Keep your finger on the pulse. Read about the issues facing federal IT leaders and how technology is being used to help improve government efficiency and effectiveness. Subscribe Now.

Connected Government in Action

Data Center 3.0: Back to the Future

Government and enterprise data centers are undergoing a rebirth—and the result might look familiar. "Data centers are being recentralized, reflecting IT's increasing relevance to agency missions," says Steve Picot, regional manager for Cisco federal data center team. The new trend is being heralded as Data Center 3.0, the third wave in data center architectures. The first data centers were highly centralized; the next were highly distributed. "But a common drawback of highly distributed environments is poor server and storage utilization," says Tim Simon, federal marketing manager, Cisco. "This is becoming increasingly problematic as data centers run out of space and power.” Data Center 3.0 combines the best of its predecessors, directly benefiting taxpayers by enabling government to offer new citizen-centric services. More

Employees' Experience of Data Center 3.0: Faster Applications

As agencies recentralize their data centers, a trend called Data Center 3.0, the most visible benefit for employees is noticeably improved application performance—and not just for people who work at headquarters. "New application networking services speed up application performance for people who traditionally have had to make do with less: mobile employees, teleworkers, and remote field workers," says Steve Picot, regional manager, federal data center team, Cisco. "This is a critical capability for empowering the government workforce." Beneficiaries range from Peace Corps field workers to members of the intelligence community who use wikis for information sharing. More

Beyond Toll-Free Numbers: Using Unified Contact Centers for Better Government

Not so long ago, a contact center meant a group of agents in one location, answering phone calls. Now the agents might be scattered in any number of locations, including home, and can also interact with citizens and employees using Web chat or e-mail. "If good government means increasing service while lowering costs, the contact center is a clear success story," says Russ Plain, product sales specialist for unified communications, Cisco. New government unified contact centers reflect the changing expectations of citizens and employees who have grown up with Web chat, video, and instant messaging. "Even if citizens go to the Web just to get the agency's phone number, agencies can seize the opportunity to deflect inquiries to a self-service channel,” says Plain. More

Keep Up to Date with Cisco

"IPv6 Integration in Federal Government" White Paper Now Available for Download

U.S. federal government agencies are required to integrate IPv6 into their network infrastructures, but the mandate does not define the required steps. The way an agency plans and executes the IPv6 integration will have long-lasting ramifications. This paper outlines the actions that agency IT groups need to take during each phase of the integration and includes sources for more detailed information. Download

"Effectively Communicating to Meet Mission Objectives" Webcast

Attend the Cisco Webcast series to learn more about how to improve communications, share applications and collaborate more effectively, and speed decision making, including crisis response in emergency management situations. You can view the first session in the series, "Connecting with Video and Cisco TelePresence," now and register for the second session, "Effectively Communicating to Meet Mission Objectives," to be held May 15 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific. To register or for more information. Visit Now

"Mitigating Air Space Vulnerability" Wireless Webcast

One of the most difficult challenges facing the federal government is managing security threats and vulnerabilities associated with WiFi environments. Attend the Cisco Wireless Webcast held in conjunction with Government Computer News on "Mitigating Air Space Vulnerability: Do You Know Who Is on Your Network?" on Wednesday, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific. You'll learn about the security considerations associated with WiFi deployments, proactive threat prevention methodologies, and how Cisco’s Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) offers customers more comprehensive end-to-end security across wired and wireless networks.
Visit Now

New Security Thought Leadership Website

The Cisco Federal Security Thought Leadership website provides news, intelligence, and opinions you can put to work right away to help achieve your organization’s security and compliance goals. You’ll find in-depth articles on IT security, security policy, trends in federal cybersecurity spending, the ongoing challenge of meeting compliance requirements, how to prepare for a FISMA audit, in addition to podcasts, whitepaper downloads, and a comprehensive research and archive library—all in one place to help you achieve regulatory compliance and enhanced security for your agency. Visit Cisco Federal’s Security Thought Leadership website today. Visit Now

Managed Services for an Enterprise Architecture Strategy

As the mission of federal agencies expands, so too does its operational challenges, all while budgets and resources are further constrained. This reality—combined with concerns about security, reliability, and relinquishment of control—is driving agencies once skeptical of the benefits of adopting managed services to reevaluate the merit of today's managed services options. This paper clarifies the perceived and actual advantages associated with moving to this model, while sharing industry best practices for implementing such services. Read More