AWS to launch data centers in United Arab Emirates

Amazon Web Services (AWS) air expanding its presence in the Middle East, with three new data centers based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

They will go live in the first half of 2022 and expand the company’s presence in the region, which is currently limited to Bahrain, the company announced Wednesday. AWS currently has 80 such centers around the world.

“We are excited to build on the great momentum of cloud adoption in the Middle East by providing more choice for customers in the UAE to run applications and store data locally,” said Peter DeSantis, senior vice president of global infrastructure at AWS.

AWS remains a major cloud service provider to the U.S. government. It remains in a protracted legal battle with the Department of Defense after it was passed over for a $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Information (JEDI) cloud computing contract.

In the Middle East, AWS contracts with governments including Egypt, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Tech companies write to Biden administration pushing commercial tech preference

A group of technology companies and trade lobby groups has written an open letter to the Biden administration, calling on it to ensure federal agencies follow existing preference regulations for commercial software and technology procurement.

In the letter, which was sent on Tuesday, the companies requested also that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide specific updated guidance to agencies on the issue.

Agencies are required by federal law to adopt existing private-sector tech and software solutions, where practicable, rather than developing custom-built solutions.

Salesforce, Palantir, Splunk and DataRobot were among the signatories to the letter and were joined by trade groups including the Alliance for Digital Innovation, the Silicon Valley Defense Group, and the Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government.

“Many federal agencies continue to favor custom-built, more expensive solutions, even when there are proven, widely available commercial solutions that, in many cases, can be modified to meet unique requirements,” the companies said. “As a result, many technology companies conclude that it is too difficult to work with the government.”

By failing to enforce the regulations, the federal government often misses out on the cutting-edge tech developed in the private sector. “Rather than miss out on private sector innovations, the government should consistently enforce laws and policies that give preference to commercial software and technology solutions and support these domestic industries, including startups and small businesses,” the letter says. “We specifically request that the OMB provide clear guidance to federal agencies to make certain that the existing statutory requirements for commercial preference are followed.”

Under statutory requirements, federal agencies must buy commercial technology and software when “reasonably practicable.” This is codified in the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA), which was passed in 1994.

Private sector representatives say that such legislation is necessary because in-house federal agency development projects have a high failure rate and redundancy created by such programs has a huge cost for the U.S. taxpayer.

Speaking to FedScoop, executive director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, Matthew Cornelius, said technology companies had “stepped up” to provide COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and information solutions during the past 15 months, and that they want to see a continuation of pandemic spending momentum on commercial solutions.

“There’s already a lot of building blocks in place, where the administration needs to embrace this chance to buy commercial first,” said Cornelius.

The trade group leader added that too often broad IT modernization efforts burden contracting officers with lists of requirements that see recompeted contracts awarded to the same vendors because it’s “comfortable and easy.”

Mac Thornberry, former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and member of the Silicon Valley Defense Group’s board of advisors, said commercial tech adoption is key to “preparing for great power competition.”

“If it is really urgent, and I think it clearly is, the government has to act like it,” Thornberry said. “That means acquiring systems now that are tested and proven and can be readily adopted, rather than waiting — sometimes for years — to build systems from scratch that may never work and are likely to be outdated if they do.”

Dave Vorland, executive director for the Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government, said: “You find out during a crisis what technology works and doesn’t work and it is consistently commercial software that responds best when government efficiency is most critical — as we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

National Institutes of Health launches $50B governmentwide IT contract vehicle

The National Institutes of Health has issued a request for proposals for its long-awaited governmentwide acquisition vehicle that will give up to $50 billion to federal contractors over a 10-year period.

The CIO-SP4 vehicle has 10 task areas including IT services, CIO support, cybersecurity, digital government and cloud services and software development.

It will be managed by the NIH’s Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) and is designed to meet agencies’ general information technology, biomedical and health IT needs across the federal government.

CIO-SP4’s $50 billion ceiling represents an increase from the previously-launched CIO-SP3 vehicle, which allotted $20 billion to IT contracts over a 10-year period. CIO-SP3 was launched in June 2012 and runs until May 30, 2022.

The new contract has a five-year base ordering period and a five-year extension option.

Contract vehicles permit flexibility at the task order level and acquisition agreements where a quick turnaround time is required. NIH will award spots on the larger vehicle to prime contractors that can then compete for task orders under the scope of CIO-SP4.

Commenting on the launch of the contract, NITAAC acting Director Brian Goodger said: “CIO-SP4 builds upon the success of CIO-SP3 and takes into account several lessons learned that we believe will enhance the experience of our federal agency customers and contract holders alike.

