Tungsten Automation Power PDF: Exploring an Ideal Business Application for Modern FED/SLED Workplaces

Posted on by Oliver Helfrich

In the current digital landscape, federal and state, local, or educational (FED/SLED) institutions need reliable, efficient, and cost-effective tools to manage their document workflows. Power PDF by Tungsten Automation, previously known under the brand Kofax, emerges as a robust alternative, offering features and savings that cater specifically to the needs of these sectors. Let’s delve into why Power PDF stands out as an ideal solution for modern FED/SLED workplaces.

Addressing Common Procurement Concerns

1. Proven Excellence and Reliability

Public institutions often prioritize tools with a proven track record. Power PDF has evolved over 20 years, continually refining its capabilities based on user feedback. This long history of development ensures that Power PDF is not just a mature product but one that has consistently met high standards of performance and reliability.

2. User-Friendly Interface

One of the significant barriers to adopting new software in government settings is the ease of use. Power PDF’s ribbon-style interface, similar to Microsoft Office 365, minimizes the learning curve. This familiar layout means employees can quickly adapt, enhancing productivity and satisfaction without extensive training.

3. Compatibility and Integration

Interoperability is crucial for FED/SLED institutions, which often use a variety of software tools. Power PDF’s full compatibility with the latest ISO PDF standards ensures that it seamlessly integrates with PDFs generated by other applications. This feature helps avoid the compatibility issues that can disrupt workflow efficiency.

Financial and Security Benefits

4. Cost-Effective Licensing Options

Budget constraints are a common challenge in the public sector. Power PDF offers flexible licensing options, including both term and perpetual licenses. This flexibility allows institutions to choose a model that fits their financial planning, providing similar or even superior functionality at a fraction of the cost of the market leader.

5. Enhanced Security and Compliance

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Security remains a top priority, especially for government and educational institutions. Power PDF meets stringent security standards and can be installed offline, eliminating the need for a continuous connection to external servers. This feature is particularly advantageous for maintaining a secure and compliant operating environment, free from the risks associated with free PDF tools that often lack robust security measures.

Productivity and Real-World Success

6. Boosting Productivity and Satisfaction

Efficiency is critical in public sector operations. Power PDF’s intuitive interface and powerful features streamline the creation, conversion, and editing of PDF documents. This efficiency saves valuable time, allowing employees to focus on more critical tasks. The customizable features further enhance user satisfaction, leading to a more motivated and productive workforce.

7. Real-World Success Stories and Awards

When looking for evidence of success in similar organizations, there are plenty of use cases from the US and around the world. The Florida Department of Transportation, for example, has adopted Power PDF as its standard PDF editing tool, citing its cost-effectiveness, flexible licensing, excellent support, and fully on-premise capabilities. Additionally, Power PDF has earned three Top-Rated Awards from TrustRadius in 2024 for PDF editing, document management, and optical character recognition, highlighting its excellence and user satisfaction.

Conclusion: A Smart Investment for the Future

For FED/SLED institutions seeking to streamline their document workflows while ensuring security and cost-effectiveness, Power PDF stands out as an ideal solution. Its proven reliability, user-friendly interface, compatibility, flexible licensing, and enhanced security make it a valuable tool for any modern workplace. Tungsten Automation’s commitment to continuous improvement ensures that Power PDF will remain relevant and effective in meeting the evolving needs of public sector organizations.

Take the Next Step

Explore how Power PDF can transform your organization’s document management processes. Schedule a meeting with our team to learn more, get a trial, or receive full project support. Join the many public sector organizations that have already made the switch to Power PDF and are reaping the benefits today!

Schedule a meeting and receive more insights into how Power PDF can benefit your institution.

Rethinking and Modernizing the ATO Approval Process

Posted on by Travis Howerton

The path to securing Authorization to Operate (ATO) approval presents a myriad of challenges, such as complex regulations, the potential for human error and the constant threat of cyberattacks. The role of an Authorized Official (AO) necessitates both speed and thoroughness to ensure an organization’s risk is minimized while also safeguarding sensitive information. Traditional manual, point-in-time assessments are proving insufficient, resulting in significant security risks. As digital transformation accelerates in both the Government and Private Sector, regulatory compliance requirements have also increased, yet the tools and processes used to meet these standards fall behind. This disconnect poses a challenge for AOs, underscoring the urgent need for innovation in the ATO approval journey.

Preventing Compliance Drift

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To stay ahead of the threats against the nation while simultaneously reducing the friction and corrosion in the compliance process, a proactive approach of implementing necessary measures and safeguards before they are mandated by regulatory requirements is essential. As Brandt Keller, Software Engineer at Defense Unicorns, stated during a recent webinar discussing the ATO approval process, “New technologies are coming, and we need to implement them and understand what they do, how they do it and what controls they do or do not satisfy.” The role of compliance within the DevSecOps process is pivotal, especially when switching from one technology to another. This decision must consider how the change impacts compliance, as the environment shift can alter the ATO posture. Such changes may result in drift or even expose the system to malicious actors seeking to escalate privileges or perform unauthorized actions. While compliance and security are often viewed as separate processes, they can and should be integrated to provide an additional layer of defense.

