Application Services Archives — ľ��AV

Why Aren’t Software Factories Everywhere Across the DoD?

ľ��AV PR — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 04:01:54 +0000

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By
Vice President, Federal Managed Services

and
Cybersecurity and DevSecOps Director, Business Development

The Department of Defense (DoD) has long known that the ability to quickly deliver secure and resilient software will be a critical competitive edge that will enable the department to evolve and adapt faster than its adversaries.

The DoD has also long recognized the vital role software factories must play in the modernization of DoD software development. The adoption of software factories across the DoD, however, is yet to happen, except in small pockets.

The U.S. Air Force software development lab Kessel Run established the DoD’s first software factory in 2017. Since then, a few dozen others have cropped up in various corners of the department. But many more will be needed for the department to reach the software-development future it envisions.

At stake is nothing less than our nation’s ability to deliver a more lethal force than that of our adversaries.

“The Department’s adaptability increasingly relies on software, and the ability to securely and rapidly deliver resilient software capability is a competitive advantage that will define future conflicts.”
— Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks

What Is a Software Factory?

In its , the DoD defines the software factory as:

“a software assembly plant for development and integration that contains multiple pipelines, equipped with a set of tools, process workflows, scripts, and environments, to produce a set of software deployable artifacts with minimal human intervention. It automates the activities in the develop, build, test, release, and deliver phases and supports multi-tenancy.”

The preferred software-development method of Silicon Valley companies such as Google and Netflix and other private sector leaders, software factories are characterized by:

Automation and DevOps practices — including builds, testing, integration, and deployment
An “as-code” approach to infrastructure, documentation, policy, and configuration
Iterative and Agile development
Standardization of tools and processes
Containerization and microservices architecture
Scalability and flexibility
Collaboration and cross-functional teams
Metrics and continuous improvement

Better Software, Delivered Faster

Software factories streamline development processes and improve collaboration, delivering software faster, more efficiently, and more reliably than traditional software-development methods. For government enterprises, this means, among other things, faster attainment of authorizations to operate (ATOs).

Software factories aren’t just faster and more automated; they’re also just plain better. Compliance, for example, is baked right into the software development process — automated and implemented as code. Software factories codify rules and allow automated verification of policy as code, documentation as code, infrastructure as code, and so on. This reduces the back-and-forth of compliance and allows greater visibility to security and management teams, driving greater confidence in the software process.

With software factories, you get a push-button, fully integrated, secure DevSecOps-as-a-service environment that allows development teams to focus on building secure mission applications rather than standing up and configuring environments.

Software factories can also provide:

1

Enhanced transparency and visibility for your information system security officers (ISSOs), application managers, application owners, and all others responsible for inspection and approval

2

Less time spent manually building and testing software — increasing productivity, velocity, and team morale

3

Automated regression, functional, and security testing to deliver better more secure software with reduced labor

4

Integration with governance processes for increased control over releases, increased transparency, and greater confidence around more frequent, smaller releases

So, Why Isn’t Everyone on Board?

It’s natural for the organizational adoption of revolutionary technologies to be slow. The shift from traditional development methods to software factories faces a wide range of challenges across the DoD, including:

Legacy systems in need of modernization
Inertia of existing, functioning processes (Why change if it isn’t broken?)
Complex procurement processes that slow the acquisition of modern software tools
Workforce skills development and organizational change management needs
Budget constraints

The biggest challenge to adoption may be the absence of widespread trust in software factories. Key to overcoming this challenge is developing an understanding of software factories, experiencing their benefits, and understanding the importance of achieving cultural acceptance.

Widespread Understanding and Cultural Acceptance

There’s a lot to understand about software factories — from Jira and GitLab, to Jenkins, Argo CD, and Flux, to testing tools such as Selenium, SonarQube, and StackRox. DoD software developers are still learning about these and other software-factory building blocks, and a general understanding has not yet spread through the realms of nontechnical DoD decision makers. This has hindered widespread cultural acceptance.

Also, a few software factory myths and misunderstandings seem to have taken hold. Some believe software factories will require them to surrender the control that enables them to do their jobs. They have concerns about security, governance and compliance, visibility, and interoperability. In fact, software factories yield improvements in all these areas, not compromises.

