government professionals committed to improving the Government customer experience. Each gathering offers unique opportunities to learn from peers, discover proven solutions and build relationships with the experts and vendors driving CX transformation across the Public Sector. As constituent expectations continue to evolve and new technologies like AI reshape what is possible in Government service delivery, staying connected to these communities of practice becomes increasingly critical for agencies seeking to deliver the seamless, responsive services citizens deserve.

To learn more or get involved in any of the above events, please contact us at CXMarketing@Carahsoft.com.

For more information on Carahsoft and our industry-leading CX technology partners’ events, visit our Customer Experience and Engagement solutions portfolio and CX events page.

EHR Integration Emerges as a Top Priority for Healthcare Professionals: What Care Teams Are Saying

Posted on by Tim Boltz

As Healthcare organizations continue to shift to digital documentation, care teams are managing an influx of unorganized and complex sets of patient data, forcing them to reevaluate how effectively their current systems meet evolving digital demands.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have been transformative for the Healthcare industry, allowing organizations to shift from paper-based documentation to centralized digital systems that support more consistent workflows, reduce documentation errors and provide timely access to critical patient information.

As Healthcare organizations and patients transition to electronic systems, the integration of modern EHR technology has become essential to sustaining clinical and administrative workflows.

To assess how technology is shaping Healthcare operations, CHIME and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted IT Solutions Provider for the Healthcare Industry™, surveyed EHR system users across various care environments, finding that nearly every Healthcare organization in the U.S. uses an EHR system and that many are prioritizing optimizing their EHR investments by integrating modern technologies that strengthen system performance and overall workflows.

Understanding the EHR Landscape Through Survey

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which encouraged the meaningful adoption of Healthcare technology. The law supported nationwide EHR implementation to reduce documentation errors and streamline clinical and administrative processes. Since then, technology has significantly advanced, leaving many Healthcare organizations with legacy EHR systems.

Key Survey Findings

• 36 percent of respondents report satisfaction with their current systems
• 44 percent are actively exploring ways to optimize EHR performance
• 4 percent are in an active transition to a new system

The survey results indicate that most organizations prefer targeted enhancements rather than complete system replacements. This shift toward incremental improvement highlights a growing need for technologies that can extend the capabilities of existing EHR platforms. This creates a tremendous opportunity for industry partners and healthcare technology to make a real difference for care teams and patients nationwide.

What Healthcare Organizations Value Most

Healthcare organizations prioritize features that support daily operations and drive user adoption. Survey respondents ranked user experience and workflow productivity as their top considerations, emphasizing that even advanced systems cannot deliver value if clinicians and staff find them difficult to use.

Survey results showed that Healthcare professionals rank customizability (15.4 percent) and training support (15.2 percent) as their highest EHR priorities, followed by AI capabilities at 11.8 percent. Additional priorities included:

Customer-facing experience (12.0 percent)
Security (9.6 percent)
Cost efficiency (9.1 percent)
Interoperability (8.5 percent)
Easy integration (8.2 percent)
User experience (6.3 percent)
Workflow productivity (4.0 percent)

While cost and security remain essential requirements, they are no longer the primary factors influencing EHR decisions. Healthcare organizations expect this as standard and are placing greater emphasis on usability and adaptability

Unlocking Potential Through Interoperability

Interoperability emerged as a key priority in the survey, with healthcare organizations seeking ways to integrate new technologies into their existing EHR systems. The ability to share patient data across systems and care settings is essential for improving coordination and supporting timely clinical decisions.

Through Carahsoft’s Healthcare Technology portfolio, partners like Google Cloud, Databricks and Broadcom help organizations integrate modern technology solutions into their existing EHR systems. These solutions enable systems to communicate effectively, supporting secure data exchange, analytics and care coordination without requiring full EHR replacement.

How AI Fits into Today’s EHR Environments

· Nearly 80 percent of Healthcare organizations use AI in their EHR systems

· 38.3 percent use natural language processing and dictation tools to reduce documentation workload

· Robotic process automation and large language models each account for 19.1 percent of use

As Healthcare teams turn to AI to improve efficiency, many organizations are adopting tools that support faster and more accurate clinical documentation. Solutions available through Carahsoft’s AI and Healthcare portfolios help providers streamline note taking and reduce administrative workload. Partners such as Google Cloud and Bamboo Health use natural language processing to capture patient conversations and generate structured clinical notes, cutting documentation time and improving accuracy.

Customization For Administrative Excellence

Modern Healthcare organizations are rejecting one-size-fits-all approaches and instead adopting technology that can be tailored to their specific workflows. The survey found that 30 percent of respondents ranked customizability and training support as top priorities, indicating that successful technology adoption depends on tools that can adjust to each organization’s operational needs.

Solutions available through partners like VisualVault and Salesforce support administrative efficiency through automation, intuitive interfaces and seamless integrations. These capabilities help reduce manual workloads and allow Healthcare teams to focus more time on patient care.

Security: A Multi-Layered Imperative

Survey results show that 82 percent of Healthcare organizations use third-party cybersecurity or backup solutions in addition to their EHR’s native protections. This reflects the need for layered security approaches that address a range of threats and operational risks. Organizations can meet these needs through solutions available in Carahsoft’s cybersecurity and Healthcare portfolios.

Industry leading partners like Cohesity, Broadcom and Datadog support Zero Trust architecture and NIST-aligned frameworks that strengthen data protection and recovery capabilities. These solutions integrate with existing EHR environments to provide immutable backups, disaster recovery, continuous monitoring and threat detection.