Preventing drift in IT systems is a crucial aspect of maintaining continuous compliance. AOs must actively collect and report data to accurately reflect the current state of their systems. Leveraging open standards on a platform is essential for effectively utilizing data. To achieve this, AOs need reliable methods for producing and regularly assessing data. Building a system from the ground up with compliance in mind involves meticulously implementing and automating controls that can be rerun consistently. The process must be both repeatable—able to redo tasks—and reproducible—able to collect evidence and achieve the same results. Any deviation indicates a potential issue, a change or an environmental modification that has made it less compliant. This approach allows AOs to confidently attest that their ATO meets all required controls and prevents any drift.

Implementing Automation

Automating processes within DevSecOps pipelines has emerged as a pivotal strategy, particularly streamlining compliance checks before system deployment. This approach allows decision-makers to assess risk before a system is even deployed. Moreover, the ability to continuously evaluate and update data in real time enhances accuracy and ensures timely access to critical information. However, accessibility of data remains a challenge due to the number of disconnected environments in existence. Open standards such as OSCAL solve this problem by providing a unified framework for continuous data integration. By adopting platforms that adhere to open standards, organizations can foster innovation and empower AOs with data in a familiar and actionable format, thereby optimizing efficiency and bolstering security measures.

ATO Risk Management Framework (RMF) artifacts represented in OSCAL machine-readable formats break down information silos, achieving effective communication across teams and facilitating seamless data handoffs. Automation is pivotal in expediting the decision-making process, alleviating the burden on the human workforce, enabling AOs to access better-quality data and making risk-based decisions more efficiently. While the potential for error is still present, automation significantly mitigates human error in data handoffs across all controls and systems. It also helps security professionals focus on managing risk rather than completing rudimentary compliance tasks.

Automating technical and administrative controls is not the same. While traditional approaches rely on application programming interface (API) data, nontraditional methods such as infrastructure as code (IaC)—managing computing infrastructure through provisioning scripts—or compliance as code—managing regulatory requirements by encoding them into automated scripts or code—offer alternative paths. These approaches allow organizations to establish rules and apply validations programmatically, mirroring the precision and speed of technical controls. However, not all controls are created equal; some function as checkboxes without mitigating risks. The critical controls that significantly impact an environment’s security posture should be the priority for automation. As emphasized by Travis Howerton, Co-founder and CEO at RegScale, “it is less important what percent of total controls are covered than what percentage of your total risk you are mitigating with automation.”

The cadence mismatch between cyber threats that move at lightspeed, and heavily manual compliance processes must be fixed. “The big part of what has to modernize,” according to Howerton, “is taking more automated approaches, leveraging advances in technology and thought leaders in this space to figure out how we can do things in a more automated manner to bring the principles of DevSecOps to compliance.” This strategic focus will ensure thorough and repeatable processes and prepare AOs for a future where compliance and security are dynamically intertwined, ultimately supporting better risk-based decisions and unlocking the full potential of digital transformation. By accepting early that ATOs should be more real-time and continuous, AOs can better position themselves for the future.

Watch RegScale and Carahsoft’s webinar, AO Perspectives: Managing Risks and Streamlining ATO Decision-Making, to learn more about modernizing the ATO approval process.

Modernizing Government Workflows: A Path to Digital Transformation

Posted on by Owen Pyatt

State and local government agencies face numerous challenges in delivering efficient services, managing legacy systems, and attracting new talent. Digital transformation can revolutionize government operations, streamline citizen services, enhance workflow capability, maximize ROI, and attract a younger workforce. Jira Service Management (JSM) can be an effective tool in this move to updated systems.

Streamline Citizen Services: Efficiency and Backlog Reduction

Delivering efficient citizen services and reducing backlogs are critical priorities for government agencies. Digital tools can significantly enhance these processes, making it easier to manage requests and deliver timely services. JSM fully supports these solutions, offering a unified platform that increases collaboration and provides powerful analytics.

Solution Areas

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Unified Service Management: Implementing a single platform to consolidate various service management tools reduces complexity and improves efficiency. This allows staff to focus on delivering high-quality services rather than managing multiple systems.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Centralizing service requests, incident management, and project tracking enhances communication and breaks down departmental silos, ensuring information flows freely across departments.
Real-Time Insights: Robust reporting and analytics provide real-time insights into operations. Customizable dashboards offer visibility into key metrics, enabling informed decision-making and proactive issue resolution.

