TechSur leadership recently sat down with OrangeSlices.ai to preview our exciting DevSecOps Platform that’s making waves in Federal agencies! We are finally at a point where DevSecOps is moving from a capability to a representation as a platform – a one-click platform that we can simply demo by running a quick command prompt. Read our article below about the 5 benefits to Federal agencies who implement this end-to-end Enterprise DevSecOps platform, then reach out to our team for your own demo.

OrangeSlices.ai Article
March 14, 2023

Across the GovCon space, there are companies that catch our attention for a variety of reasons. One that recently made us sit up a little straighter is an SBA-certified 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Economically-Disadvantaged Minority Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), TechSur Solutions. An interview with Amit Yadav (co-founder and Chief Technology Officer), Craig Park (Senior Vice President of Operations), Jessica Gressett (Director of Growth), and Jen Falcone (Director of Marketing), provided insight on how this team is growing and winning. The team also shed some light on DevSecOps opportunities for Government agencies and how industry can help move the needle forward.

The Benefits of DevSecOps for Government Clients

More Excited Federal Employees

One of TechSur’s founding goals was a desire to make the work life of government clients easier, more efficient, and even fun – really! “Whether it’s a worker at NOAA excited about tracking and counting fish to ensure the size and health of fish populations, or a civilian employee in the health sector concerned with service delivery to beneficiaries, people who work in government are often passionate about their specific mission.”

Recognizing that if people could be freed from routine tasks, unburdened from having to work in multiple systems for each task, and having IT work for them so they can move faster, the evolution of DevSecOps has created an environment for better-enabled and better-served Federal employees.

“Younger Federal workers have expectations for how they will complete their daily tasks. This next generation of government workers simply will not tolerate clunky systems built over a decade ago that have been hacked to fit together. We need to energize these new users – if they are freed of some of their burdens, they can really harness the passion, the mission, the bigger picture view they have.”

Safe Space for Innovation

Within TechSur there is a mantra that leadership never expects perfection from employees, only continuous improvement. “Working under a fear of failing is not a comfortable place for anyone. There must be discussions about what has gone well, or not as well. But that discussion should be done within a framework that avoids blame and is positioned to take lessons learned and move forward from those lessons.”

Within a DevSecOps environment, where models are set and feedback is gathered along the way, agencies can move quickly, learn from stakeholder feedback and from issues noted along the way, then pivot quickly.

“Whether it is a senior manager or a junior developer, this safe space changes the conversation to one in which no one person failed. Rather, a lesson was learned, and the team can move forward from there.”

Security Embedded

The “Sec” is no longer an optional component of Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps). Security is a mandatory component in TechSur’s software development fast-release cycles and present at the heart of all their DevSecOps initiatives. “Security cannot be an afterthought. Security must be baked into what you do from the start and be part of the direction of everything you do.”

There exists within government the dual challenge of getting new products into the hands of users fast enough to satisfy their demands, and the challenge of ensuring the high levels of security any government product, application, or digital experience must meet. “DevSecOps creates a repeatable process for capabilities focused on quality and security that allows the capabilities to move faster and with the assurance that security has been considered at every step along the way.”

Understanding that no government agency is a single entity – that all have multiple levels, subagencies, and layers of engagement – the ability to work from a place of platform delivery that successfully connects and meets the requirements of all those touchpoints is key.

“Government wants the ability to deploy in any cloud of their choice. TechSur has observed that DevSecOps is moving from being a capability to representation as a platform. When we think of DevSecOps from this lens, we can start to think of it as a product, of how we can improve on it, how we can engage users for the best experience, how it can continue to evolve as the industry changes and as technology changes.”

Avoiding Ground Zero

TechSur’s view of DevSecOps as a platform (which they term their “DevSecOps REPLAY Platform”) also avoids the time and money required when starting from scratch time after time. It saves the client cost and effort when DevSecOps is viewed as the engine that powers product delivery.

“It can be challenging for small companies to make the investment to develop something ahead of time, but we are evolving into a space where we cannot just walk in, ask our client what they need, and then start inventing on their time. Instead, the focus needs to shift to coming to the table with a capability – with the thought process – and something that will demonstrate capability already in place. Though challenging, this must be a priority for industry and will take commitment from a vendor’s leadership to ensure they are prepared. We are deliberately at a point with this platform where we can simply demo the one-click platform by running a quick command prompt.”

Improved User Experience

The commercial sector has long challenged the user-experience of the government client, pushing the boundaries of what is expected. COVID shed a light, both on user-experience gaps and on those agencies that were able to meet the demands of customer experience abruptly. That user, whether citizen or government employee, is the most important element to every agency.