Additionally, SmartCare^TM, Streamline Healthcare’s platform, also supports security needs through its cloud-based and Software as a Service deployment options, offering a single, web-based system that maintains current security standards and certifications.

Featured Solutions: Innovation in Action

As The Trusted IT Solutions Provider for the Healthcare Industry™, Carahsoft offers a robust portfolio of healthcare technology solutions that make positive changes in the quality, safety and effectiveness of healthcare delivery systems. Carahsoft works with a range of Healthcare technology partners that support EHR optimization across clinical and administrative environments.

FusionEHR: Integrated Care Across Specialties

Fusion Health’s premier EHR, FusionEHR, delivers integrated features ideal for medical, behavioral health, dental and optometry services, while adhering to industry requirements from NCCHC, ACA and PBNDS. The platform offers integrated user experience for customers, supporting configurable workflows and specialty applications that help organizations tailor documentation and clinical processes to their needs.

TechCare GO: Specialized Correctional Healthcare

Naphcare’s TechCare GO extends the TechCare EHR platform into a browser-based tool designed for correctional Healthcare. It supports medication administration and clinical documentation in both connected and offline environments, enabling consistent care in various settings.

Carahsoft at Upcoming Healthcare Events

Explore the latest in healthcare cybersecurity at HIMSS26 to better understand how organizations are protecting electronic health information across modern EHR environments.

Join industry leaders at ViVE 2026 to dive into the AI and cybersecurity innovations shaping next-generation EHR optimization and digital health transformation.

Ready To Optimize Your EHR System?

As EHR systems evolve from documentation tools to comprehensive care enablement platforms, organizations that strategically leverage partnerships and integrations will unlock their systems’ full potential, delivering exception, patient coordinated care.

Visit Carahsoft’s Healthcare Technology portfolio to explore EHR solutions and enhancement technologies.

Get in touch with the Healthcare team at Carahsoft to discuss which EHR solution is best for you; or download Carahsoft’s Healthcare Buyer’s Guide to explore solutions that may align with your operational and clinical needs.

Top 10 AI Events for Government in 2026

Posted on by Mike Adams

Artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from experimental technology into a mission-critical capability for Government agencies at all levels. From enhancing cybersecurity operations and streamlining citizen services to enabling predictive analytics and advancing national security objectives, AI is fundamentally reshaping how the Public Sector delivers on its mission. As agencies accelerate AI adoption, understanding the latest developments, best practices and ethical frameworks is essential. Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, brings deep expertise in AI solutions for the Public Sector, connecting agencies with leading technology providers and proven implementation strategies. Throughout 2026, Carahsoft and our partners will participate in premier AI events designed to help Government professionals navigate the complexities of AI adoption, explore cutting-edge solutions and connect with experts shaping the future of AI.

Meet the Chiefs: Chief Artificial Intelligence

February 12, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | In-Person Event

During this Meet the Chiefs discussion, NextGov/FCW will examine how Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers (CAIOs) are putting national AI priorities into action across Government agencies. Speakers will explore how recent policies are shaping governance models, workforce strategies and industry collaboration as AI becomes more deeply embedded in Government operations. The conversation will address the critical balance between innovation and risk management, examining the infrastructure needed to support AI at scale and the trust-building efforts essential for successful AI adoption. Attendees will gain insights into how agencies are translating high-level AI directives into operational reality, with particular focus on data and compute infrastructure requirements for AI at scale.

Session to look out for:

Laying the Groundwork: Data and Compute Infrastructure for AI at Scale

Carahsoft partner Oracle is the exclusive underwriter for this event, demonstrating the critical role that enterprise AI infrastructure plays in enabling Government AI initiatives. Oracle provides the foundational data platforms, cloud infrastructure and AI services that empower Federal agencies to deploy AI at scale while maintaining security, compliance and data sovereignty. Carahsoft’s partnership with Oracle ensures Government agencies have streamlined access to the enterprise AI capabilities discussed at this event, from autonomous databases that power AI workloads to sovereign AI infrastructure designed specifically for Public Sector requirements.

2026 Defense IT Summit

February 26, 2026 | Arlington, VA | In-Person Event

The Defense IT Summit brings together senior IT leaders to examine how emerging technologies and strategies are advancing mission readiness across the Department of War (DoW). Senior officials will highlight defense priorities in AI, acquisition, cybersecurity and risk management, with particular focus on accelerating technology delivery at the speed of mission. The summit addresses the critical challenge of translating AI innovation into operational capability, exploring how the DoW is transforming acquisition processes, integrating AI into warfighting systems and building the infrastructure needed to support AI-enabled decision-making.

Session to look out for:

AI Transforming Future Warfighting and The Future of Defense Acquisition

Carahsoft is a proud partner of GovCIO and is excited to support their 2026 Defense IT Summit, bringing together our extensive portfolio of AI and defense IT solutions tailored to DoW requirements. Our partnership with GovCIO enables us to showcase how leading AI providers are addressing the unique challenges of defense IT modernization, from secure AI development environments to edge AI capabilities for tactical operations. Carahsoft’s presence at this summit ensures defense IT leaders have direct access to the solution providers who understand DoW’s specific security requirements, acquisition processes and the urgency of deploying AI capabilities that enhance warfighter advantage.

