Government Bits

Tracking how technology is transforming interaction between governments and citizens.

Our recent conversation with Arun Anantharaman, VP and GM of Adobe Connect, continues today with the last in a three-part series. Today Arun discusses:

• 0:05 – Managed services options
• 0:50 – Key trends in the web conferencing market
• 2:35 – What’s next for Adobe Connect

If you haven’t yet, check out the first two parts of the conversation here and here.

Our recent conversation with Arun Anantharaman, VP and GM of Adobe Connect, continues today with the second of a three-part series. Today Arun discusses:

• 0:05 – Web conferencing deployment considerations
• 2:00 – Cloud-based web conferencing solutions

Part three, which we’ll post yet this week, covers:

• Managed services options
• Key trends in the web conferencing market
• What’s next for Adobe Connect

If you haven’t yet, you can check out the initial part of the conversation here.

We recently sat down with Arun Anantharaman, Adobe’s VP and GM of Adobe Connect, to get his perspective on Web conferencing and the Government market. This is the first segment of a three-part interview with Arun. In today’s video he discusses:

• 0:05 – His current role and background
• 0:50 – An overview of Adobe Connect
• 2:22 – The origins of the product
• 3:14 – Examples of Government usage of web conferencing

In parts two and three, which we’ll post yet this week, Arun covers:

• Web conferencing deployment considerations
• Cloud-based web conferencing solutions
• Managed services options
• Key trends in the web conferencing market
• What’s next for Adobe Connect

Another great example of how the US Military uses Defense Connect Online – powered by Adobe Connect. From the article on Navy.mil:

Navy Recruiting Command (NRC) leadership held its first-ever virtual town hall meeting March 1 with Sailors, civilians and family members from across the command’s network of recruiting stations and districts throughout the United States.

Rear Adm. Craig Faller, commander of the 7,000-strong recruiting force, along with his wife, Martha, and Force Master Chief Christopher Penton, used Defense Connect Online and teleconferencing to connect with the nearly 350 Sailors, civilians and family members who participated in the discussion forum.

Read the full article

Apps.Gov was launched in September 2009 by U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra as a key element of President Obama’s initiative to lower the cost of government operations while driving innovation within government. The online procurement vehicle features pre-approved software that is compliant with various federal policies.

Adobe partner Carahsoft has been a key player in making innovative, cloud-based applications available to federal agencies via Apps.gov. In December, several applications were added including Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. For more information on techologies available from Carahsoft on apps.gov, visit their site.

Adobe partner, ConnectSolutions, provides a great summary of President Obama’s historic Town Hall in Shanghai, China. Read more.

Although I believe the media is creating unnecessary fear among the public over Swine Flu (and apparently I am not alone), the idea of a pandemic presents a good example of why telework should be part of any agency’s continuity of operations (COOP) planning. In the case of an emergency that affects public servants’ ability to get to the office, or safely work in the office, telework allows government workers to continue to serve the needs of the public from a remote location. But waiting for that emergency to materialize is not the best approach.

Cindy Auten of the Telework Exchange says it best – “One of the key strategies in having a business continuity plan and incorporating telework into it, is ensuring that you’re testing it often and you build telework as a part of your standard operating procedure — so it’s not a frantic, mad rush to the door to actually start your telework program at the last minute.”

Does your agency have a telework strategy? If so, is it part of day-to-day operations or is it a just-in-case strategy? We’d like to hear from you.

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The day after his inauguration, President Obama issued a memo calling for an "unprecedented level of openness in Government."  Many agencies are going through the process of identifying what open government and transparency mean to their operations.  Others are already in execution mode – including the US Department of State. 

Many federal agencies see the potential benefits of telework. Saving gas, making federal workers more productive, and providing for continuity of operations in case of emergency or bad weather. But often times, there is a gap between the idea of telework and putting telework into the workplace.

To help bridge that gap, Telework Exchange and Adobe have teamed up to sponsor a series of events aimed at helping federal managers understand how to make teleworking an option in their organizations. Federal News Radio covered the first Telework in a Box event held in Washington, DC on February 29, 2009. Representatives from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Treasury Department discussed how teleworking is in place within their agencies and provided direction on training and infrastructure that make teleworking successful.

Read more about both agencies’ experiences or listen to the event coverage via podcast. A second podcast provides insight into how Andrew Krzmarzick from the USDA Graduate School has used technology to make telework…work.

For more details on the Telework in a Box events series, including the next stop in Atlanta, GA in May, visit the Telework Exchange.

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