Through a DevSecOps framework, agencies can take feedback from users along the spectrum and act on that feedback in an Agile way. Users across the agency benefit from faster rollout, more up-to-date and current versions, and can see their concerns or challenges being addressed, leading to greater confidence and satisfaction with the agency.

Within TechSur, a passion for the mission results in decisions across the company that are made with the customer in mind. That same ability to put mission and people first can help government better engage with and deliver to its stakeholders.

Delivering, Guided by a Culture of Ownership

TechSur was founded with a view of ownership, of enabling decision-making. This foundational view creates a culture of supporting a greater passion. Taking it a step further, TechSur extends that same opportunity to those within the government space. “When the systems are in place, when there is input and a direction has been set, people are encouraged to act, to move forward on their own, knowing their role as part of the whole, and as leaders.”

Stretching their boundaries because they believe in the mission – because they are part of the team – sets a foundation for creative energy, for bringing their best to the table every day. “People stretch to improve, to do better, because they are in it together. As a company, we are deliberately building a system of systems to ensure there is alignment and that processes are met across delivery, marketing, operations, etc. – but then our TechSur employees are the owners of those systems.”

That view of culture also ensures conversations are ongoing. Rather than waiting for an annual review to check in with team members, ongoing dialogue means challenges are resolved as they happen, feedback is available as needed, so everyone is continuously growing and improving.

The Lens of Partnership

Still a small business, TechSur has followed a path that is common to many – starting with multiple subcontracts, then graduating over the past year to securing six Prime contracts. Whichever role they play, their role as a partner does not change. “Whether we are there as the Prime or the subcontractor, we are there for the client and we meld with our partner to act as one team. We are not there for short-term relationships but instead develop strong partnerships with our partners so that no one is part of this team or that team. We are all one. We support each other mutually and both sides are better for it.”

As it grows, TechSur is eager to grow in its relationships, with partners and with clients, as is always open to new introductions and new partners.

About TechSur

In August 2016, a wife and husband duo in the D.C. metropolitan area had grown increasingly frustrated by the conversations about government IT modernization. They formed TechSur Solutions with the belief that government agencies deserve a better answer to their complex technical challenges. There is a path forward to transform Federal work life without sacrificing requirements or excluding current contractors or platforms. Government deserves better engagement.

Shifting DevSecOps from a Set of Capabilities to a Repeatable Platform: 5 Benefits to Federal Agencies

TechSur Solutions implemented Adaptive Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver solutions at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an independent agency of the U.S. Federal government which provides library grants, museum grants, policy development, and research. The IMLS First Check Program was originally performed by Program Officers going through application files and databases to validate a grants application manually, taking up to 2 weeks. With TechSur’s First Check Program,  application reviews happen in a fraction of the time, saving thousands of manpower hours and resources. TechSur Solutions is delighted to announce that FORUM (formerly FedHealthIT) have recognized the IMLS First Check Program with a 2023 Disruptive Technology Award! This award recognized Federal IT Programs that are working every day to take calculated risks and positively disrupt the Federal market.

At IMLS, TechSur AI Engineers:

• created digitized PDFs from unstructured data to structured;
• implemented Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline the verification process;
• used Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract key data elements and document similarities, summarizations, and keyword searches; and,
• employed image detection for legal document verification.

As a result, the tool automates 95% of the First Check rules which allows Program Officers to focus on validating tool’s results and performing rule checks outside of the tool’s scope. TechSur Solutions looks forward to accepting this honor at the #DisruptiveTechSummit on April 12, 2023. Congratulations to all the other winners of this prestigious award!

http://bit.ly/426jGXg

@FedHealthIT

The recent Cybersecurity Ventures report predicts that in 2023, the global annual cost of cybercrime will exceed $8 trillion. This figure could potentially be much higher than initially thought. With the rise of cyber threats and attacks, government agencies must adopt a proactive approach to protect their networks, data, and systems. As such, DevSecOps, a combination of development, security, and operations, is essential for government cybersecurity.

Recently, President Biden issued an Executive Order on improving the nation’s cybersecurity, and federal agencies have responded by releasing DevSecOps best practices based on the Enduring Security Framework. As a result, government organizations are taking steps to implement and standardize their DevSecOps processes for addressing current cybersecurity threats.

Here is a closer look at why DevSecOps is critical for government cybersecurity, how it can improve local and federal government cybersecurity, and some examples of how government agencies have successfully implemented DevSecOps practices.