From Legacy to Digital: Modernize Government Workflows

Transitioning from legacy systems to digital solutions is crucial for improving workflow efficiency and service delivery. Jira Service Management supports this transition by providing an integrated platform that increases visibility and simplifies operations.

Solution Areas

Integrated Digital Platform: Consolidating various service management processes into an integrated digital platform ensures seamless data flow and fosters collaboration across departments, breaking down technology silos.
Enhanced Organizational Visibility: Robust reporting and analytics features offer real-time insights into service performance. Customizable digital dashboards help monitor key metrics and track the progress of initiatives, enhancing organizational visibility and informed decision-making.
Simplified Operations: Integrating digital tools and systems reduces the need for multiple products, streamlining workflows and reducing the administrative burden on IT staff.

Maximize ROI: Affordability and Value

Investing in a service management platform that offers exceptional ROI and affordability is essential for government agencies. Jira Service Management stands out as a cost-effective solution that maximizes ROI and offers seamless integration.

Solution Areas

Cost-Effective Management: Digital solutions provide a cost-effective service management approach with transparent and competitive pricing. By consolidating multiple tools into one platform, agencies can reduce licensing fees and maintenance costs.
Streamlined Processes: Automation and integration capabilities streamline processes, saving time and reducing errors. Simplified processes result in better productivity and resource allocation.
Informed Decision-Making: Real-time reporting and analytics features provide visibility into operations, enabling informed decision-making and proactive issue resolution.
Scalability and Integration: Seamless integration with other tools simplifies IT infrastructure and reduces complexity. Scalability allows the platform to grow with the agency’s needs without requiring costly upgrades.

Attract New Talent with Digital Transformation

Digital transformation not only improves operational efficiency but also creates an appealing work environment for the next generation of professionals. Jira Service Management contributes to creating a modern, collaborative environment that attracts and retains young talent.

Solution Areas

Modern Work Environment: Digital tools create a dynamic and tech-savvy work environment that appeals to younger professionals who are accustomed to modern technology.
Flexible Work Options: Digital solutions enable remote work and flexible schedules, highly valued by younger employees seeking work-life balance.
Skill Development and Career Growth: A digitally transformed workplace provides continuous learning opportunities and access to cutting-edge tools, supporting career growth for younger professionals.
Collaborative Culture: Digital tools facilitate cross-departmental collaboration, fostering an inclusive and team-oriented culture.
Innovation and Creativity: Digital transformation encourages innovation and creativity, providing the tools and resources needed to implement new ideas.
Enhanced Efficiency: Streamlined digital workflows and automated processes reduce administrative burdens.

Digital transformation, powered by JSM, offers state and local agencies a pathway to streamline citizen services, modernize workflows, maximize ROI, and attract younger talent. By addressing common challenges and leveraging digital solutions, agencies can enhance efficiency, improve service delivery, and create a modern, appealing work environment.

Schedule a demo today and start your digital transformation journey today with Jira Service Management to unlock the full potential of your agency.

Generative AI: Improving Efficiency for SLED Agencies

Posted on by Kyle Black

Users in the new age engage with generative AI like a personal assistant, granting it access to their personal calendars and assigning it tasks such as making dinner reservations to make life easier. On the professional level, employees turn to AI to expedite difficult or repetitive tasks to make their work easier. By educating employees on the security ramifications of generative AI, and by properly implementing it into their agency, State and Local Government and Education Market (SLED) decision makers can accelerate and improve their day-to-day processes.

Updated Security Parameters

When it comes to sensitive data, agencies and individuals should always maintain a broad scope of vigilance. With generative AI, agencies need to consider who has access to that information, and which adversaries may potentially exploit that information.

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Employees should be trained to spot red flags and use AI safely. With the increase in deep fakes, such as voice masking or impersonation, employees need to be able to spot suspicious phone calls and videos. With proper training to detect and report these instances, employees can help prevent hacking attempts. It is difficult to prevent employees from using generative AI, even in specific scenarios where sensitive data is present. Agencies should make the switch to sanctioned vendors, granting them access to fully tracked logs. It is critical to prevent sensitive information from passing into public AI, where it will be shared with others.

By design, AI is a black box. While agencies and users can not know what goes on between input and output, they should only trust generative AI packages that have dependable service hosts. Agencies, especially SLED agencies that handle sensitive information, need to be guaranteed that their data will remain contained by reliable parent companies. By negotiating through contracts vehicles, agencies can maintain visibility over the flow of data by learning if their information is being retained and for how long.

Saving Time with Generative AI

Some of the first generative AI models were built for translation machines such as Google Translate. Many services, such as Zoom, employ generative AI as plugins, which transcript language in real time for the appropriate audience.These models initially generated very verbatim translations, however, intent and context in communication is critical. Users often go to third party generative AI models to translate emails or web pages. They have more trust in their automation capabilities to understand and mirror context and intent in translation than the built-in translation services that many legacy software features offer.