A distrust of automation is one of the factors impeding adoption. Where DoD software factories are in place, however, ISSOs and information system security managers (ISSMs) are benefiting from the automation of security scans and the automatic pushing of security artifacts to them. They no longer need to request a scan or, worse, start a scan and wait for it.

Where the governance is integrated, managers can control releases, see when they’re tested and ready, and initiate the release to production. They’ve gained trust in the transparency of the process and learned to value automation, rather than fear that it will run out of control.

It takes organizational change to develop an understanding and acceptance of revolutionary technologies, and managing that change will be worth the effort. By resisting the risk that accompanies enhanced automation, we’ll only create a barrier for technological growth and perpetuate slower, outdated software development practices.

“DoD must scale its ability to produce secure and resilient software at speed to maintain a competitive edge. The Department must pursue an enterprise-wide approach, establishing a software-factory ecosystem that takes advantage of investments already made....”
— Department of Defense Software Modernization Strategy, Nov. 2021

Manage the Change: Train, Educate, Adopt

It takes time and energy to turn a battleship. The DoD will need to invest in organizational change management to ensure the widespread adoption of software factories.

Proponents of software factories — from within the DoD and without — can hasten modernization through training and education that strengthens the DoD’s organizational grasp on the promise of software factories.

Technical and nontechnical DoD decision makers need access to software factory truths, so myths and misunderstandings can be debunked. Key players must understand that software factories don’t reduce control, visibility, or governance — that they provide all the visibility, testing capabilities, and built-in governance the DoD needs, while making software development exponentially faster and more efficient.

As those involved with the first DoD software factories already know, this is the future of software development. Software factories will be critical to the DoD’s ability to reduce software delivery times from years to minutes, evolve and adapt faster than its adversaries, and ultimately deliver a more lethal force.¹

***¹Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H Hicks* *, Feb. 2022***

JEFF URLWIN
Vice President, Federal Managed Services

NEILAND WRIGHT
Cybersecurity and DevSecOps Director, Business Development

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ľ��AV Wins $138M US Postal Service AGT Contract

ľ��AV PR — Tue, 30 May 2023 11:00:40 +0000

ľ��AV will provide enterprise applications and IT support for geospatial analytics and data management

FAIRFAX, Va. – May 30, 2023 — ľ��AV, a leader in advanced technology, science, and digital transformation solutions, has won a seven-year recompete contract valued at $138M in support of the United States Postal Service (USPS) Addressing and Geospatial Technologies (AGT) Professional Support Services program. The AGT program is the USPS’s authoritative source on addressing and geospatial technology. It uses mapping technology to support visualization, analytics, and other services throughout the USPS.

ľ��AV will provide enterprise application and IT support for the program’s application development, geospatial analytics, database management, help desk, and project management office. ľ��AV will also introduce AI tools that improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. As the USPS moves toward barcode automation for all U.S. mail, ľ��AV’ support will help the independent agency advance two specific goals: providing mailers with top quality address products and services, and ensuring cost-effective, timely mail delivery, as well as greater safety for mail carriers.

JOHN HENEGHAN
President of ľ��AV

“Every year, processing undeliverable-as-addressed mail costs the USPS upwards of $1 billion. With ľ��AV’ support, the USPS AGT will be better equipped to help mailers improve address quality and optimize routing,” said John Heneghan, president of ľ��AV. “We’re excited for the opportunity to continue this decade-plus partnership and help the USPS provide our nation with reliable, affordable, universal mail service.”

“Delivering the mail successfully and economically depends on the USPS AGT’s ability to produce addresses that are complete and correct,” said Deron Baker, vice president of Enterprise Solutions at ľ��AV. “ľ��AV’ industry-leading data professionals, engineers, and data scientists facilitate these critical services by creating and maintaining effective geospatial applications and enterprise data management solutions.”

DERON BAKER
VP of Enterprise Solutions, ľ��AV

About ľ��AV
ľ��AV, ASGN’s federal government segment, delivers advanced solutions in cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ľ��AV maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ľ��AV has more than 3,800 employees throughout the United States. For more information, visit ľ��AVtech.com.

About ASGN Incorporated
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is a leading provider of IT services and solutions, including technology and creative digital marketing, across the commercial and government sectors. ASGN helps corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT consulting. For more information, please visit��.