Why DevSecOps is Critical For Government Cybersecurity

Traditionally, government agencies have followed a waterfall approach to software development, where each phase of development is completed before moving to the next phase. This approach can be time-consuming and costly, and it does not prioritize security. In contrast, DevSecOps is a continuous process that integrates security into every phase of the development lifecycle, from design to deployment and beyond. Government agencies can then detect and remediate security vulnerabilities early in the development process, reducing the risk of cyber-attacks.

In addition to this, DevSecOps fosters a culture of shared accountability for security by promoting communication between operations, security, and development teams, breaking down organizational barriers. By working together, these teams can more effectively and efficiently detect and handle security issues. This results in a reduced cost of cybersecurity for the organization as a whole. 

Improving Local Government Cybersecurity with DevSecOps

Local government agencies often have limited resources and expertise in cybersecurity. They may also be more vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to their reliance on legacy systems and software. DevSecOps can help these agencies improve their cybersecurity posture. This is done by prioritizing security in the development process and providing a framework for collaboration between teams.

Improving Federal Government Cybersecurity with DevSecOps

Federal government agencies face unique cybersecurity challenges. This is mainly due to the sensitivity of the data they handle and the potential impact of a cyber-attack. These agencies must comply with strict security regulations, such as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework. DevSecOps can help these agencies comply with these regulations by integrating security into every phase of their development process. It further provides a framework for continuous monitoring and remediation of security vulnerabilities.

Other Benefits of DevSecOps

Apart from the specific benefits DevSecOps offer for government agencies, there are many other prominent advantages to adopting this approach. Here are a few of the more common ones.

Reduced Risk of Cyber-Attacks

By integrating security into every phase of the development process, DevSecOps reduces the risk of cyber-attacks that could compromise sensitive government data or systems.

Increased Speed of Software Delivery

DevSecOps enables faster and more frequent software delivery. The main reason for this is the automation of many aspects of the development process without sacrificing security or quality.

Improved Efficiency

Increased collaboration and communication between teams in DevSecOps can reduce errors and redundancies and increase overall efficiency.

Enhanced Accountability

With DevSecOps, agencies can promote a culture of shared responsibility for security, which can help ensure that security is a priority at every level of the organization.

Better Compliance

DevSecOps can help government agencies meet security regulations. This is done by providing a framework for integrating security into the development process. It further allows continuous monitoring and remediation of security vulnerabilities.

Reduced Cost

Detecting and remedying security vulnerabilities early in the development process is possible with DevSecOps. This can reduce the overall cost of software development and maintenance for government agencies.

Why Some Government Organizations Resist the Implementation of DevSecOps

A survey conducted by ATARC and the U.S. Air Force, underwritten by GitLab and Red Hat, interviewed almost 300 technical professionals across 27 federal departments, government entities, and state and local governments. The results revealed a complex DevOps environment in the public sector. The teams often faced challenges managing numerous disparate tools and working with legacy development models. The survey highlighted the following reasons for the hesitation toward DevSecOps implementation.

• Cultural resistance: Traditional government organizations may resist DevSecOps because it requires a cultural shift towards a more collaborative and agile approach to software development. This may be perceived as a challenge to the existing organizational culture, structures, and adherence to the waterfall methodology. 
• Complex Tools: According to the survey, only 28% of the respondents reported using five or fewer tools in their software development lifecycle, while almost 40% used ten or more tools. The use of multiple tools creates a complex development process. This in turn requires teams to dedicate significant time to managing the tools. The same time could instead be used for building and delivering critical applications for their organizations.
• Regulatory compliance concerns: Some government organizations may be concerned that implementing DevSecOps practices could potentially compromise their ability to meet regulatory compliance requirements.

It is crucial to understand that these reasons for resistance are not insurmountable. Government organizations are capable of overcoming them. Agencies can effectively implement DevSecOps methods to strengthen their cybersecurity posture with the correct assistance, training, and leadership. 

Conclusion

DevSecOps is essential for government cybersecurity, both at the local and federal levels. By integrating security into every phase of the development process and promoting collaboration between teams, government agencies can improve their cybersecurity posture while reducing the overall cost and time required for software development. Successful implementation of DevSecOps practices requires a cultural shift towards shared responsibility for security and a commitment to continuous improvement. As cyber threats continue to evolve, government agencies must remain vigilant and proactive in their approach to cybersecurity, and DevSecOps provides a framework for achieving this goal.

TechSur Solutions’ DevSecOps REPLAY Platform can help government agencies strengthen their cybersecurity posture, improve collaboration and efficiency, and reduce the risk of cyber-attacks. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you in implementing DevSecOps practices tailored to your agency’s unique needs and requirements.

