Government Bits

Tracking how technology is transforming interaction between governments and citizens.

With each New Year, there is a propensity to want to leave the past behind us. Resolutions to start anew are often key drivers behind seasonal surges in new gym memberships and other short lived self-improvement initiatives.

Enterprises typically seize the beginning of a new cycle to re-invent themselves as well. However, regardless of the reason for the fresh start, forward-thinking leaders find ways to harvest lessons learned and relationships established in the past, and leverage them as they plan for the future.

With the emergence of a robust digital ecosystem, including social networking, mobile devices, and cloud computing, that’s now easier than ever to achieve. But sustainable results still require an innovative enterprise platform and an adaptive strategy.

Before the holidays, I was invited to participate as a panelist at the 2011 Government Mobility Forum in Washington DC. The theme was “Revolutionizing Agency Communications and Citizen Service” and the keynote was delivered by Phil Simon, best-selling author of “The Age of the Platform.” Afterward, we explored ways that technology may be deployed to extend the reach of personalized interactions, thereby providing incremental value with every touch point for the customer, citizen, or patient.

See full encore video here.

Digital communications strategy is at the heart of efforts to modernize user experiences throughout the public sector in North America and worldwide.

From mass transit agencies that deploy mobile apps for keeping commuters updated in real-time, to healthcare agencies that facilitate provider collaboration with online access to health records, Adobe Digital Government Solutions are driving the transformation in many cases.

In fact, last week from Washington DC, President Obama remotely addressed over 25,000 constituents at multiple caucus sites in Iowa by using Adobe Connect and Connect Mobile, our best-in-class web conferencing solutions that are also trusted globally by the US Department of Defense.

So for 2012, consider a resolution of improved engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness. You’ll be in great company, and no spandex is required.

What’s your digital resolution?

Let us know on Twitter @AdobeGov and @AdobeCEM, or on Facebook.

Last week, we sponsored a seminar in Washington, DC presented by Federal Computer Week on the “Intersection of Security and Information Sharing: How to Improve Government Efficiency in a Security-Conscious World”.

The seminar brought together government professionals, senior government officials, technology and security leaders, and industry executives to discuss security and the role of authentication in delivering information assurance and increasing business process efficiency for the federal government.

Aaron Lippold, senior technical advisor and computer scientist with DISA, spoke on “Forge.mil – Information Sharing and Secure Collaboration”. Our own John Landwehr, senior director of Enterprise Security Solutions, discussed “The Role of Forms Process Security in Ensuring Secure Information Flow”. And Steve LeSueur, contributing editor with 1105 Government Information Group, moderated a panel with Aaron and John on “How to Improve Government Efficiency in a Security-Conscious World”.

We caught up with John at the seminar and encourage you to check out this video for his thoughts on the event and what he and others discussed.

As always, we’re interested in your thoughts, so please share in comments, on Twitter @AdobeGov or on our Facebook page.

Late last week, we hosted an event, along with Carahsoft and Blue Beacon Consulting, focused on the use of social media in the U.S. Department of Defense.

The event – Transitioning from “Social Media” to “Mission Media”: Using Social Media to Achieve DoD Missions – included a great keynote by Maxine Teller (@mixtmedia) and informative panel including our own Rob Pinkerton and:

• Dana Clark (@PAODanaClark), social media manager, public affairs specialist, Army Corps of Engineers
• Dr. Joseph Boutte, strategic advisor, Strategies, New Media and Collaboration, TASC Inc.
• Dan Wade, social media and new technology chief for strategic communication, USSOCOM
• Christopher Zember, deputy director, Information Analysis Centers, OASD(R&E), DTIC
• Bill Annibell @billannibell), chief technology officer, Sapient Government Services (Moderator)

We had a chance to catch some time on camera with Maxine, Dana and Rob to capture their thoughts on the topics of discussion and the event. Check it out:

As always, we’re interested in your thoughts. Keep in touch with us here, on Twitter @AdobeGov ,and on Facebook, where we’ve posted some pictures from the event.

This morning, we announced the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which is an operating unit of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has awarded an expanded contract that includes Adobe Connect Web conferencing software to enable deployed troops, support personnel, and military leaders to collaborate more efficiently across locations worldwide. You can check out our press release here.

The contract was awarded to our partner, Carahsoft Technology Corp., which works with Adobe Systems Federal, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adobe.

Carahsoft and Adobe will continue to operate, maintain and enhance Defense Connect Online (DCO), which includes Adobe Connect and has been in place since 2007. The system provides Web conferencing, presence and awareness, video conferencing, and chat capabilities. DCO is used across the DoD and supports over 500,000 registered users who, on aggregate, use the system for in excess of 35 million Web conferencing minutes per month.

You can check out the DCO Facebook page here.

And, as always, stay in touch with us on Twitter @AdobeGov and on our Facebook page here. Our colleagues on the Adobe Connect team are on Twitter @AdobeConnect.

Adobe’s Acrobat and Creative Suite products are ubiquitous across the DoD and Intelligence Community. Over the last few years, we have amassed a compelling number of case studies in which agencies like the US Army Corps of Engineers and many others use Adobe’s desktop tools to conceive, prototype, create, publish, distribute, track, optimize and secure documents and content ranging from simple inter-office communications to detailed technical schematics to high-level classified documentation. Whether it’s high-resolution digital imaging, HD video processing, enterprise-class RIAs, mobile app development, or redacting and encrypting sensitive PDF documentation — the DoD depends on Adobe Desktop.

Because of the broad familiarity that our DoD customers have with our desktop software, Adobe has “taken its show on the road” with a 17-date roadshow called the Create and Secure Military Tour 2011!

These half-day briefings are designed to help keep our customers ahead and abreast of the emerging trends in PDF and document security, publication design, web development and video post-production with practical introductions to the latest innovations in Adobe technology.

Included in these briefings are demonstrations of Acrobat X Professional, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Encore, and other Adobe desktop tools. Hot topics so far have included: document encryption and security, forms data collection workflows, PDF Portfolios, creating apps for Android and iOS devices, HTML5 best practices, smoothly editing multiple streams of HD video in real-time, and much more.

Check here to see if we’re coming to a city or military installation near you soon!