Contacts
Kimberly Esterkin
Vice President, Investor Relations
Kimberly.Esterkin@ASGN.com

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ľ��AV Secures Multiple Award IDIQ Contract Supporting FCC Application Development

ľ��AV PR — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 12:10:47 +0000

Company will provide application support to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness across FCC

FAIRFAX, Va. – June 07, 2022 – ľ��AV, a leader in advanced technology, science, and digital transformation solutions, has secured a multiple award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract in support of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) requirement for application development support services. The full scope of the IDIQ includes support across program and project management, software and application development, documentation, and extreme programming (XP) for the FCC Information Technology Center (ITC).

As an awardee, ľ��AV will provide application development support services for existing, modernized, and new systems. ľ��AV will have the dual goal of improving FCC stakeholders’ experience in meeting business requirements and providing tight coordination of service delivery with other FCC ITC contractors.

Keith Quigley

V.P. of Enterprise Solutions

“We couldn’t be more pleased with this opportunity to expand our support of the FCC ITC in a broad-based effort to develop and deploy improved IT applications across the FCC Bureaus and Offices,” said Keith Quigley, ľ��AV senior vice president of enterprise solutions. “We will work closely with the FCC ITC, as well as any other FCC ITC contractors, in delivering applications that improve work efficiency, effectiveness, and experience for FCC personnel.”

“Our application services team is focused on developing and delivering highly secure, scalable, and effective solutions,” said John Heneghan, ľ��AV president. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the FCC to help them realize an improved stakeholder experience and meet organizational priorities.”

John Heneghan

President of ľ��AV

About ľ��AV
ľ��AV, ASGN’s federal government segment, delivers advanced solutions in cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ľ��AV maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ľ��AV has more than 3,500 employees throughout the United States. For more information, visit ľ��AVtech.com.

About ASGN
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is one of the foremost providers of IT and professional services in the technology, digital, creative, engineering and life sciences fields across commercial and government sectors. ASGN helps leading corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement, and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT solutions. For more information, visit asgn.com.

Contact
Keith Quigley, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Solutions
(703) 899-8589
keith.quigley@ľ��AVtech.com

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ľ��AV Named an Authorized Reseller of US Air Force Platform One Products and Services

ľ��AV PR — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 16:18:20 +0000

Company to promote, implement, and accelerate the adoption of Platform One

FAIRFAX, Va. – December 15, 2021 – ľ��AV, a leader in advanced technology, science, and engineering solutions, has been selected as an authorized reseller of U.S. Air Force (USAF) Platform One (P1) products and services. ľ��AV will implement P1 products including Big Bang and Iron Bank for enterprises across the federal, commercial, and academic sectors.

P1 uses Kubernetes orchestration and container technology to accelerate the continuous development of highly scalable, cloud-agnostic software. In this work, ľ��AV will leverage mature DevSecOps culture, processes, and policies, as well as the company’s proven experience implementing P1 products and services in customer environments to accelerate software factory implementations and codify best practices.

“ľ��AV has invested heavily in developing a cadre of technologists to customize and implement Platform One solutions. Our experts bring hands-on experience providing transformative services through the implementation of Agile and DevSecOps practices. We look forward to accelerating our customers’ adoption of Platform One tools.”

Raj Lingam
ľ��AV vice president of application services

“We are thrilled by the opportunity to implement Platform One products and contribute to the Air Force mission by enhancing the base offerings of Platform One and providing value-added solutions. This includes implementing Vauban, our open-source SOAR solution, to support continuous monitoring and ATO.”

Stephen Erickson
ľ��AV vice president of strategic solutions

About ľ��AV
ľ��AV, ASGN’s federal government segment, delivers advanced solutions in cloud, cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence (AI), application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ľ��AV maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ľ��AV has more than 3,500 employees throughout the United States. For more information, visit ľ��AVtech.com.

About ASGN Incorporated
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is a leading provider of IT services and professional solutions, including technology, creative, and digital, across the commercial and government sectors. ASGN helps corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT solutions. ASGN’s mission is to be the most trusted partner for companies seeking highly skilled human capital and integrated solutions to fulfill their strategic and operational needs. For more information, visit us at .