Generative AI can help with drafting emails, broadcasting information, meeting deadlines and responding to agents, ultimately expediting processes. This can be especially helpful with overworked translators. While generative AI works to complete the main translations, the workers can focus on reviewing translations, expediting and perfecting the process. While there will ultimately always be a need for human interaction from a promotional, proofreading and understanding perspective, generative AI can speed up communication.

Generative AI can reduce the number of steps users take. By leading users from step A to step C, bypassing the difficult or time-consuming step B, generative AI keeps users on track. And for models trained on a SLED agency’s own data, users can always reference internal documents if questions arise. This scales back on the amount of busy work, reducing time spent on finding information. Generative AI can also expedite the synthesis of search data. In the past, search engines could locate documents for agencies. Now, agencies going through SLED records can not only find the document itself, but find the information within the document, and analyze that information before returning it to the user.

By accelerating the day-to-day tasks of employees, generative AI frees up creative minds to complete more vital, thorough and intricate projects, improving utility.

AI has been integral to Broadcom’s product solutions in user and enterprise IT. When properly implemented, generative AI can enhance technology, cybersecurity, analytics and productivity. To learn more about how Broadcom can help implement secure generative AI in SLED spaces, view Broadcom’s SLED focused cybersecurity solutions.

Enterprise Service Management in the Physical Realm: Understanding PPESM

Posted on by Ross Marks

Public sector organizations face a unique challenge: efficiently managing a vast array of property, plant, and equipment (PP&E) while adhering to strict regulations and budgetary constraints. Traditional methods, relying on siloed systems like spreadsheets and paper forms, create a tangled web of inefficiency. Here’s where Plant, Property & Equipment Service Management (PPESM) steps in, offering a modern, extensible solution for the entire asset lifecycle.

PPESM: A Real-World Example

Imagine a U.S. Navy shipyard bustling with activity. A complex web of stakeholders — the yard, contractors, the Navy, the ship’s crew, and various regulatory bodies — collaborate on critical repairs to ensure a ship’s timely return to service. Traditionally, this process has been plagued by paper forms, communication silos, and the high cost of mistakes. Let’s see how PPESM can revolutionize this environment.

PPESM replaces paper forms and carbon copies with a centralized digital platform. Work requests, inspections, condition found reports, and corrective actions are all electronically submitted and tracked, ensuring real-time visibility. Automated workflows keep everyone informed and expedite the repair process, and digital forms with pre-populated fields and data validation minimize the potential for errors and rework.

But there’s more. Plant, Property & Equipment Service Management goes beyond process improvements; it delivers tangible business and strategic results with on-time availability completion, continuous yard improvement, and increased stakeholder satisfaction.

How PPESM works

PPESM: A Holistic Approach to Asset Management

PPESM builds upon the foundation of Enterprise Service Management (ESM), extending its capabilities to address the specific needs of PP&E. Imagine a single, user-friendly system that seamlessly tracks assets from acquisition request to decommissioning. PPESM delivers this vision, empowering government agencies with:

Centralized Asset Register: Consolidate data from disparate sources into a central repository, providing a clear view of all assets, their locations, specifications, and maintenance history.

Streamlined Acquisition Process: Manage acquisition requests electronically, eliminating paper trails and streamlining approvals.

Automated Workflows: Automate routine tasks like scheduling preventive maintenance, generating work orders, and sending notifications for certification renewals.

Mobile Functionality: Empower field service technicians with mobile access to asset data, work orders, and service manuals, allowing for real-time updates and improved efficiency.

Enhanced Reporting and Analytics: Gain valuable insights into asset health, utilization rates, and maintenance costs. Use this data to optimize resource allocation and make data-driven decisions.

How PPESM Bolsters Security and Compliance

PPESM strengthens your organization’s security posture by centralizing asset data and access controls. User permissions can be tailored to specific roles, minimizing unauthorized access to sensitive information. Additionally, by automating document management and streamlining compliance workflows, PPESM ensures critical certifications and approvals are never missed, reducing the risk of being out of compliance and operational disruptions. This centralized, auditable system provides a clear picture of your assets and compliance activities, fostering transparency and accountability.

Addressing the Challenges of Smaller Asset Pools

PPESM offers particular benefits for organizations with smaller asset pools (under a few hundred). These agencies often struggle with inefficient ad-hoc methods. PPESM provides:

Reduced Breakdowns: Preventative maintenance becomes a breeze with automated scheduling and reminders. Early detection of issues minimizes equipment failures and extends lifespans.

Compliance Made Easy: Never miss a certification deadline again. PPESM tracks upcoming renewals and simplifies document management, ensuring smooth compliance audits.