Google Public Sector Applied Government Geo & AI Summit

February 24, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The Applied Government Geo & AI Summit brings together Government leaders, technologists and innovators to explore how AI, geospatial data and advanced engineering tools are reshaping Public Sector operations. Hosted by Woolpert Digital Innovations, Google Public Sector and Carahsoft, this summit examines the powerful convergence of AI and geospatial intelligence, from automated image analysis and change detection to predictive modeling for infrastructure planning and emergency response. Attendees will learn how agencies are utilizing AI-powered geospatial capabilities to enhance various aspects, including defense operations, border security, urban planning and environmental monitoring.

Session to look out for:

AI and Geospatial Data Transformations and AI in Defense, Infrastructure, and Data Management

Carahsoft is proud to co-host this event alongside Google Public Sector and Woolpert Digital Innovations, demonstrating our commitment to advancing the intersection of AI and geospatial technologies for Government missions. As a leading distributor of Google Cloud solutions to the Public Sector, Carahsoft ensures agencies can access the powerful combination of Google’s AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities with advanced geospatial analytics platforms.

NVIDIA GTC 2026

March 16-19, 2026 | San Jose, CA | Hybrid Event

NVIDIA GTC is the premier global AI conference, where developers, researchers and business leaders come together to explore the next wave of AI innovation. From physical AI and AI factories to agentic AI and inference, GTC 2026 will showcase the breakthroughs shaping every industry, including Government and defense. The conference takes place across venues throughout downtown San Jose, featuring hundreds of technical sessions exploring everything from AI infrastructure and accelerated computing to real-world AI deployments. Government attendees will discover how agencies worldwide are leveraging NVIDIA’s AI platforms to power everything from scientific research and weather prediction to autonomous systems and intelligence analysis.

Sessions to look out for:

AI Talks and Panels

Jensen Huang’s Keynote Address

Developer Days and Hackathons

Carahsoft is the exclusive host of the Public Sector Reception at GTC on Tuesday, March 17 (tentative), providing Government attendees with a dedicated networking venue designed specifically for Public Sector professionals to connect with peers and solution providers focused on Government AI challenges. Carahsoft is also an exhibitor sponsor of NVIDIA GTC 2026. We encourage you to stop by our booth to learn about AI capabilities within Government and discover how our partnership ecosystem is supporting agencies with NVIDIA-powered solutions.

2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit

March 18, 2026 | Location To Be Announced | In-Person Event

According to AI experts, we are currently experiencing the largest and fastest-moving surge of AI development in history, with more progress occurring in days and months than was achieved over decades in previous AI waves. This sixth annual AI Summit from Potomac Officers Club brings together top voices from Federal agencies, DoW components and the Government contracting industry to discuss strategies, plans and exciting use cases for how AI, ML and automation are transforming Government operations. The age of AI being merely theoretical is over. This summit features real practitioners sharing how they are deploying AI at scale. Don’t miss keynote speaker Jay Meil, the VP of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics and Chief Data Scientist at SAIC, along with other senior Government and industry AI leaders.

Carahsoft was proud to be a gold sponsor of the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Summit, along with our partners EmpowerAI, Primer, Oracle, Coursera and Percipient.AI and we look forward to continuing our support of this premier Government AI gathering in 2026. Carahsoft is committed to ensuring that Government decision-makers have direct access to the comprehensive AI solutions portfolio that Carahsoft brings to market, from AI development platforms and MLOps tools to AI governance frameworks and specialized AI applications designed for Public Sector missions.

Warfighter AI Innovation Summit

March 26, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The Warfighter AI Innovation Summit focuses on cutting-edge AI technologies that enhance forward-deployed warfighter capabilities. This specialized event brings together warfighters with senior leaders, innovators and industry experts, focusing on data fusion, sensors and creating subject matter expert applications across forward-deployed use cases. Designed to foster collaboration across Government, military and industry, this summit equips participants with actionable insights to accelerate AI adoption and translate innovation into operational impact. Sessions will explore AI success on the front lines and how to use AI to achieve operational advantage and battlefield dominance, addressing the unique challenges of deploying AI in contested, disconnected environments.

Session to look out for:

AI Success on the Front Line and Using AI to Achieve Operational Advantage and Battlefield Dominance

Carahsoft is a proud partner of Federal AI Accelerator. Our partnership enables us to connect warfighters and defense decision-makers with specialized AI technologies designed for tactical edge operations, from computer vision for threat detection to AI-powered Command and Control (C2) systems. Carahsoft understands that successful warfighter AI requires not just cutting-edge algorithms, but solutions engineered for the reliability, speed and security demands of combat operations, along with acquisition pathways that can deliver these capabilities at the pace of operational need.

AITALKS 2026

April 14, 2026 | Washington, D.C. | In-Person Event

With the mainstream arrival of large-language, generative AI models, AI has emerged as a top priority for driving economic prosperity and boosting Government efficiency and mission effectiveness. AITalks is where top Government leaders, tech innovators and industry experts converge to explore the transformative potential of AI in the Public Sector, particularly as new priorities establish the nation’s AI vision and direction. With AI set to revolutionize Government operations, the nation is at a critical juncture where it is competing to set the tone for global AI leadership.

Session to look out for:

Going All In on AI-Powered Government and Advancing AI on the Frontlines

Carahsoft partner Microsoft is a Diamond sponsor at the 2026 AITALKS, reflecting Microsoft’s leadership position in enterprise AI and their commitment to helping Government harness AI capabilities through Azure AI, Microsoft 365 Copilot and industry-specific AI solutions. Previous AITALKS sponsors have included Salesforce, AWS, Elastic, Broadcom, Cloudflare, IBM, Red Hat, Seekr and Nutanix/Pryon, a roster that demonstrates the breadth of Carahsoft’s AI partner ecosystem. As a key partner to many of these leading AI providers, Carahsoft ensures Government attendees can explore the full range of AI solutions available through our contracts, from foundational AI infrastructure to specialized applications addressing specific Public Sector use cases.