Contact
Raj Lingam, Vice President of Application Services��
703-867-7255��
rajasekhar.lingam@ľ��AVtech.com

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ľ��AV Awarded a Spot on $13.4 Billion Air Force SBEAS IDIQ

ľ��AV PR — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 08:00:35 +0000

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Heather R. Redman

Company will provide a range of software development, cybersecurity, and IT services

FAIRFAX, Va. – April 20, 2020 – , a leader in advanced technology, science, and engineering solutions, has been awarded a spot on the $13.4 billion contract vehicle, in a joint-venture partnership with award-winning small business Eminent IT. Managed by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, SBEAS is a 10-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quality (IDIQ) contract vehicle that replaces the previous Network-Centric Solutions-2 (NETCENTS-2) Application Solutions Small Business (ASSB) IDIQ.

Through SBEAS, ľ��AV will provide a wide variety of IT services, including software development, cybersecurity, infrastructure support, training, and technology refresh. SBEAS also calls for business analysis, commercial off-the-shelf product management, and utilization, data, and information services. To perform this work, ľ��AV will draw on experience supporting other Air Force initiatives, including managing the Global Air Transportation Execution System (GATES), as well as providing similar IT solutions for the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and the United States Forces Japan (USFJ).

“SBEAS is the premier vehicle to deliver a wide range of IT services and solutions to the Air Force,” said Jackie Fendrock, ľ��AV vice president of business development operations. “We are eager to provide more of the solutions that we are already delivering on NETCENTS-2 today.”

“ľ��AV is proud of our long history of service to the Air Force, delivering advanced solutions that keep our men and women in uniform safe,” said George Wilson, president of ľ��AV.

About ľ��AV
ľ��AV, a segment of ASGN, delivers advanced solutions in cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ľ��AV maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ľ��AV has more than 3,000 employees throughout the United States. For more information, visit ľ��AVtech.com.

About ASGN
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is one of the foremost providers of IT and professional services in the technology, digital, creative, engineering, and life sciences fields across commercial and government sectors. Operating through its Apex, Oxford, and ľ��AV segments, ASGN helps leading corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement, and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT solutions. Our mission is to be the most trusted partner for companies seeking highly skilled human capital and integrated solutions to fulfill their strategic and operational needs. For more information, visit us at .

Contact
Jackie Fendrock, VP of Business Development Operations
(703) 270-1540
jackie.fendrock@ľ��AVtech.com

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DevSecOps: Response at the Speed of Mission

Anthony Zech — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 20:33:58 +0000

By
Senior AI Architect for Cybersecurity

For federal agencies that have just implemented Agile development, DevSecOps may seem like a distant dream. In fact, just the opposite is true: Agile methodology lays the perfect foundation for a transition to DevSecOps. While an Agile delivery model realigns development to focus on delivering value-added functionality, DevSecOps empowers IT shops to achieve such functionality quickly, comprehensively, and securely. DevSecOps focuses not only on processes and tools, but most importantly, on a culture shift that ensures quick delivery of critical changes, comprehensive quality assurance (QA), and robust security.

But how to achieve such a strategy? The move To DevSecOps demands more than simply adopting a new development methodology. IT shops must rely on experienced leadership, design and implement an organizational transition plan, and invest in qualified personnel in order to enact this change. They must focus the day-to-day achievements that allow for gradual success, rather than expecting overnight transformation. When deployed successfully, this strategy achieves not only increased collaboration between stakeholders, but also higher-quality code on a timeline that keeps pace with the speed of mission requirements.

Collaboration Between Development, QA and Testing, IT Operations, and End-Users

At the forefront of any move to DevSecOps is a culture shift towards collaboration and knowledge sharing between development and QA/testing. Rather than keeping these components siloed, DevSecOps facilitates communication and feedback between teams. By coupling development and continuous builds within the operations cycle, the IT shop becomes an integrated engine producing quick wins for the organization and end-user. This integrated DevSecOps approach drastically improves the end-user experience by transforming customer service from an independent apparatus into a systematic function that enables quicker, sustained mission success.

Quality Code

Defects in code lead to rework, which in turn causes schedule delays and cost overruns. Through continuous feedback loops between the development and test phases, DevSecOps greatly minimizes these defects, keeping development on time and within budget. In a microservices architecture—which breaks down applications into collections of smaller services—with clear boundaries in business processes, discrete segments of code are fully tested using automation, then rapidly deployed. Any defects that arise are immediately rolled back, keeping systems fully functional at all times.