Optimized Scheduling: Eliminate scheduling conflicts with a centralized, accessible system. Prioritize critical projects with ease and improve overall operational efficiency.

Faster Approvals: Mobile access and electronic workflows expedite the approval process for maintenance requests, ensuring timely repairs and minimizing downtime.

Beyond Efficiency: The Power of PPESM

PPESM goes beyond streamlining processes. It empowers government agencies to:

Reduce Costs: Minimize breakdowns, optimize resource allocation, and decrease administrative burdens, leading to significant cost savings.

Improve Service Delivery: Faster response times, efficient maintenance scheduling, and readily available asset information enhance service delivery to citizens.

Increase Transparency: A centralized system fosters accountability and improves visibility into asset management practices.

Enhanced Decision-Making: Data-driven insights empower informed decisions about asset acquisition, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning.

A User-Centered Approach

Traditional PP&E management systems often suffer from poor usability and accessibility, hindering user adoption and data accuracy. PPESM prioritizes a user-friendly experience with:

Intuitive Interface: A modern, easy-to-navigate interface ensures user acceptance and facilitates quick adoption across departments.

Mobile Accessibility: Empower staff with on-the-go access to information and tools, fostering real-time updates and improving field service effectiveness.

Offline Functionality: Ensure uninterrupted operations even in areas with limited connectivity.

The Key to Streamlined Operations, Cost Savings & Better Decision Making

PPESM is not just a software solution; it’s a catalyst for the transformation of PP&E management. By leveraging a centralized, user-friendly system with automated workflows and mobile accessibility, PPESM empowers agencies to streamline processes, optimize resource allocation, and ensure regulatory compliance. This holistic approach ultimately translates to improved service delivery, increased cost savings, and better decision-making. As your agency strives for operational excellence, consider PPESM as the key to unlocking a future of efficient and effective asset management.

Schedule a demo with our Atlassian team to learn how you can equip your organization with service management solutions.

DevSecOps: Achieving Efficiency and Scale with Automation and Software Factories

Posted on by Rich Savage

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, Government agencies face many challenges in delivering modern, secure software applications to the end-user. DevSecOps is a methodology that combines development, security and operations to create a more streamlined and secure software development process. This concept has emerged as a transformative approach that integrates security practices, automation and software factories into the software development lifecycles from its inception. At the Carahsoft DevSecOps Conference, industry experts and innovators shared their knowledge of emerging tools, effective strategies and methodologies in software engineering through several educational sessions.

Unlocking Efficiency: The Power of Automation and AI/ML

Automation helps developers improve the efficiency and quality of code, reduce risk and combat security vulnerabilities. As a key component of DevSecOps, automation allows developers to simplify many of the tasks involved in software development, such as testing, deployment and monitoring. Once automated, developers can focus on writing high-quality code and addressing security vulnerabilities, rather than spending time on redundant manual tasks.

The use of AI has transformed the way developers work, compared to 20 years ago when code was primarily written from scratch. Today, external libraries — software code written by a third-party source — are used frequently which introduces a new set of risks and benefits. The benefits include making software development faster and more efficient as developers use pre-existing code to build their applications. However, if a third-party library has a security vulnerability, it can be exploited by malicious actors to gain access to sensitive data. If not maintained properly, the third-party library can become outdated and incompatible with other software components.

Software Factories

Software development has become an essential part of today’s business operations, and Government agencies are constantly seeking ways to improve their processes. Recently, the concept of the software factory—a structured approach to software development that emphasizes standardization, automation and collaboration—has gained popularity. It establishes a set of tools, processes and best practices that enable teams to develop software more efficiently and effectively. The goal of a software factory is to create a repeatable and scalable process for software development that can be applied across different projects and teams. By implementing this strategy, agencies can improve the quality, speed and consistency of their software development efforts.

One of those best practices, Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment, are combined in a single process known as CI/CD. CI is the practice of frequently merging code changes from multiple developers into a shared repository, where automated tests are run to address integration issues early in the development cycle. This ensures the code is always in a releasable state and reduces the risk of conflicts and errors when changes are merged. CD, on the other hand, is the practice of automatically deploying code changes to production as soon as they pass the necessary tests and checks. Thus, enabling teams to release software changes quickly and frequently. By utilizing CI/CD, teams can achieve a continuous flow of code changes from development to production, which is imperative for modern software development.

Elevating DevSecOps: A Blueprint for Integrating Early Software Security Measures

Securing software in a containerized environment presents unique challenges due to the dynamic nature of containers and the distributed nature of container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. Government agencies must ensure that containers are properly configured and secured, as misconfigurations can lead to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Another difficulty is detecting and responding to security incidents in a timely manner, as containers can be spun up and down quickly and may be spread across multiple nodes in a cluster. Securing software early can help agencies reduce risk, lower costs, deliver software faster and improve collaboration between development and security teams.

