FCW Insider: July 14, 2021

The risks of pushing for procurement equity

A White House plan to steer $100 billion towards small disadvantaged businesses could prove transformative for historically underserved communities nationwide -- but only with proper regulation.

Questions on the impact of contract protests arise after JEDI

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said protests and lawsuits that can delay or lead to program cancellation could be holding up the Defense Department's technological progress, naming JEDI as the latest example.

Vote delayed on Biden's SBA nominee amid GOP-led filibuster attempts

Republicans have condemned Dilawar Syed, nominated to serve as deputy administrator for the Small Business Administration, over his involvement with a Muslim advocacy group that has been critical of Israel.

A practical guide to CMMC

What all federal agencies need to know about DOD's cyber maturity model certification program.

Last call for 2021 innovation nominations

July 15 is the deadline for Rising Star, Public Sector Innovation and Industry Innovator nominations.

Quick Hits

*** Octo has acquired Volant Associates, an enterprise IT and software development company whose customer base stretches across the defense and intelligence communities. Washington Technology reports that the deal follows Octo's recent merger with Sevatec, which was backed by Arlington Capital Partners.

*** Lindsay Gorman has joined the White House as a senior advisor for technology strategy. A former staffer for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Gorman most recently was the emerging technologies fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy and a consultant for Schmidt Futures.

*** ID.me, an identity verification platform provider, has received a FedRAMP moderate authorization to operate for its Identity Gateway, a shared service for citizen- and employee-facing authentication. GCN has the details.