Kevin Jackson is currently an Engineering Fellow with NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Prior to this position, he served in various senior management positions including VP, Dataline LLC, Director Federal for Sirius Computer Solutions and Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM. His formal education includes MSEE (Computer Engineering), MA National Security & Strategic Studies and a BS Aerospace Engineering. Jackson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1979 and retired from the US Navy earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Airborne Logistics and Airborne Command and Control. He also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide. Kevin is the founder and author of “
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Last week the GSA FedRAMP Program Office released the latest version of the cloud computing Security Assessment Plan (SAR) template. This document is the most recent step toward the Federal governments goal of establishing FedRAMP initial operating Capability by June 2012.
The Federa...May. 8, 2012 04:50 AM EDT Reads: 874
Over the last year I’ve had the pleasure of serving with a team of volunteers from the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) as we dove deep into topics associated with Cloud Computing and the Intelligence Community. National security technologists have long been thought l...
CONGRATULATIONS to National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) CIO Jill T. Singer for being selected as one of the 10 winners of the first annual CloudNOW awards presented at the Cloud Connect Conference in Sata Clara, California earlier this week.
From the NRO Press Release:
"C...
VIENNA, Va., Jan. 23, 2012 —NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and Virtual Global, a premier provider of software and cloud computing platform solutions for a variety of industry and federal customers, an...
The defense and intelligence communities are not immune to cloud computing. Arguably more than any other government agencies, their missions require a fabric of utility computing that scales on demand and enables self discovery and self-service access to secure, timely and relevant inf...
While the benefits and value of the federal cloud computing policy can be debated, the world’s transition to cloud computing as an integral component of any IT infrastructure cannot be denied. The prudent government executive should, therefore, heed the lessons learned from the many pr...
(This is part 2 of the series entitled "Implementation of Cloud Computing Solutions in Federal Agencies" that first appeared on Forbes.com. This series provides the content of a whitepaper I recently authored. A copy of the complete whitepaper will be available at NJVC.com starting Sep...
Cloud computing is a new approach in the provisioning and consumption of information technology (IT). While technology is a crucial component, the real value of cloud computing lies in its ability to enable new capabilities or in the execution of current capabilities in more efficient ...
Happy New Year All!!
2011 will be the breakout year for GovCloud! Pressure to reduce budget, pressure to manage I resources better and the political pressure of the next presidential election will combine to accelerate adoption. The GSA IaaS groundwork has been laid and new policies a...
NJVC, one of the largest information technology solutions (IT) providers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), announces its line up for GEOINT 2010 Symposium, Nov. 1 -4, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans.
Visit the NJVC booth (#375) on the tradeshow fl...
In an important industry contribution, The Open Group has published a white paper on how to build and measure cloud computing return on investment (ROI). Produced by the Cloud Business Artifacts (CBA) project of The Open Group Cloud Computing Work Group, the document: Introduces the ma...
Earlier this month, Melvin Greer and I teamed up on a Military Information Technology piece. Melvin is a senior research engineer and cloud computing chief architect at Lockheed Martin, and a member of NCOIC’s Cloud Computing Working Group (CCWG). Titled "Cloud Computing's next Challen...
During the first quarter of 2010, the Navy is expected to make the first selection for the Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise System (CANES). CANES is just one component of the Navy’s overall strategy for its future information technology infrastructure. According to Vice Admiral H...
Last October I introduced EuroCloud as a pan-European business network with the goal of promoting European use of cloud computing. In the intervening three months, the organization has grown to include representation from 16 countries with four additional ones in the pipeline! Accordi...
Please join me at the Cloud Computing for DoD & Government training conference, February 22-24, 2010 at the Hilton Old Town in Alexandria, VA. This unique conference agenda blends interactive workshops and actionable information with an unprecedented opportunity to network with gov...
Recently, I had the privilege of reviewing an advance copy of Executive's Guide to Cloud Computing by Eric Marks and Bob Lozano. Available now for pre-order on Amazon, this guide is a crystal ball into the future of business. Not a technical treatise, this excellent book is an insightf...
Of course, the cloud computing prediction interested me the most. According to Nick, 2010 will see early cloud computing projects moving into production and the use of cloud computing technology for classified activities via the DISA RACE program! Even with these steps forward, securit...
Thank you Ulitzer and SYS-CON Media for naming me to your list of the most influential cloud computing bloggers for 2009. My hearty congratulations go out to the other bloggers that also made the list.Cloud computing definitely made its mark in 2009. The government space on which I foc...
