Ep. 251 Breaking Through Bureaucracy: Modernizing Federal Systems in an Era of Digital Urgency
Release Date: 06/19/2025
Ep. 268 How Virtualitics Helps Federal Agencies Prepare for AI at Scale
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? Virtualitics, a company spun out of Caltech and NASA JPL in 2016, focuses on applying advanced AI to mission-critical challenges, including asset availability, personnel readiness, and supply chain optimization. During the interview, Rob Bocek, Chief Revenue Officer at Virtualitics, provides listeners with insight into how his company can enhance Air Force readiness while ensuring explainability and democratizing AI. Sometimes, AI is described as a “black box” where one pours in data and out pops an...
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Ep. 267 Inside the Push to Build Smarter Digital Solutions Across Federal Agencies
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? In 1987 Microsoft introduced PowerPoint, it is one of the few applications that has endured almost four decades! Today, we look at some options that incorporate more flexible ways to innovate. Charles Firey from Excella provides listeners three ways to make a transition from PowerPoint to modern applications. He discusses setting temporary instances of a modification, making sure this approach is consistent, and where to look for opportunities to apply this dynamic method. Sandbox. Instead of...
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Ep. 265 Fortreum’s Cybersecurity Foundation for Digital Security
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? In boardrooms across America, members are slowly starting to notice the proliferation of cyber-attacks. It is one thing to recognize the danger, quite another to do something about it. Board members may ask, how does a company’s risk profile compare to others? What is a reasonable amount of money to budget for cybersecurity? What about company growth & change? Are there tools to use to approximate risk level? Today, Ben Scudera from Fortreum jumps feet first and answers the tough questions Ben admits...
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Ep. 264 How Automation is Accelerating Digital Transformation Across Federal Agencies
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Ep. 264 How Automation Is Accelerating Digital Transformation Across Federal Agencies Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? In this episode of the Federal Tech Podcast, host John Gilroy interviews Nabil Amiri, Vice President of Business Development for the federal practice at NWN. The discussion introduces NWN’s expanding role in helping federal agencies adopt advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), as part of broader digital transformation efforts. Amiri explains NWN’s recent acquisition of Leverage Information, a...
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Ep. 263 How Microsoft Drives Cloud-Powered Transformation in Federal Agencies
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Ep. 263 How Microsoft Drives Cloud-Powered Transformation in Federal Agencies Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? Microsoft has been a behemoth in the world of information technology since its founding in 1985. The only way to understand how Microsoft can impact the federal government is to take a topic like AI and conduct a thorough analysis. Today, we sat down with Wole Moses, the Chief AI Officer for Microsoft Federal. He shares his perspective on how Microsoft's innovation can help federal agencies achieve their ambitious...
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Ep. 262 How Qualtrics Is Powering Better UX Across Federal Websites
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? Today, we discuss the importance of user experience for federal websites with guests Amanda Chavez and Rishi Vajpayee from Qualtrics. The expansion covers topics such as cost savings, automation, and the impact of unstructured data on how websites provide information. COST SAVINGS Older systems in the federal government may have been designed to optimize for one function. When new administrations are elected, it is possible that alterations can be made, and the existing system can lead to inefficiency and...
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Ep. 261 Technology's Role in Improving Force and Well Being
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? The current administration has a focus on reducing costs while also improving the delivery of goods and services. When it comes to handling data, innovations in code generated by artificial intelligence have enabled this remarkable goal. The challenge arises when transitioning from the data center to the hospital. " Fail early" may be a mantra for a software developer, but in a healthcare situation, it is unacceptable. Today, we sat down with two executives from Phillips and explored the value of...
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Ep. 260 How Akamai can make the Internet work better by preventing ransomware.
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Want to listen to other episodes? In 2018, ransomware was a quaint little cyberattack. Suddenly, the first half of 2024 saw $459 million paid in ransomware. Everyone is being targeted: retailers in the UK, resellers in LA, and even the federal government can be included in the target for ransomware attackers. Today, we sit down with Douglas Holland to see what role Akamai plays in preventing these rapidly proliferating attacks. One of the strengths of Akamai is its ability to handle a wide range of internet activity, as Akamai processes 11 trillion DNS queries daily. ...
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Ep. 258 Why CMMC Compliance is now Non-Negotiable for Tech Leaders
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Everybody knows the world of technology is changing on a massive scale; in the federal community, there is a similar seismic change, but it has to do with policy, not graphics chips. In 2020, the Department of Defense aimed to ensure its suppliers had a reasonable level of cyber protection and released the first version of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). In subsequent years, CMMC became a “nice to have” rather than a mandate. COVID-19 drastically increased the number of remote users, federal technology was moving to the edge, and malicious actors continued to...
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Ep. 259 How Federal Tech Leaders Can Streamline Procurement Amid Rapid Change and Licensing Complexity
Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness
Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn Want to listen to other episodes? According to Forrester, 48% of organizations have more than one hundred tools in a typical toolchain. How many are not being used? How many duplicates are there? How many can remove abilities in other tools? When you deal with a company, they are getting paid to focus on their solution and ignore others. When you deal with a reseller, they have biases, respond to changes quickly, and understand the complexities of vendors in “swim lanes,” which can include competitors. Today, we sit down with Sam...
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Many of today’s archaic federal systems have been built over decades. As a result, they are perfected but also fragile. One obvious source of vulnerability is the workforce that created it.
It is hard to believe that COBOL was released in 1960 and is still active in some federal systems. The individuals who developed the code for these systems are now long past retirement age. Some code was accurately documented, and some were not. As a result, the process of transferring to a newer environment is fraught with concern.
Until AI, the only way to understand the underlying code was for a human being to review it line by line. Everyone realized that this process was so tedious and time-consuming that an informal policy emerged, essentially patching the system. They kicked the can down the road for the next generation.
Well, AI is her. It has the unique ability to review code, identify problems, and provide solutions quickly. This will drastically reduce the risk of moving antiquated systems from aging code systems.
Today, we sat down with Kartik Mecheri from Karsun Solutions and Alan Thomas, former Commissioner of GSA FAS. During the interview, they offered suggestions on how best to accomplish the challenging task of digital modernization.
Kartik emphasizes the value of a platform like ReDuX. Utilizing Amazon’s Bedrock, ReDuX allows system developers to create a blueprint for the existing system. When combined with humans, this platform will save money on maintaining older systems and bring much-needed flexibility to new applications.
Listen to learn how Karsun Solutions can reduce costs, increase flexibility, and improve efficiency in the process of digital modernization.
The conversation also touched on the challenges of mission-critical systems, the role of AI in reducing risk, and the evolving job market, suggesting a shift towards strategic and innovative roles.