“We are excited about the possibility CIO-SP4 holds for revolutionizing the way agencies acquire IT.”

Goodger did want to remind agencies that CIO-SP3 is still a good option for their IT needs. “However, we want to remind agencies that while they anticipate CIO-SP4, CIO-SP3 still remains a vital option for their procurement needs. CIO-SP3 expires in May 2022, has ample ceiling room and awards issued before the expiration of CIO-SP3 can be extended up to five years,” he added.

NITAAC is a federal executive agent and is authorized by the Office of Management and Budget to administer three governmentwide IT acquisition contracts: CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Business, and CIO-CS. These contracts, along with NASA’s SEWP and the General Services Administration’s various IT vehicles, comprise the federal government’s governmentwide acquisition vehicles, or GWACs as they’re called.

Satellite company Viasat appoints new head of gov systems

Satellite company Viasat has promoted Craig Miller to be its head of government systems after serving as the business unit’s chief technology officer for four years.

Miller will now oversee all federal sales and operations, a part of the Viasat that exceeds $1 billion in annual revenue. He replaces Ken Peterman, who will serve as an advisor to the Carlsbad, California-based company’s CEO.

Viasat provides a range of tech and services to the government, with public record showing contracts with all military departments and combat support agencies like the Defense Information Systems Agency.  It is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and reported annual revenues of $2.3bn for the fiscal year 2020.

Last May, Viasat won a nearly $1 billion contract with the Navy to work on the department’s Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS). The work included creating new network and data links for the Navy’s tactical radio system.

Miller was involved in building the military’s Link 16 network, a global tactical network used by NATO countries in combat, He also has experience in cybersecurity and network security services.

The U.S. government has increasingly relied on commercial space and satellite companies to build global networks such as Link 16. The military is now working to update that network with new “network of network” systems that will be more interoperable and allow more data to flow, technologies that will rely heavily on satellites.

Quantum industry partnerships key to power grid optimization: DOE official

The Department of Energy (DOE) needs more public-private partnerships if it hopes to advance quantum information science (QIS) to the point where it can optimize the U.S. power grid, said commercialization executive Rima Kasia Oueid.

Kasia Oueid’s Office of Technology Transitions was created by Congress in 2015 and tasked with expanding the commercial impact of DOE’s research and development portfolio, and that includes accelerating adoption of quantum computing.

Increased energy consumption across the U.S. has pushed the DOE, through its National Laboratories, and industry partners, to develop new quantum computing technologies. It is hoped that such technology will help the country adapt to ever-changing energy demands and renewable energy sources.

“There’s been growing interest in the energy sector around combinatorial optimization, particularly for management of the grid for example,” Kasia Oueid said, speaking at ACT-IAC’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference on Tuesday.

“Quantum-based optimization algorithms could be combined with classical, or at least verified through classical means, and could provide us some degree of comfort earlier in the algorithm development space when applied to these optimization-type use cases.”

Both Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories use D-Wave System’s 2000Q quantum annealing computer for solving combinatorial optimization problems facing utility grids, electric vehicles, supply chains and risk assessments.

Solving quantum encryption over long distances could help different utilities to integrate energy flow across facilities and devices, while keeping electric grid communications safe from cyberattacks.

Experts say that developing quantum cryptography in tandem with the latest generation of supercomputers is necessary to guarantee U.S. national security.

Quantum-safe cryptography efforts are “well underway” developing algorithms that IT companies will ultimately sell in packages integrating them into the internet, said Carl Williams, deputy director of the Physical Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

China is also investing in quantum key distribution (QKD) for encryption, which could pose a threat to U.S. national security if they alone harnessed the technology.

“We don’t know what we don’t know about the benefits that could come along from working on that technology,” Kasia Oueid said.

DOE has spent more then $1 billion on QIS the last couple years, banking on fact that even a two-time increase in computing speeds could provide a significant market advantage.

And while all the major players like IBM, Microsoft, Google and Honeywell are in the quantum space, so too are an “amazing” amount of startups like Rigetti Computing, Zapata Computing and QC Ware, Williams said.

“We were the first to Mars, but China already has a rover up there so now they’re second to Mars,” said Gabe Chang, quantum ambassador at IBM. “So understanding our environment, the awareness, understanding quantum areas for development [is key].”

The National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018 required NIST to establish a consortium for quantum economic development to build out the supply chain, which remains in its infancy.

That supply chain will be global in nature because the U.S. simply won’t be a leader in developing all the components necessary for quantum computers.