Another crucial component of DevSecOps—continuous delivery—enables teams to deliver software changes quickly, safely and sustainably. This means that teams can release software changes frequently and with confidence, knowing that the changes have been thoroughly tested and are ready for production. Through a combination of automation, collaboration and feedback loops, continuous delivery helps reduce the time and effort required to release software changes.

Agencies can adopt a DevSecOps approach that integrates security into the software development lifecycle from the beginning. This involves using tools and processes to automate security testing and validation, as well as incorporating security requirements into the development process. For instance, agencies can use tools like vulnerability scanners and security-focused container images to detect and remediate vulnerabilities in containers. They can also use automation to validate security requirements and ensure that containers are properly configured and secured.

Securing software early in the development process can lead to several benefits including:

Reduced risk of security incidents: By identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities early in the development process, agencies can minimize the risk of security incidents and data breaches.
Lower costs: Fixing security issues later in the development process is much more expensive than addressing them early on. By integrating security into the development process from the beginning, agencies can reduce the cost of fixing security issues and avoid costly rework.
Faster time to market: Adopting DevSecOps approach can help agencies to deliver software faster by automating security testing and validation. This decreases the time for manual testing and enables faster release cycles.
Improved collaboration: Agencies can strengthen collaboration between development and security teams to ensure requirements are properly understood and incorporated into the development process. This proactive initiative can help foster a culture of security throughout the agency.

The adoption of DevSecOps, along with its fundamental principles, empowers Government agencies to establish a more efficient and secure software development process. This is achieved through the implementation of automation, the adoption of a software factory approach and the early integration of security measures.

To learn more about DevSecOps best practices and trending innovations, visit Carahsoft’s DevSecOps vertical solutions portfolio.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at Carahsoft’s annual DevSecOps Conference.*

Transitioning Towards a Sustainable Healthcare Mindset at DHITS 2023

Posted on by Mike McCalip

Since the Defense Health Agency (DHA) oversees the entire military health system, it knows how important it is for members of the military and their doctors to be able to access medical records quickly and universally. In August 2023, the DHA hosted the Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS) where military health system (MHS) stakeholders discussed its newest asset– the Military Health System (MHS) Genesis. With the creation of this universal health record database, military members’ health records can easily be accessed, whether they are active-duty or not. Currently being rolled out in waves, the MHS Genesis plans to expand health records accessibility between different military branches.

Benefits from MHS Genesis

While still new, the MHS Genesis already shows improvements in several areas which include:

Enterprise and Cultural Interoperability: Some doctors may have different views or standards than others. This universal system makes patient files easily accessible to any doctor, regardless of military branch or practice. Now, the IT systems and Electronic Health Records (EHR) work together seamlessly. Different military branches will be able to use the same uniform system when it comes to accessing patient files and records, making the job easier for both patients and doctors.
Patient-Centric Care: With the MHS Genesis technology enhancements, it is now easier than ever to meet patients at their home on a Tuesday through telehealth. Telehealth is especially important within the military to give patients flexibility in choosing appointments as well as requesting information or gaining access to their medical records.
System and Process Automation: Medical professionals struggle with the global constraint of time. The MHS enables providers to automate tasks, saving time on things like paperwork and allowing for more one-on-one patient care.

Next Steps for the MHS

Currently, the entire DoD is at an 86% implementation rate for the MHS Genesis. It is actively being used in all DHA locations in the U.S. with plans to incorporate the universal health record system into the remaining treatment facilities outside of the United States by the end of 2023.

As leaders within the MHS continue their journey into modernization and sustainability, it is important that they equip people with the right knowledge and skills to be able to deliver their future vision of what military medicine should look like. The number one purpose of this emerging technology is to ensure the medical readiness of the military. The MHS Genesis will help guarantee that this stays a top priority, as it creates better access to information and helps deliver that information to the decision makers. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medical settings is an exciting development that will help with diagnosing, personal assistants, risk analysis, forecasting and more. Through AI support, doctors will be able to spend more time on their patients and less time on large amounts of paperwork.

While the implementation of the MHS Genesis has been a success, all branches of the DoD must continue to communicate and collaborate openly and effectively. They must also involve other stakeholders by breaking down data silos and sharing freely what does and does not work in an enterprise setting. This will ultimately help with addressing public health challenges, ethically using AI in a medical setting, cybersecurity and more.

