The who’s who in the federal mobile space gathered for the second annual Federal Mobile Computing Summit, held at the Ronald Reagan and International Trade Center on August 8, 2012, and co-Chaired by Dr. Rick Holgate, CIO of ATF, and Tom Suder, CEO of Mobilegov. Dr. Holgate and Suder are both active members of ACT-IAC.
Dr. Holgate kicked-off the all-day event with a welcome speech about the future of mobile technology in federal government, in the world of budget constraints and cybersecurity threats. Suder spearheaded the event, with over 50 vendors and hundreds of federal executives in attendance.
Dave McClure, Associate Administrator of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies at GSA, and Visionary Keynote Summit Speaker, emphasized that taking the federal government mobile is necessary in making the federal space part of the fabric of how United States citizens operate and conduct business. McClure described the current Digital Government Strategy as the gold standard for mobile technology adoption in the federal government, noting, ” [it’s] a road map which is a sprint.” In that same vein, McClure acknowledged the need to address current procurement and acquisition issues associated with the adoption of real-time mobile technology and agnostic mobile devices.
“We focus on common, open-source content management systems….we have a plethora of content management systems all around the government, there is surly an opportunity to share and develop open-source solutions that can standardize and create uniformity in the experience of people on government websites. We are fast and furiously working on web-based APIs,” said McClure.
Dr. Rick Holgate wrapped up the day with a couple final thoughts. Acknowledging that there is “no new money to get this done,” Dr. Holgate encouraged participants to think differently and cultivate the unique skill sets that are obtained when creating disruptive technology. “I challenge all of you to think about what you heard today and to think about what you will do differently tomorrow, this week, next week, next month, to enable us to accomplish what we need as a federal government.”
Look for profiles of the industry leaders who showcased mobile technologies at the summit on WashingtonExec in the coming days, in the meantime, find pictures on WashingtonExec‘s Facebook page.