This automation is key to increasing the velocity of development. Through the use of libraries, software developers have constant access to the latest and most advanced code. Automated testing allows developers to integrate this code into existing projects without lengthy delays or the risk of incompatibility.

Delivery that Keeps Pace with the Mission

In today’s fast-paced landscape, mission can no longer wait weeks for the development cycle to complete. Cost, security, and overall mission success demand that new orders and changes to policy must be implemented within hours. A top-down approach, which pairs DevSecOps methodology with a migration to microservices architecture and robust automated testing, is critical to getting vital functionality in the hands of end-users at the speed of mission.

DevSecOps marks the latest advance in the evolution of application development. Rather than keeping development, security, QA, and operations siloed, DevSecOps considers these aspects as interconnected pieces of a single puzzle, empowering IT shops to create better, more secure products on a rapid timeline and at a cheaper cost.

Interested in implementing a DevSecOps methodology in your organization?

Contact Our Experts

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A Modern View of Systems Engineering in a DevOps World

Anthony Zech — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 15:21:28 +0000

By
Senior AI Architect

Over the last three decades of my personal IT journey, I have experienced the full continuum of good and bad ideas, practices, processes, technology and governance efforts. The last few years, however, have brought a technology renaissance of sorts to the forefront thanks to the cumulative effects of adjacent technologies, methodologies, and processes being adapted in support of more effective, efficient and higher value outcomes for our customers and ourselves.

The most significant of these include:

Technology

Hyperconverged hardware and virtualization of hosts, networks, storage and security allowing a lower cost, utility infrastructure that promotes the ability to define whole systems within software.

Methodology

Scalable management methodologies which fuse rapid development in the form of agile and lean practices, like the Scaled Agile Framework for enterprises (SAFe), combined with continuous improvement and collaboration practices that better facilitate large, often distributed teams’ ability to solve complex challenges

Process

Widespread automation of processes and procedures to standardize and enhance the streamlined buildout of infrastructure, allow for rapid, consistent testing of applications and security and most importantly, increase the resilience of complex systems by limiting the effects of human error.

Together these capabilities form the underpinning of DevSecOps. As the operational research suggests (DORA, State of DevOps 2019, ), this way forward certainly enables successful planning and execution of large-scale system modernization and transformation efforts and provides clear mechanisms to assure mission/business focus to deliver value to all stakeholders.

Yet why is there so much resistance in application of these processes in government systems? It comes down to scale, complexity, understanding, awareness and trust. Most government systems are very large, and complex having evolved over multiple generations. There are usually not many resources still available who understand the original design tradeoffs and the uniqueness of each system’s evolution. In many cases, there is a long history of feature and integration delays, challenges and occasional failures inherent in the current systems. They provide high visibility mission critical services and there is a strong sense of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”—except typically they are too costly to continue to maintain this current status quo. To effectively harness the power of DevSecOps, this is where systems engineering, and architecture come back into play.

In the case of architecture, it allows for a common set of conversations to occur between IT solutions providers, the business owners and the finance teams. Architects now have the primary responsibility to lay down the general rules for which IT may operate, and when and if exceptions to those rules can be acceptable to the organization to ensure a more efficient and affordable path to modernization/ transformation for the next generation of systems to follow.

Engineering today at the speed of Agile/DevSecOps now has a greater responsibility to enforce best practices, like secure software development, design for resiliency and continuous improvement in operations through practices like ITILv4 and site reliability engineering (SRE). In many large government systems, engineering must also ensure the harmonization of both the software supply chain and the hardware supply chain inherent with cyber physical systems. Engineering at all steps in the process must make sure that both (hardware and software) stay aligned, patched, tested and compliant with all governing laws, policies and mandates. The NIST SP- 800-160 volumes 1, 2 and the forthcoming 3 provide ample guidance and support for systems engineering best practices. The guidance and best practices are readily available, but there is an art to the application of the science. As Andrew Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services has been saying for some time now, “there is no compression algorithm for experience.”