SANS AI Cybersecurity Summit 2026

April 20-27, 2026 | Arlington, VA | Hybrid Event

The AI Cybersecurity Summit brings together the most critical aspects of AI in cybersecurity, from leveraging AI to strengthen defenses to protecting against sophisticated AI-powered attacks that are already reshaping the threat landscape. This unique event addresses both offensive and defensive dimensions of AI in cybersecurity, exploring how agencies can use AI to enhance threat detection, automate incident response and improve security operations while simultaneously defending against adversaries who are weaponizing AI for attacks. Attendees will connect with cybersecurity professionals, AI/ML experts and thought leaders to exchange insights and advance AI-powered cybersecurity solutions.

Session to look out for:

AI Governance and Risk, Offensive AI Adversary Tradecraft, and Protecting AI Architectures

Carahsoft partner Microsoft is a sponsor of this critical event in the AI and cybersecurity space, bringing its extensive experience in AI security through Microsoft Defender, Azure AI security capabilities and its responsible AI frameworks. The convergence of AI and cybersecurity represents one of the most pressing challenges facing Government agencies today. Organizations must simultaneously adopt AI to enhance their security posture while defending their own AI systems from attack and ensuring AI is deployed responsibly. Carahsoft’s partnership with Microsoft and other leading cybersecurity and AI providers positions us to guide agencies through this complex landscape, offering integrated solutions that address both AI-enhanced security operations and the security of AI systems themselves.

GEOINT 2026

May 3-6, 2026 | Aurora, CO | In-Person Event

Explore the intersection of technology and security as the geospatial intelligence community (IC) addresses challenges and opportunities in today’s complex geopolitical landscape. From land to sea and cyberspace to outer space, GEOINT’s impact is felt across every dimension and domain. Attendees will engage with industry experts, Government leaders and innovators to discover how geospatial intelligence is shaping a safer world for tomorrow. With AI and ML now central to modern GEOINT capabilities, this year’s symposium places special emphasis on GeoAI, spotlighting current innovations and future opportunities in AI and ML applied to geospatial data, from automated change detection and object recognition to predictive analytics for strategic planning.

Carahsoft is a proud annual sponsor of the GEOINT Symposium and will have a large presence on the tradeshow floor, ensuring maximum visibility throughout this premier geospatial intelligence event. This year, we have also partnered with NVIDIA to host the exhibit hall Scaling AI Stage, a dedicated venue for exploring how Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-accelerated computing and AI platforms are transforming geospatial intelligence processing, enabling real-time analysis of massive imagery datasets and sophisticated AI models for intelligence applications.

AI for Government Summit

May 19, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

Carahsoft is excited to announce our 3rd Annual Artificial Intelligence for Government Summit. Join Federal, State and Local Government leaders, practitioners and industry experts to explore how AI is transforming missions, services and infrastructure across the Public Sector. From copilots that streamline daily workflows to advanced cybersecurity, responsible AI frameworks and next-generation data strategies, this summit shows practical solutions aligned with the latest administrative orders and policy guidance. Attendees will gain insights from Government decision-makers, engage with hands-on training from leading AI companies and leave with actionable strategies to accelerate innovation while building trust and security in AI adoption.

Session to look out for:

Advanced Reasoning in the Age of Agentic AI and Innovation and Workforce in the AI Era

Carahsoft is the proud host of the AI for Government Summit, our flagship AI event designed specifically for the unique needs and challenges of Public Sector AI adoption. This year’s sponsors include AWS, Broadcom, Dell, Intel, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Palo Alto Networks, Salesforce and many others. As both the host and convener of this summit, Carahsoft curates an agenda that directly addresses the most pressing questions facing Government AI practitioners: how to move from pilot to production, how to ensure responsible and ethical AI deployment, how to build the data infrastructure and workforce capabilities needed for AI success and how to navigate the complex landscape of AI regulations and policies while maintaining the agility to innovate at mission speed.

Federal AI Forum

August 13, 2026 | Reston, VA | In-Person Event

The Federal AI Forum dives into the next frontier of AI: agentic AI. Experts from across Government, academia and industry will discuss how autonomous agents and copilots are reshaping workflows and policy in the Public Sector. This forum offers a forward-looking conversation about critical issues in responsible adoption, architecture and practical implementation of agentic AI systems in Federal missions. As AI systems evolve from tools that assist human decision-making to autonomous agents capable of multi-step reasoning and independent action, Government agencies face new questions about governance, accountability and security.

Session to look out for:

Agentic AI Use Cases and Data Security and Accountability

Carahsoft is proud to be the Anchor Sponsor of the 2026 Federal AI Forum, to help Government agencies navigate the emerging landscape of agentic AI and autonomous systems. This year’s sponsors include Box, ServiceNow, Granicus, Seekr, Latent AI, Stryk.AI and others, partners who are pioneering the development of agentic AI capabilities specifically designed for Government use cases.

As AI continues to mature from emerging technology into essential infrastructure, Government agencies face both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges. The events highlighted above represent the best venues for Government professionals to gain practical knowledge, connect with proven solution providers and learn from peers who have successfully navigated AI implementation. Whether you are just beginning to explore AI capabilities or seeking to optimize existing initiatives, these gatherings provide invaluable insights, hands-on experience and strategic guidance from the leaders shaping AI’s future in Government.

