GovConExec: Thought Leaders Want Continued FedRAMP Collaboration
As agencies await the final stages of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, government contracting executives sound off in GovConExec‘s spring magazine issue.
In each issue, thought leaders weigh in on emerging topics. This issue, GovConExec spoke with executives about mobility, C4ISR and FedRAMP.
Robert Otto, executive vice president for Agilex Technologies, told GovConExec that he advocated for standardizing the cloud certification process across agencies while he was chief information and technology officer for the Postal Service.
Otto describes cloud computing as a shared responsibility that needs an industry-wide mechanism to update and influence security control requirements within the program.
Daniel Kent, Cisco Systems’ federal CTO and director of solutions, said FedRAMP appears complicated and costly at first glance but simplifies the scaling of cloud providers’ solutions to all agencies.
Time, of course, will be the telling factor, Kent told GovConExec. Kent said industry has already played a role in the process and should continue to as the program matures and as third-party assessors.
Nicole Geller GCS Founder and CEO Nicole Geller said many agencies already embrace cloud services, but there is not a consistent understanding of the best way to do so or what is out there to embrace.
The cloud process can potentially speed technology adoption and allow agencies to reshape their information technology operations, she said.
She notes that cloud computing and project management are linked.
As a program management and acquisition solutions provider, Geller said GCS advocates anything that decreases risks, increases efficiencies and promotes innovation.
“FedRAMP gets ahead of the curve and provides a service-centric solution promoting early requirements definition,” she said. “The more thought leadership completed up front, the fewer program risks at later stages.”
John Fitzgerald, Dell’s federal defense CIO, said flexibility and patience with FedRAMP are current priorities because of increased focus on controlling spending and FedRAMP’s limited funds.
Some are concerned that agencies will add on to existing requirements, Fitzgerald said this potential concerns should be kept to a minimum.
The focus should be on continuous monitoring and mitigation needs as well as transparency on the commercial cloud providers’ end, he said.
Fitzgerald wants government and industry to continue cooperation demonstrated thus far.
FedRAMP fits well with the changes Verizon is already making to its business model, said Susan Zeleniak, Verizon’s federal group president.
Verizon provides cloud services through its Terremark subsidiary and will continue to work with agencies to ensure its cloud offerings are up to par, she said.
Read more on the executives’ views regarding FedRAMP and more topics by picking up a copy of GovConExec today.