The MHS journey coincides with changing the deployment approach to a “sustainment” mentality. A sustainment mindset involves focusing on:

Optimization of user experience: Seeking feedback and continuing to adjust the technology to enhance user experience
Scalability: Scaling the success and implementing the changes across the enterprise if success is found with one configuration setup
Standardization: Creating a standard vocabulary and process for enterprise usage, so people communicate with the same terminology across the MHS

At the end of the day, the most important thing is that patients receive the care they need. Through the MHS Genesis and the IT solutions discussed at DHITS, the MHS hopes to greatly boost patient experiences, increase trust in the military health system, reduce healthcare provider burnout and give patients and clinicians access to data in real-time.

Visit Carahsoft’s Department of Defense and Healthcare solutions portfolios to learn more about DHITS 2023 and how Carahsoft can support your organization in these critical marketplaces.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at DHITS 2023.*

Make Invisible Talent Visible

Posted on by Kelley Steven-Waiss

With strengthening and empowering the Federal workforce as a key tenant of the President’s Management Agenda, the critical need for people with cybersecurity skills and an aging workforce, now is the time for government to re-evaluate how it looks at the skills of employees. Moving to a data-driven talent strategy allows agencies to match the right people to the right work at the right time which also enhances that employee’s experience and engagement with their work.

Progression not Promotion

The first step is realizing that skills are not a title. For too long, career success has meant moving up GS levels or in title. A change in title does not necessarily mean being exposed to new experiences, gaining new skills or even gaining responsibility. The growth that comes with new challenges is what keeps employees fulfilled. That can happen when employees move into positions across an organization. Sideways needs to be the new up – not just for the growth of employees but for the mission achievement of government.

Keep Talent in Government

People enter public service because they have a tie to the mission. They want to work for that organization with a line of sight toward that mission. They do not leave because they stopped believing in the mission, they leave because they have not been given an opportunity to grow and develop. Research shows that one third of millennials and Gen Z workers leave a job because they did not see an opportunity to grow their career.

Talent sharing across agencies is a concept whose time has come. Government employees need to see career path options outside of their current organization. Where can their skills make an impact in another office or agency? Seeing a growth path will keep the talent within the government ecosystem rather than losing them to good commercial companies.

Diversify the Workforce You Already Have

A data-driven approach can go a long way in driving out bias and growing equity. Across government there are many opportunities for people to get involved in steering committees, pop-up projects and short-term initiatives. However, getting involved requires employees to be informed. We assume that people will seek out these opportunities. Employees only network with people they know – this limits what they are exposed to. Employees miss opportunities every day that are tailor made for their skills and career goals.

A data-driven approach automates the ability to engage. Opportunities can be pushed to employees that meet specific skills and capability criteria. Those employees can then engage with the opportunity through a digital workflow allowing them to quickly and easily break into a new network within the organization. No longer are we dependent on who we know. Now technology becomes a proactive, enabling force in finding the best fit based on skills, not position or education.

Personalize the Journey

Studies show that 94% of employees will stay with an organization longer if they feel it is invested in them. Providing a dynamic career path backed by training and mentoring opportunities is a way to demonstrate commitment to an employee.

A one size fits all training program ends up fitting no one. Employees have come to expect a personalized experience from all of the brands they interact with – whether that is music or movie recommendations or reminders to order more toilet paper. Data-driven organizations can offer that same experience by feeding employees programs and trainings that people actually want to participate in and learn from.

For organizations, knowing the growth areas for employees allows for more targeted efforts in offering reskilling and upskilling opportunities to the people who will most quickly benefit from the training.

ServiceNow is proud to support organizations ready to make the leap to a data-driven skills-based model. Our recent webinar showed how to move away from spreadsheets and emails and begin managing skills in an automated way that works for everyone – HR, agency leaders, supervisors and employees. View the full session here to learn how to transform how you hire, reward and grow your team.

Okta and ServiceNow: Modernizing Public Sector Operations

Posted on by Matt Egan

Federal, state, and local agencies and educational institutions are facing a surge in targeted cyberattacks. With increasing return-to-office mandates, they face further challenges balancing security with the need to deliver frictionless experiences for users and systems, both within and beyond the premises of agencies and campuses. Public sector organizations can lean further on industry partners to help them modernize operations to improve cybersecurity, support distributed workforces and users, remain compliant with audit and policy mandates, and, ultimately, better serve the public.

Roadblocks to Modernization

To modernize operations, agencies and institutions need to transition from legacy systems to cloud-based tools. Creating collaborative, seamless, and secure work environments that not only attract and retain top talent but also comply with key audit and policy mandates is necessary.

But building this kind of robust environment that can securely support mission-critical work isn’t easy.

Okta ServiceNow Modernizing Public Sector Operations Blog Embedded Image 2023

For one, as the public sector implements cloud-based tools that deliver modern, continuous digital services, they must also ensure the new technology works seamlessly alongside existing processes. And securing work environments both in-office and remotely has never been more challenging, with a 40% increase in cyberattacks against government and public service organizations from Q2 2023 to Q3 2023. Unfortunately, busy IT teams’ resources are too often spent completing manual work instead of implementing changes needed to focus on the high-value work that propels their missions.