“We will not end up owning all the key technologies necessary to build these kind of devices,” Williams said.

Quantum computers remain “noisy, intermediate-scale” systems that are not yet error correctable and will take another decade to perfect, Williams added. Quantum networks are even farther out because components technology from memory to repeaters that is required.

Optimizing the electric grid isn’t DOE’s only reason for investing heavily in quantum computing.

The Office of Science has a funding opportunity announcement out for researchers to build apps using quantum algorithms to solve self-fusion, while the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy thinks quantum-enable AI could optimize manufacturing processes.

“All of them have interest in quantum for different reasons,” Kasia Oueid said.

Trade group urges Congress to include funding for cybersecurity in infrastructure bill

The Professional Services Council (PSC) has written to lawmakers, urging them to include funding for cybersecurity and IT in President Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure bill.

In a letter sent on Friday to leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, the trade body said it was “disappointed” that the administration had not requested additional funding to address cybersecurity or IT modernization for federal government and industry as part of the package.

“Given recent cyberattacks—including the SolarWinds breach of government infrastructure and the recent attacks on energy pipelines and water treatment facilities—and the President’s May 12, 2021, Executive Order on cybersecurity, the need for resources to adapt and operate securely in the continuously changing threat environment continues to grow,” the trade group said in its missive. “PSC and our member companies support funding to match these needs and requirements. This includes funding for CISA and the Technology Modernization Fund, as well as agency-specific funding to modernize outdated programs and legacy systems.”

PSC represents the government technology and professional services industry and has over 400 member companies.

In its letter to lawmakers, PSC called also for the bill to remove “nonvalue-added regulatory burdens” from government contractors through a focus on streamlined contracting and permitting processes.

The group also called for additional investment and funding for research and development through the new proposed legislation.

“PSC is hopeful that the Congress will continue to invest in and advance technologies that provide long-term solutions for U.S. economic competitiveness and national security, and to address how these investments will help federal agencies meet mission needs,” it said in the note.

Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate over the American Jobs Plan after President Biden last month issued an initial $2.25 trillion proposal.

The GOP has since responded with a $568 billion infrastructure counteroffer, and last Friday the White House put forward a new $1.7 trillion offer, which settles for the $65 billion Republicans proposed for broadband funding and pares back funding for road and bridge construction.

Department of Defense seeks new AI systems to power drone group work

The military wants its drones to work together and is working to create an automated network of unmanned aerial systems that can accomplish complex tasks with the help of artificial intelligence.

To do this, the Silicon Valley outpost of the Department of Defense (DOD), the Defense Innovation Unit, has posted a solicitation for commercial algorithms that could help groups of drones work together in flight.

The solicitation is specific to networking and decision-making algorithms, rather than computer vision or autopilot systems, and is designed to turn single aircrafts into networks of connected platforms that can work together.

“Solutions must be capable of coordinating and prioritizing actions in complex and contested environments,” the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) solicitation states. “While these algorithms extend to a variety of use cases, this specific prototype evaluation will be focused on coordinating long-range, high-speed, fixed-wing aerial platforms operating in contested environments.”

The solicitation marks a step forward in the DOD’s on going development of autonomous systems and their integration into operations. Currently, most drones are piloted by service members, who keep the drones flying by using joysticks or software. This program, along with others such as the Air Force’s “Loyal Wingman” program, are experimenting with algorithms that use algorithms to decide how a group of drones should proceed.

The request touches on another tech area of interest for the DOD: digital engineering, which allows tech to be tested in virtual environment simulations, before being trialled in the real world. The algorithms that DIU is looking for will need to fit into a “Networked collaborative autonomous (NCA) air platforms in a digital engineering environment,” according to the solicitation.

The program will have test events created in a digital engineering virtual environment,  according to the solicitation.

“The program will be structured as a series of prototype events where selected performers will deploy their algorithms in an unclassified, live-virtual-constructive development environment based upon the Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM),” it stated.

Pentagon tech chief nominee wants more upfront funding for programs

The Biden administration’s nominee for the role of top technology official at the Department of Defense wants to see an overhaul of budgeting processes that could allow for more innovation and lower sustainment costs.

At a confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Heidi Shyu told Senators that extra early-stage funding for the DOD’s weapons platforms, tech projects and other systems would keep programs running and help to curtail their costs in the long term.

“Today, sustainment makes up 70% of total weapon system cost, with development and procurement making up 30%.

“DOD should strive to flip this ratio and invest more in the development of new technologies than it does in the sustainment of legacy systems,” Shyu told lawmakers.