Connect with Carahsoft’s AI experts who understand Government requirements, compliance frameworks and proven implementation strategies. Whether you are attending one of these events or planning your AI roadmap, we are here to help.

Contact us at AITeam@carahsoft.com to discuss your specific AI challenges, schedule a demo or coordinate meetings at upcoming events.

Explore our AI solutions portfolio to see how we’re helping agencies like yours harness the power of AI to achieve mission success.

Revolutionizing Road Safety: How Blyncsy Uses AI To Leverage Dashcam Footage

Posted on by Mark Pittman

By accessing over a million commercial dashcams, Blyncsy, a part of Bentley Systems, uses movement intelligence to improve mobility and transportation, uses artificial intelligence (AI) vision to pinpoint roadway issues, extrapolate pain points and alert local officials with the most efficient solution to the problem.

Infrastructure Pain Points

State and Local Governments rely on manual inspections to maintain roadways. These are incredibly expensive, as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems cost 200 dollars or more per mile to operate. These fact-finding missions are both labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Information collected to make informed decisions on roadway maintenance is often coming from multiple sources. Fragmented and sometimes outdated data makes informed analysis difficult to obtain. Government officials need to be able to take these data points and interpret their value to suit modern needs, such as the wear of heavier electric vehicles and extreme weather on roadways, the use of autonomous vehicles and population increase in urban areas.

How AI-Vision Works

Blyncsy’s AI-Vision collects images from commercial dashcams currently on roadways around the country. The journey from raw footage to data analysis takes place in three steps:

Upload and Validate: Images are collected and validated by examining meta details such as direction information, date and time stamps and heading information.
Segment: AI-Vision breaks down the image and groups like objects together.
Mask: Blyncsy highlights the segments that are valuable to the relative Government agency and provides near real-time insights.

Bentley Systems purchases the footage from partnering dashcam providers and makes the data available to State and Local officials that allow them to make informed and cost-effective decisions to improve their infrastructure. Proactive maintenance applications allow agencies to combine disparate data points to demonstrate how they interact with each other. For example, Blyncsy’s AI-Vision can identify a crosswalk in an image, then analyze the condition of the crosswalk paint and surrounding streetlights. This comprehensive analysis can help agencies quickly determine which intersections are not safe for pedestrians, and subsequently where they should be focusing maintenance efforts.

Blyncsy’s Capabilities

With the dashcams passively capturing and uploading every detail of the roads their drivers travel, Blyncsy’s practical applications are as numerous as the elements they capture.

Safety Critical Assets: From guardrail detection and damage to paint line degradation, the AI-Vision can capture and evaluate the extent of the damage, determine whether the damage is severe enough to require immediate repair. Hawaii is the first to utilize this technology state-wide to detect vegetation encroachment and guardrail damage. As a result, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HIDOT) can prioritize resolving the most critical safety issues.
Roadway Detection: Similarly, AI-Vision can detect roadway conditions, including recognizing potholes and pavement cracking and issuing a Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) score, where ratings can indicate good or poor pavement condition.
Sign Inventory: Blyncsy can identify how each sign it captures is categorized according to their Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Classification. From there, it can assess damage and even recognize whether a sign is missing. They can also perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on signs to read the text.

These are only a few of the numerous ways Blyncsy’s AI-Vision technology can make roadway and infrastructure maintenance more efficient and cost-effective.

Watch Blyncsy CEO Mark Pittman discuss the capabilities of AI-Vision and how it can help optimize your infrastructure maintenance systems.

To learn more about Blyncsy (a Bentley company) or Bentley, or to schedule a demo, contact Bentley@carahsoft.com or call (703) 673-3570.

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, including Blyncsy, we deliver solutions for Geospatial, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Explore the Carahsoft Blog to learn more about the latest trends in Government technology markets and solutions, as well as Carahsoft’s ecosystem of partner thought-leaders.

Securing Air-Gapped and Classified Environments: The Importance of Customized Endpoint Protection

Posted on by Garrett Lee

Military and intelligence agencies manage extremely sensitive information, and their missions often require them to operate in high-risk environments where even the slightest breach of security or sensitive data exposure means disastrous results to the mission and to national security. Their most vital networks are air-gapped—disconnected from the internet—so cloud-native security tools cannot secure these sensitive assets.

There is a myriad of reasons organizations choose to air-gap their systems. To effectively secure classified networks, weapons systems, tactical field systems and critical infrastructure, agencies are faced with the challenge of building and maintaining a security strategy involving endpoint, network and data security defenses that can deliver strong cyber command and control without relying on internet connectivity.

No Single Strategy is 100% Attack Proof

Physically or logically isolating networks into air-gapped networks is a sound security strategy that defense, intelligence and civilian agencies employ to prevent access to sensitive or classified systems and operations. Yet their isolation alone is not enough to ensure air-tight security.

While air-gapping does reduce remote risk, it is not exactly immune to cyber risk. Air-gapped environments are designed to block external adversaries by isolating networks from the internet or a broader enterprise. But that isolation inevitably shifts risk toward the people who do have access—admins, operators, contractors, maintenance staff and trusted vendors. By eliminating one problem, there is often an unintended consequence of risk—by blocking outsiders, threat likelihood from insiders becomes concentrated.

In most air-gapped environments, a small set of users has elevated access. Patching and updates are slow, and monitoring is limited or entirely local to the air-gapped network. Due to the isolation of the systems, physical presence is required, increasing insider impact. This makes insiders the most capable attack vector—whether through malicious or simply negligent behavior.