How Okta and ServiceNow Solutions Help With Modernization and Automation

Okta and ServiceNow solutions enable agencies and institutions to overcome these obstacles by providing tools that enhance security, modernize operations, comply with strategic policies, and improve service delivery to meet critical mission goals.

Together, Okta and ServiceNow help with:

Identity and access management: A centralized Identity solution offers a complete view of users and phishing-resistant authentication to protect accounts from cyberattacks and least-privilege access. This gives users just the right access at the right time for the right purposes.
User lifecycle and workflow automation: Advanced algorithms and customizable templates streamline onboarding and offboarding for IT teams, reducing time-consuming work, eliminating manual, repetitive tasks, and increasing productivity.
Compliance and policy oversight: Detailed logs and refined reporting capabilities perform automated compliance checks, and policy enforcement mechanisms help reduce the risk of non-compliance.
No-code automation: No-code/low-code automation enables IT teams to quickly launch modern services while still adhering to Zero Trust integrations.
Risk management and monitoring: Advanced analytics and real-time reporting enable continuous visibility of all systems, improving service availability and accelerating incident response that can better protect the sensitive information of public sector organizations.
System integration: API management and middleware tools enable seamless integration with automated data exchange to improve communication and reduce errors.

Why Okta and ServiceNow are Better Together

These solutions combine ServiceNow’s expertise in policy and compliance management and internal and vendor risk management with Okta’s expertise in Identity and access management, such as single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA).

More specifically, with a rich, bidirectional integration, Okta and ServiceNow work seamlessly together, empowering public sector organizations to modernize and automate their services to support their evolving missions with:

Okta Integration Network (OIN)
ServiceNow Security Incident Module
StateRAMP Ready authorization
FedRAMP High authorization
Department of Defense Impact Level (IL) 4 and IL5 workloads

Contact our team today to learn more about about how, together, Okta and ServiceNow provide the public sector with an open, future-ready platform to automate, secure, orchestrate, and simplify their workflows.

People Plus Technology: Building a Resilient Federal Cyber Workforce

Posted on by Alex Whitworth

Filling cyber jobs in Federal agencies is complicated – it requires competing with industry salaries, retaining existing talent and navigating the Federal hiring process. It’s a far-reaching challenge that affects every agency – the administration knows that, the Office of Personnel Management knows that, and agency technology and human resources leaders know that. And federal C suite leaders realize how the government recruits, hires and retains people for cyber jobs has to change. In partnership with FNN, our Federal Cyber Workforce guide takes a look at what the government is doing to tackle this problem on a sweeping federal level and also on a more agency-specific level. We also get industry perspective on the technologies that affect cyber workforce resiliency. We hope it provides some guidance and help as your agency works to beef up its cybersecurity, both through investments in people and technology.

3 Key Rallying Points for a Resilient Cybersecurity Team

“Agencies are currently operating in a high-threat environment, but that doesn’t mean they can’t implement a reasonable amount of information assurance. It may not be perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. The idea is to make it so that adversaries have to work extremely hard to penetrate the infrastructure. The adversaries are good, but agencies can be better with a resilient cybersecurity team, said Mark Bowling, chief risk, security and information security officer for ExtraHop. The key to achieving this is to have a risk reduction perspective.”

Read more insights from Mark Bowling, Chief Risk, Security and Information Security Officer at ExtraHop.

Do not Wait for a Breach: Why to Adopt Proactive Approach to Cyber Resilience

“When most people talk about cyber resilience, they’re referring to post-breach recovery — the means, methods and speed with which an organization can get its systems and services back online after a cyber incident. But Felipe Fernandez, federal chief technology officer at Fortinet, views resiliency more holistically. His advice? Agencies need to take a proactive stance on cyber resilience and include not only recovery from breaches but also when their planning for non-malicious threats and other operational disruptions, including those associated with cloud-based services.”

Read more insights from Felipe Fernandez, Federal Chief Technology Officer at Fortinet.

Proactively Improve Digital Employee Experience Though Automation

“Digital modernization and the adoption of collaboration tools is supposed to make work easier, especially in a hybrid environment. Employees want the flexibility to be productive in whatever manner best suits them. Unresolved technology issues can impede productivity. In its latest survey of industry employees and IT professionals, Ivanti found that 49% of employees are frustrated with the tools they use and 26% are considering leaving their jobs because of that. Employee experience is a top priority in government right now, and employees are internal customers of an agency’s IT services. By improving their experience your agency can realize gains in productivity and retention.”

Read more insights from Mareike Fondufe, Product Marketing Director at Ivanti.

Download the full Expert Edition for more insights from these cyber workforce leaders and additional government interviews, historical perspectives and industry research.