Such a change would represent a shift in funding practices, and a move towards more agile systems development.

The technology leader was speaking alongside nominees to the posts of Air Force Secretary, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering at the DOD, and Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation at the DOD.

Air Force Secretary nominee Frank Kendall agreed with Shyu, and added that for the USAF such an approach to program funding would permit greater experimentation and allow for more failures.

“Having the discipline to do the things that are necessary up front that would lower sustainment costs is critical,” he said.

Additional early-stage funding permits more agile development of modular systems, which ultimately can make it easier and cheaper to fix errors that arise at a later stage. Currently, programs run through a two-year budgetary cycle where requests need to be proposed by the DOD to Congress before they can get off the ground. At the current pace of development, military technology is often outdated by the time it is fully implemented.

The two-year budgeting cycle has hit software acquisition especially hard, as code needs frequent updates to patch security flaws and bugs.

Shyu’s job, if confirmed, would be to oversee all research and engineering projects, from basic research to advanced artificial intelligence work. Shyu has a background in both tech and contracting. Previously she served as the head of acquisition, technology and logistics for the Army during the Obama administration.

Addressing lawmakers on Tuesday, Shyu also advocated for the use of rapid prototyping contracts, like Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), which she said could be used more throughout the department to navigate around the budget cycle. According to the senior tech leader, the DOD would also benefit significantly from flexible research techniques used by the private sector, such as “plug and play”.

“There is absolutely a gap in terms of our ability to purchase tech.

“Software is ubiquitous in all of our weapons systems and we have to think about how we can develop software continuously and test it continuously,” she added.

If confirmed as Air Force Secretary, Kendall will oversee the vast, highly technical suite of programs in the Air and Space Force, from new network-of-network systems like Advanced Battle Management System to jet fighters and satellites.

GSA tech procurement leader Nakasone to depart June 1

Federal IT procurement leader Keith Nakasone will leave his role at the General Services Administration at the end of May.

He departs after working at the agency since 2017 as deputy assistant commissioner of acquisition management within the Office of Information Technology Category (ITC).

Nakasone’s last day is June 1, leaving GSA after 32 years in the federal government to take up a role in the private sector.

Following his departure, Nakasone’s responsibilities will be taken on in an acting capacity by Cheryl Thornton-Cameron, who is executive director of ITC Schedule Contract Operations at the agency.

The IT Category team is a workstream within the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service that develops contracts for technology services and is focused on limiting duplicate purchases across agencies.

Previously, Nakasone was a senior procurement executive at the Federal Communications Commission, and before that was a technical director within the Defense Information Systems Agency’s procurement directorate. At DISA he has also served as chief of strategic planning.

During his tenure at GSA, Nakasone spearheaded the introduction of new requirements to federal government IT contracts to address supply chain risk and prohibit the use of telecommunications equipment and services produced by Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE.

Earlier this month, the GSA launched an industry consultation over plans to issue a multiple-award cloud blanket purchase agreement as part of a government-wide acquisition strategy.

Next Generation Computing Act proposed to speed U.S. supercomputer development

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., has introduced legislation to bolster one of two high-priority, advanced scientific computing programs at the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Next Generation Computing Research and Development Act would create the Beyond Exascale Computing Program for developing systems with capabilities that exceed those of the fastest supercomputers in the U.S., set to start arriving at the National Laboratories later this year.

The proposed legislation was introduced last Thursday in the House of Representatives, and comes as U.S. lawmakers devote increasing attention to the country’s supercomputing arms race with China. The DOE is targeting the launch of a new exascale computing platform, which is known as Frontier, in October this year.

Exascale refers to a computing system that can perform at least one exaflop – or one quintillion (a billion-billion) calculations per second.

DOE has spent $460 million on its Exascale Computing Project to date. And the proposed successor program would refocus those efforts on new computing architectures, models and simulations, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

Commenting on the proposed legislation, Obernolte said: “The future of innovation lies in our ability to unlock new answers about the workings of our world.”

“Those answers will only come with the help of the next generation of supercomputers,” he added.

Obernolte’s bill would establish a special energy efficient computing program, where national labs partner with industry and academia to develop technology and applications that decrease supercomputers’ energy needs. Federal partners would be selected through a competitive process.

DOE would have a year from the bill’s passage to report back on the progress of both new programs.

The bill also requires an upgrade to a user facility designed for the secure transport of researchers’ data, as well as a workforce development program out of the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research. It would also create a computational science fellowship with a $21 million-a-year grant.