Air-gapped environments make heavy use of Universal Serial Bus (USB), compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), portable Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and sneakernet to move data from system to system, and to apply updates and patches. This offers the opportunity for tampering, and these environments often lack the continuous monitoring needed to spot and stop these risks, resulting in threat detection gaps and delays. A mature data protection strategy is vital in air-gapped environments to thwart insider threats.

Because air gapped systems rely entirely on local security measures, organizations must build layered, robust defenses to secure classified and sensitive assets. Local protection is everything, and for high-risk agencies that means monitoring and securing every single endpoint.

How Endpoint Protection Fills the Gaps

Endpoint protection is a broad term describing technology and strategies used to secure end-user devices, such as laptops, computers and mobile devices. Since these devices get the most direct human interaction while housing vital data, they are exceptionally vulnerable to cyberattacks, even in air-gapped networks. To avoid critical breaches, security operators must be able to detect, prevent and respond to threats on each endpoint device in any given environment, especially when they interact with classified data.

Many organizations are turning to cloud-native endpoint security solutions that depend upon cloud-based machine learning for anomaly detection. While these endpoint security tools may be suitable for some systems and some environments, they depend on the cloud to function so they cannot operate in disconnected or air-gapped environments. This opens security gaps, leaving devices vulnerable to cyberattacks and insider threats. Security teams can solve this problem by investing in endpoint protection approaches that are well-suited to air-gapped environments, enabling the visibility and control necessary to safeguard these critical systems.

The Benefits of Customizable Endpoint Protection

The ability to tailor security for nuanced policy control and security monitoring—including specific configurations for user roles, device types or classification levels—is crucial to ensure a strong security posture. Endpoint security solutions must also be established independently from the cloud, to run behavioral analytics even in fully isolated network enclaves.

When a threat occurs, detailed information is vital to protecting high-value assets, and robust air-gapped endpoint security systems enable rapid identification and threat mitigation while providing analysts with forensic data for investigation. This critical context also informs refinements to tailor and optimize the security approach for the environment’s unique mission.

Implementing a Zero Trust approach is still vital to reducing threats to air-gapped environments, just as it is in internet-facing networks. Hardening systems by ensuring only trusted software can execute enables the mission but not an attacker.

Safeguarding the data from insider threats is another important element of a mature air-gapped security operation. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) offers an important countermeasure against cybersecurity risk in air-gapped environments and allows security teams the ability to ensure that organizational data is appropriately controlled.

Two Industry Leaders, One Unbreakable Line of Defense

Defense and intelligence agencies cannot afford to leave gaps from security tooling that is unsuitable to defend disconnected networks and endpoints. They need an endpoint security suite built for their world—one that delivers advanced security capabilities to offline, high-stakes and mission critical IT systems. Symantec and Carbon Black deliver exactly that: proven protection designed for Federal environments.

Both solutions are purpose-built for Government, but each brings its own strengths to the field:

Symantec delivers powerful static and dynamic malware analysis, plus built-in USB device management to automatically flag and quarantine malicious media. Symantec also offers an industry-leading DLP solution well-suited to air-gapped environments where ensuring data is properly safeguarded is mission-critical.
Carbon Black provides deep behavioral detection and advanced Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), capturing forensic logs, watchlists tuned to the unique environment and analytics to support detailed investigations. Carbon Black also enables organizations to establish a positive security model with policy-based governance to ensure their systems only execute trusted software and use only allowed removable media devices.

Joined together, renowned brands Symantec and Carbon Black offer proven, mature solutions to safeguard air-gapped environments and data by providing visibility to identify threats and streamline investigations and protection policies to neutralize threats. Their combined detection and granular visibility close the gaps left by cloud-reliant platforms—especially necessary in disconnected air-gapped and bandwidth-constrained environments—giving agencies the command and control they need to stop threats before they compromise the mission.

Watch the expert webinar to hear how Department of War guest speakers are addressing their endpoint security gaps.

Can’t get enough? Download NextGov/FCW’s latest article for deeper insights on the fight to secure air-gapped environments.

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, including Broadcom, we deliver solutions for Geospatial, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Explore the Carahsoft Blog to learn more about the latest trends in Government technology markets and solutions, as well as Carahsoft’s ecosystem of partner thought-leaders.

Cybersecurity Automation: Strengthening Defense in a Resource-strapped Environment

Posted on by Jeff Ladner

If you work in Government agencies or as a contractor, you feel the pressure to do more with less every day. Security teams in particular have to reduce response times despite limited staff and resources.

Cybersecurity automation gives a practical way to manage these tasks without relying on constant hiring. Two core compliance frameworks that shape this work for you are the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

NIST organizes cybersecurity activities into five functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover. Meanwhile, CMMC defines maturity levels and specific practices across domains, such as access control, auditing and incident response. Let’s explore three cybersecurity automation strategies that help organizations strengthen their defense.

Why Cybersecurity Automation Is Important

For security teams, a typical day revolves around manual triage, status chasing and spreadsheet maintenance. Cybersecurity automation changes it by pulling live data from your systems to maintain current asset and risk inventories. This happens without asking people to update information by hand.

Under NIST’s Identify function, this means you can see where your critical assets live and how they change over time. On the other hand, the Protect function benefits from automated patching, network segmentation and access monitoring that do not depend on someone remembering to run a script.

Cybersecurity automation also strengthens access control. It enables security professionals to manage who joins, moves and leaves networks and critical systems. At the same time, it keeps user privileges aligned with each user’s role.