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Does Your Job Have Meaning? Q&A with Michael Bays

ľ��AV PR — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 11:00:31 +0000

“Does Your Job Have Meaning?” is a series in which ľ��AV experts discuss their roles and responsibilities and the larger impact they have in the workplace, community, and world. In this installment, we interview Michael Bays, application developer and team lead for mission solutions. Michael currently oversees multiple database administrators and technical solutions for Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI).

MICHAEL BAYS

APPLICATION DEVELOPER AND TEAM LEAD, MISSION ľ��AV

When ľ��AV application developer and team lead Michael Bays joined the United States Marine Corps (USMC) back in 2007, he really didn’t know what he wanted to do. The USMC decided that he would be a great fit on the aviation side, so he started off as an aircraft maintenance administration specialist. From there, he went on to application/data analyst school. Then, in 2009, he searched through Yahoo for “highest-paying degrees for the future” and “most in-demand degrees.” The search brought up information systems security, which is where he applied his studies.

After deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Michael left the Marine Corps and began to pursue his IT career as a civilian, during which time he supported the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a statistical analyst and, later, Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) through employment at InfoReliance. In 2018, ľ��AV acquired InfoReliance, and Michael continues his professional journey here at ľ��AV. Here is what Michael has to say about his career at ľ��AV.

Q: How would you describe your job in 50 words or less?

A: I lead a team of eight developers and database administrators that work with applications and databases through SharePoint, Oracle, and IBM Cognos. I also assist in sustaining technical solutions for Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI).

Q: Who is directly affected by the work you do? How?

A: Special agents (SAs) of AFOSI are impacted by the work we do. My team works hard to provide solutions that make the SAs’ lives easier, when it comes to managing cases, and inputting data pertaining to a case within an application that they can use in the field and is then stored in a secured, well-managed database. I work closely with IBM Cognos Analytics, an IBM product that provides business intelligence solutions. We provide this product to AFOSI leaders, so they can use it to report statistics on cases, personnel, leads, and hours. We use this platform to connect to many different databases (data warehousing) that AFOSI uses and combine them all to give SAs a better view of their data.

Q: Who is indirectly affected by the work you do? How?

A: The work we do impacts other agencies as well, agencies that are part of law enforcement such as NCIS, CID, DIA, FBI, etc. AFOSI works closely with other agencies when it comes to criminal investigations, intelligence gathering, and much more. We will sometimes receive requests from outside agencies that need our assistance with certain cases or with metrics pertaining to different types of cases like sex offenses, computer crimes, drug offenses, and fraud. The team and I will work to provide them accurate data that can better assist them. Much of this will loop around and get back to members of Congress and the Office of Inspector General.

Q: What do you think is the most important result of your work?

A: My team has developed and maintained applications that SAs use daily. The result of developing and maintaining these complex applications is very satisfying. SAs are able to do their work faster, more effectively, and efficiently due to the assistance of these applications, both here at headquarters and in the field.

Knowing they utilize our products makes it very rewarding. AFOSI works to defend the nation, serve justice, and protect the Air Force. Being able to assist AFOSI agents in accomplishing that…it is motivating! I am proud to work in this environment for this organization and I am happy ľ��AV has provided me this opportunity to make a difference at home and overseas. “One Team, One Fight!”

Q: Besides how we serve the customers, why do you find your work so satisfying?

A: Serving the customer is priority. It is satisfying to provide them solutions. But besides that, it is satisfying because you are doing work that is feeding your brain and expanding your knowledge. In IT, technology is always changing, so it is important to feed your brain and stay up to date on IT trends. It helps you grow on a personal and professional level. It boosts your confidence, and also your motivation. It feels good to know that you are staying busy, working to better your life, and most importantly, better your family’s life.

“Does Your Job Have Meaning?” is a series in which ľ��AV experts discuss their roles and responsibilities and the larger impact they have in the workplace, community, and world.

