Feds' speaking engagements fall victim to closure
As the shutdown unfolds, some events will be modified or even canceled. Here's a look at some early effects.
The conference business is taking a hit from the government shutdown. Some presentations featuring top-level federal IT executives have been canceled, although others are forging ahead.
The Symantec Government Symposium, which was to feature a keynote speech by former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Oct. 2, and presentations by several more high-level public-sector executives, has been postponed until March.
Among the government bigwigs slated for the event were Sasi Pillay, chief technology officer for NASA IT; Wolf Tombe, CTO of Customs and Border Protection; and Alissa Johnson, deputy CIO for the Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President.
On the other hand, the DOD/VA iEHR and HIE Summit presented by the Defense Institute convened for its final scheduled day Oct. 1 with Joe Paiva, chief technology strategist at the Veterans Affairs Department, presenting as scheduled.
His mission: departmental evangelizing.
"The VA Central Office is currently operating with limited capabilities, including IT," a VA public affairs official said in an email. "Someone needs to support the Veterans Health Administration while they operate at full force to include keeping all VA Medical Centers open."
The 2013 Federal Cloud Innovation Forum, scheduled for Oct. 3, will be postponed if the government remains closed on Oct. 2. That event, produced by FCW parent company 1105 Media, is to feature David McClure, associate administrator at the General Services Administration's Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen and Coast Guard Rear Admiral Robert Day, Jr. in a discussion on what's next for government services in the cloud.