Effective January 1, 2010, Jill Tummler Singer took the reigns as CIO for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). As the CIA Deputy CIO, Ms Tummler has been a proponent of cloud computing for the United States Intelligence Community (IC). 
2009 was truly a watershed year for Federal information technology professionals. After inaugurating the first Cyber-President we saw the appointment of our first Federal CIO and the rapid adoption of cloud computing as the way forward for improved efficiencies at reduced cost. The the...
During a recent interview, Robert Carey, Navy Chief Information Officer, also stated that cloud computing offered real value to the Navy. Citing that both the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) and Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programs will l...
Bob Gourley discusses leveraging commercial technology, driving transparency and engaging citizens and rethinking notions of IT governance with the Federal CIO nominee. Originally posted in his "CTOvision" blog on February 3, 2009, Mr. Gourley has graciously provided his permission to ...
A little over a week ago I put out a request to my readers to help me with my meeting with Vivek Kundra. The response has been awesome!Thank you for your suggestions and recommendations, both public and private. Below, in purely random order, are just some of the comments I've received...
In an effort to encourage standards and interoperability, the cloud computing community is currently discussing architectural ontologies. Core to most approaches is an assumption of open access, public Internet connectivity and security provisioning by the cloud service provider. Solut...
Cloud computing promises to provide seamless access to unlimited computing resources. Could it also provide the basis for a private government cloud? By developing and implementing appropriate standards and protocols for the government-wide, federated SOA layer, the National Office for...
Cloud Computing Wargame pits multiple teams against each other in an effort to accumulate the most "mission value points". During FOSE, about 6 wargame sessions were held, with 30-50 people in each session divided into 4-6 agencies. While the wargame can in no way be used to predict or...
In covering unfolding events in Iran, the world's most powerful news outlets have been entirely dependent on the Twitter-provided flow of text, images, and video. While this has definitely showcased the power of Twitter, Facebook and You Tube as an information channel, it also prompte...
The NCOIC has started an ad hoc working group on cloud computing focused on the technical, operational and business requirements of a "federal-grade" cloud infrastructure. The working group also plans to participate in the Joint CCIF/OMG Cloud Interoperability Workshop on March 23rd in...
Federal agencies are now officially exploring cloud computing as an option for some of their IT requirements. Until now most of these efforts have been quietly pursued under existing contract as exploratory pilots. Programs of record are now looking to take cloud computing into the ma...
The agency decision process for using cloud computing is no different than any other IT management decision. “Cloud IT” options should be compared to “Traditional IT” approaches. As Frank Gens of IDC alluded to when he framed the cloud opportunity for IT suppliers, agencies have four o...
Earlier this week I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to have a private meeting with Mr. Vivek Kundra. Although my time with him and Mr. Gary Washington (OMB/Egov &IT Internal Efficiency and Effectiveness Portfolio Manager) was short, their focus and mission were perfectly clea...
The Twitter conversation between Christofer Hoff and I went like this:Christofer - I haven't formally blogged a resp. (yet) to @Kevin_Jackson on his 'maneuver warfare in IT' Not just a cultural shift but a huge tech. oneKevin - @Beaker I'm looking forward to your comments.Christofer -...
On Tuesday I was in San Diego at the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Workshop. SISO is an international organization dedicated to the promotion of modeling and simulation (M&S) interoperability and reuse for the benefit of a broad range of M&S communities. SIS...
This is clearly the question on the minds and lips of every government IT decsionmaker in town. Why should a government agency even consider cloud computing? In reality, the decision process is no...
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According to a PC World article, cloud computing and cybersecurity will be the high-growth areas for government IT spending over the next few years. The analysis and consulting firm Input projected that the federal government's cloud-computing market will grow by 27 percent over the ne...
President Obama's 2010 Budget (pp. 157-158) has highlighted cloud computing as a key tool for improving innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in Federal IT." Cloud-computing is a convenient, on-demand model for network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g...
In fulfilling this role, the ACT-IAC Transition Study Group recently released a paper titled "Returning Innovation to the Federal Government with Information Technology". Since the Obama's administration stated goals include the "use [of] technology to create a more transparent and con...
Today, I start two days of training with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Federal. If that's the first time you've ever heard about an AWS Federal division, your not alone. Held in downtown Washington, DC the course was invite-only and attendance was IT services firms that had demonstrated a ...