Are you looking to make a difference in your career and in the world? Learn more about opportunities at ľ��AV. #MeetTheChallenge #MakeADifference

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ľ��AV Achieves Microsoft Gold-Certified Partnership��

ľ��AV PR — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 13:00:28 +0000

Company recognized as trusted provider of solutions on the Microsoft Cloud Platform

FAIRFAX, Va. – July 25, 2019 – ľ��AV, a leader in advanced technology, science, and engineering solutions, has achieved six Microsoft Gold-Certified competencies in the areas of Cloud, Application and Infrastructure, and Modern Workplace. These certifications—awarded upon rigorous review of technical certifications and innovative solutions—represent Microsoft’s highest level of partner recognition for aligning technical expertise to customer needs, demonstrating ľ��AV’ expertise in delivering��advanced solutions powered by Microsoft products��in the following core competencies:

“ľ��AV is proud of our Gold competencies and 19-year history delivering innovative Microsoft solutions,” said John Sankovich, ľ��AV vice president of cloud solutions. “We will continue to be a trusted advisor to our customers, leveraging Microsoft technology to meet their needs in cloud, artificial intelligence, managed services, and other exciting areas.”

ľ��AV has also been recognized as a Microsoft Partner of the Year and a Tier 1 Partner in Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. The company provides cloud and application design, migration, deployment, and management support for Microsoft products through the��ľ��AV Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE).

About ľ��AV
ľ��AV, a segment of ASGN, delivers advanced solutions in cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ľ��AV maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ľ��AV has more than 2,700 employees throughout the United States. For more information, visit.

About ASGN
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is a leading provider of IT and professional services in the technology, creative, digital, engineering and life sciences fields across commercial and government sectors. Operating through its Apex, Oxford and ľ��AV segments, ASGN helps leading corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT solutions. Our mission as an organization is to be the most trusted partner for companies seeking highly skilled human capital and integrated solutions to fulfill their strategic and operational needs. ASGN was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Calabasas, California. For more information, visit us at .

Contact
John Sankovich, Vice President of Cloud Solutions
703-270-1540
cloud@ecstech.com

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ľ��AV Awarded Prime Spot to Participate in $70 Million US Mint Digital Enterprise Services Contract

ľ��AV PR — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 15:54:59 +0000

Company to��compete for task orders to��provide a full range of digital enterprise solutions, including system modernization, digital transformation, and cloud technology

FAIRFAX, Va.��–��February 21, 2019��–��, a leader in advanced technology, science, and engineering solutions,��has been named��one of five��prime awardees��of��a $70 million, five-year,��U.S. Mint Digital Enterprise Services contract to provide��a full range of digital enterprise��services��across the��U.S.��Mint’s��IT landscape.��ľ��AV��will��have��the opportunity to compete for task orders that��will��help��maintain��the��U.S.��Mint’s current IT environment and applications while modernizing systems and architecture to employ the latest technologies,��agile��IT delivery, and cloud-based as-a-service��offerings.

This indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract covers IT modernization including data center consolidation, migration to cloud, managed service delivery operations, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), DevSecOps paired with agile methodologies, secure mobility, and enterprise cybersecurity. ľ��AV will leverage its 17 years of experience providing program management and technical solutions on large enterprise programs in support of the United States Postal Service National Customer Support Center (USPS NCSC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as strong partnerships with premier technology companies and leading cloud platforms.

“ľ��AV��looks forward to��implementing��the systems and architecture to provide advanced, mission-responsive support for the U.S.��Mint enterprise,” said��, ľ��AV senior vice president of enterprise solutions.

“We are thrilled to partner��with the U.S.��Mint to provide transformative IT modernization,” said��George Wilson, president of ľ��AV. “We will leverage the latest technologies to enhance the flexibility and efficiency with which the Mint is able to meet��its��mission objectives.”

About ľ��AV
ľ��AV, a segment of ASGN, delivers advanced solutions and services in cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), application and IT modernization, and science and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence and commercial industries. ľ��AV maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ľ��AV has more than 2,400 employees throughout the U.S. and has been recognized as a Top Workplace by The Washington Post for the last five years. For more information, visit .

About ASGN
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is a leading provider of IT and professional services in the technology, creative, digital, engineering and life sciences fields across commercial and government sectors. Operating through its Apex, Oxford and ľ��AV segments, ASGN helps leading corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT solutions. Our mission as an organization is to be the most trusted partner for companies seeking highly skilled human capital and integrated solutions to fulfill their strategic and operational needs. ASGN was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Calabasas, California. For more information, visit us at .

Contact
John��Heneghan, Senior VP, Enterprise Solutions
703-270-1540
john.heneghan@ľ��AVtech.com

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