This automation handles all your repeatable tasks, allowing you and your teams to spend more time on strategic risk decisions instead of routine checks. You can easily keep pace with security requirements even when the headcount is tight.

Three Ways Cybersecurity Automation Reduces Risks

The main purpose of automating cybersecurity is to minimize threats and speed up recovery and incident response times. Below are three cybersecurity automation strategies that help achieve that:

Smarter Threat Detection

Staff shortages directly or indirectly impact almost every step of your security process. This also includes your ability to watch for threats around the clock. With manual scans and periodic log reviews, your team is more likely to leave gaps that adversaries can take advantage of.

Cybersecurity automation closes those gaps by running continuous monitoring and correlating logs across your security operations center. It also surfaces patterns, such as unusual data transfers or login behaviors, that deserve a closer look. This lines up directly with the Detect function of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which emphasizes the timely discovery of cybersecurity events.

Automated anomaly detection can learn what “normal” looks like in your environment and instantly flag deviations for investigation. Your analysts don’t have to stare at dashboards all day. This way, you give your security operations greater depth without adding more people to the roster.

Additionally, CMMC strengthens this need through the AU (Audit and Accountability) domain. It expects systematic collection, protection and review of audit logs. Automation can collect and timestamp events, retain them according to policy and perform first-level analysis to find suspicious sequences. If you work in Government services, this type of threat detection raises your confidence that your team won’t miss any meaningful events.

Faster Incident Response and Recovery

Security teams feel the need for more staff members, especially when something goes wrong. A strong incident response plan only helps if you can execute it quickly and consistently.

Cybersecurity automation brings that plan into action by triggering playbooks as soon as a qualifying event occurs. The automated system instantly isolates affected systems, blocks malicious IP addresses and starts forensics workflows without waiting for someone to manually coordinate the steps.

NIST’s Respond and Recover functions call for well-defined processes that you can rely on during stressful situations. With automation in place, regular backups can be created and tested according to schedule. It also makes sure recovery takes place before systems return to production and that every step is logged for later review.

CMMC’s IR (Incident Response) domain expects this level of definition and documentation. This is much easier to achieve via automation than phone calls or ad hoc emails.

Compliance Made More Manageable

Agencies and contractors working in regulated environments must show that they consistently follow their stated controls. NIST SP 800-53 includes controls that can be supported through cybersecurity automation, such as CA-7 for continuous monitoring. It runs assessments on a defined cadence and produces standardized reports for reviewers.

For security teams, this means they can rely on their automation solutions to maintain an up-to-date record of control performance.

CMMC evaluates maturity across Risk Assessment (RA) and Security Assessment (CA) domains. Automation can help you bring together threat, vulnerability and asset information to support cybersecurity activities without adding new layers of manual work. These include objective risk scoring, tracking remediation activities and monitoring third-party risks.

This automates the flow of information and helps security teams, auditors and compliance leaders easily interpret the results. You still own the decisions, but security automation makes it much easier to show how your program aligns with compliance requirements.

Choosing the Right Cybersecurity Automation Platform

If you’ve already started planning to put these strategies into practice, you may still be wondering which security automation platform to choose. As a general rule of thumb, look for a solution that:

Connects to your existing cybersecurity technology, tools and processes
Supports a range of users, from CISOs and risk officers to analysts and auditors
Offers no-code or low-code options, as they allow security teams to design and adjust workflows without requiring many development resources
Aligns with your long-term Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) strategy while giving you quick wins in log review, alert triage, incident response and control testing
Ties with NIST and CMMC requirements
Comes with strong reporting and user experiences

Onspring offers all these features to security teams. Their no-code GRC platform connects risk, compliance and audit data so you can manage policies, assessments and issues in one place.

The platform has strong social proof. Their customers report saving up to 70% of the time they once spent managing policies, consolidating 12% of their applications and improving overall business efficiency by 33%.

Onspring also automates repetitive tasks and displays everything on spreadsheets and dashboards for easy collaboration. It also has GovCloud support for Government environments, which enables CISOs, auditors and security teams to manage security-related functions on autopilot.

Connect with Onspring’s team to understand how their cybersecurity automation capabilities can reduce risks in diverse environments.

Discover How Automation Reduces Cybersecurity Risks

Read our White Paper on Why No-Code Automation is the Future for Federal Agencies
Check out our blog on 3 Powerful GRC Automation Examples
Contact us to get a free demo of the platform

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, including Onspring, we deliver solutions for Geospatial, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Explore the Carahsoft Blog to learn more about the latest trends in Government technology markets and solutions, as well as Carahsoft’s ecosystem of partner thought-leaders.

Building a Security Strategy for Agentic AI: A Framework for State and Local Government

Posted on by Janet Worthington

As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves from simple chatbots to autonomous agents capable of making independent decisions, State and Local Government agencies face a fundamental shift in cybersecurity requirements. Recent research shows 59% of State and Local Government respondents report already using some form of generative AI (GenAI), with 55% planning to deploy AI agents for employee support within the next two years. Yet this rapid adoption brings unprecedented security challenges. Because AI agents are designed to pursue goals autonomously, even adapting when security measures block their path, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) responsible for safeguarding Government networks must rethink traditional defenses and embrace a new security paradigm.

The Emergence of Agentic AI and Its Unique Security Challenges

AI agents represent a significant departure from the GenAI tools many agencies currently use. While traditional Large Language Models (LLMs) respond to prompts and return information such as a support chatbot, AI agents and agentic systems are autonomous software programs that can plan, reflect, use tools, maintain memory and collaborate with other agents to achieve specific goals. These capabilities make them powerful productivity tools, but they also introduce failure modes that conventional software simply does not have. Unlike deterministic systems that crash when something goes wrong, AI agents can fail silently through collusion, context loss or corrupted cognitive states that propagate errors throughout connected systems. Research examining the real-world performance of AI agents found that single-term tasks had a 62% failure rate, with success rates dropping even further for multi-term scenarios.

When Veracode examined 100 LLMs performing programming tasks, these systems introduced risky security vulnerabilities 45% of the time. For State and Local agencies handling sensitive citizen data, managing critical infrastructure or supporting public safety operations, these error rates demand careful attention within robust security frameworks designed specifically for autonomous systems.

The New Security Paradigm: From Human-Centric to Agent-Inclusive Workforce Protection

AI agents, the newest coworker, amplify insider threats by combining human-like autonomy with capabilities that exceed human limitations. While employees work within bounded motivation and finite skills, AI agents possess boundless motivation to achieve goals, uncapped skills that continuously improve and infinite willpower, constrained only by computational capacity. They will not simply make a single attempt to access a file, get blocked due to a lack of permissions, get frustrated and go home for the day the way an employee might; they will persistently pursue objectives, potentially finding novel ways around security controls.

This transformation fundamentally changes the attack surface agencies must protect. Data breaches continue to impose significant financial and operational strain across the public sector, with many state and local organizations reporting cumulative annual costs that reach into the millions. AI agents and agentic systems collapse traditional security models by operating as autonomous workforce members who interact with systems, access data and make decisions without direct human oversight. They can be compromised through threats specific to agentic AI, such as goal and intent hijacking, memory poisoning, resource exhaustion or excessive agency that can lead to unauthorized actions, all in pursuit of achieving programmed objectives. For Government agencies managing limited security budgets while protecting essential citizen services, this exponential increase in potential attack vectors demands proactive frameworks rather than reactive responses.

The AEGIS Framework: A Six-Domain Approach to Securing Agentic AI

Forrester’s Agentic AI Enterprise Guardrails for Information Security (AEGIS) framework provides a comprehensive approach to helping CISOs in securing autonomous AI systems across six critical domains.

Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) establish oversight functions and continuous monitoring capabilities. Identity and Access Management (IAM) address the unique challenge of agent identities that combine characteristics of both machine and human identities. Data Security focuses on classifying data appropriately, implementing controls for agent memory and considering data enclaves and anonymization from privacy perspectives.

Application Security evaluates risks across the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC), implements Development, Security and Operations (DevSecOps) best practices, assesses the software supply chain and uses adversarial red team testing to validate safety and security controls. This domain focuses on embedding telemetry that gives security teams visibility into agent behavior and decision making. Threat Management ensures logs are accessible to security operations center analysts, enabling detection of behavioral anomalies and supporting forensic investigations. Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) principles apply such as implementing network access layer controls for agent workloads, continuous validation of the agent’s runtime environment and monitoring of agent to agent communication.

Underlying the framework are three core principles:

Least Agency extends least privilege to focus on decisions and actions, ensuring agents have only the minimum set of permissions, capabilities, tools and decision making necessary to complete specific tasks.
Continuous Risk Management replaces periodic audits with ongoing evaluation of data, model and agent integrity.
Securing Intent requires organizations to understand whether agent actions are malicious or benign, intentional or unintentional, enabling proper investigation when failures occur.

Practical Implementation: Agent Onboarding and Governance

Forrester’s “Agent on a Page” concept provides a practical tool for providing structure, consistency and alignment of AI agents to business goals before activation, by outlining each agent’s owner, core purpose, operational context, knowledge base, specific tasks, functional alignment, tool access and cooperation patterns. This documentation gives business stakeholders clear success criteria, while security teams use it as a threat model and input into Forrester’s AEGIS framework to identify gaps in controls, missing guardrails, vulnerabilities and establish baselines to validate agent behavior against.

Similar to employee onboarding, agents require explicit programming on compliance frameworks, data privacy restrictions, scope of work and organizational norms. They must understand cooperation boundaries, operational context, knowledge sources and collaboration patterns. Agencies already deploying agents may have some of this documentation; those starting should collaborate between business owners and security teams to develop these frameworks.

Building a Secure Foundation for Autonomous AI

State and Local Government agencies stand at a critical inflection point. AI agents promise significant productivity gains across employee support, investigation assistance and first responder capabilities. Yet deploying these autonomous systems without appropriate security frameworks creates unacceptable risks for organizations managing citizen data and essential public services. The AEGIS framework provides a comprehensive approach to securing agentic AI before widespread deployment, enabling agencies to realize benefits while maintaining security postures that citizens expect.

Organizations should begin by reviewing the Forrester’s AEGIS framework to understand how it maps to existing compliance requirements such as NIST AI RMF, the EU AI Act and OWASP Top 10 for LLMs. Forming AI governance committees using AEGIS principles help establish organizational buy-in. Discovery processes identifying which departments are exploring AI agents enable targeted control implementation. Agencies that establish strong foundations now position themselves to adopt autonomous AI confidently and securely.

To explore the complete AEGIS framework and gain deeper insights into securing agentic AI for State and Local Government, watch Carahsoft’s full webinar featuring Forrester, “Full Throttle, Firm Control: Build Your Trust Strategy for Agentic AI.”

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, including Forrester, we deliver solutions for Geospatial, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Explore the Carahsoft Blog to learn more about the latest trends in Government technology markets and solutions, as well as Carahsoft’s ecosystem of partner thought-leaders.