The world has entered the digital age, where technology has become a central aspect of daily life and business operations. The internet and digital devices have created a vast network that connects people from all over the world, enabling instant communication and access to information. Such a transformation, along with the rapid growth of the digital economy, has created a high demand for US digital services, and governments have had to adapt to keep pace with these changes. 

Overview of the Demand for US Digital Services 

In recent years, the demand for digital services has increased dramatically, and this trend is only expected to continue. A recent Accenture report indicates that the demand for digital services from US citizens has grown, as reflected in the increase of those who wish to have more digital interaction with their government: 39% of respondents in 2022 compared to 29% in 2019. 

Customers and citizens expect easy access to government services and information online. They want these services to be fast, efficient, and reliable. This has put pressure on government organizations to upgrade their digital offerings. They now must keep up with the evolving needs of their constituents.

Meeting the demand for US digital services would mean government organizations can improve their efficiency and effectiveness in serving the public. By leveraging technology and modernizing their systems, they can streamline processes, reduce costs, and provide better, faster service to their customers. Additionally, the use of digital services can improve the transparency and accountability of government operations, leading to increased trust and confidence in government institutions. However, as with any transformation, success in this endeavor isn’t without its challenges.

Challenges Faced by Federal Government Organizations in Meeting Demand

Despite these benefits, federal government organizations are facing numerous challenges when it comes to meeting rising demands for digital service.

Difficulty in Adapting Legacy Systems

Many government agencies have been using outdated systems for decades, and upgrading them to modern technology can be a complex and costly process. In addition, the integration of these legacy systems with new technology can be difficult. They may not be compatible with the latest digital services.

Lack of Resources and Budget Limitations

Upgrading technology and modernizing systems can be expensive, and many government agencies have limited budgets for these types of projects. The shortage of skilled personnel who are able to implement these upgrades further complicates the process.

Security and Privacy Concerns

Governments are responsible for safeguarding sensitive information, such as personal and financial data, and ensuring that this information is protected from unauthorized access and use. They must also be able to detect and respond to cyber-attacks and data breaches. This can have significant impacts on the security and privacy of their customers and citizens.

Strategies for Meeting Rising Demands for Digital Service 

Despite these challenges, there are strategies that federal government organizations can use to meet rising demands for digital service. 

Leverage Existing Technologies and Resources

One strategy for meeting the demand for digital services is to leverage existing technologies and resources. Government organizations can take advantage of existing systems and infrastructure to implement digital services and improve their efficiency. For instance, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be a valuable tool for the US government in meeting the rising demand for digital services. By integrating RPA, the government can automate routine and repetitive tasks within its existing infrastructure. This will improve efficiency and free up resources to focus on more valuable activities. 

The success of such initiatives has been experienced by the US government when battling COVID-19 challenges. The US federal government adopted Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to help its agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Institutes of Health, and the Internal Revenue Service, increase the efficiency of their staff. RPA allowed these organizations to shift their personnel from low-value tasks to more important activities. They could effectively manage a surge in demand for their services. In a similar way, the US federal government can utilize its existing systems to provide efficient digital services to citizens.

Invest in Modernization

Another strategy is to invest in modernization by upgrading technology and modernizing systems to meet the changing needs of their customers and citizens. This can include the development of new digital services, the implementation of cloud computing and data analytics, and the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

A key example of such an initiative is the inclusion of AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots that can assist government agencies in providing efficient digital services.

On the other hand, cloud technology has the ability to scale quickly, allowing federal government organizations to make a seamless transition to digital services. For instance, in 2020, 90% of California’s 200,000 state employees were able to easily switch to telework due to the state government’s early adoption of cloud technology. This shift not only allows employees to work remotely but also helps governments reach citizens through omnichannel cloud-based communication tools.

For example, Singapore utilizes “postman.gov.sg” to send bulk messages with critical updates to citizens. Leveraging cloud technologies in this way can further improve citizen satisfaction and enhance the quality of government services in the US as well.

Upgrade Security and Privacy Standards

Finally, upgrading security and privacy standards is a critical component of any strategy for providing digital services to the public. Government agencies must invest in robust security and privacy measures. This is essential to protect sensitive information and ensure the safety of their customers and citizens. This includes implementing strong encryption, developing security policies and procedures, and investing in cyber security and data protection technologies.

One major point of concern is that, despite numerous proposals, there has yet to be a comprehensive federal law created to govern data privacy in the U.S. that has been accepted by federal government organizations. Developing and implementing data privacy policies, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, can help ensure that sensitive information is collected, stored, and processed in a manner that is secure and compliant with privacy laws and regulations.

Conclusion 

As we enter the digital age, citizens are expecting consumer-grade experiences from the federal government. All generations are now looking to the government to provide a streamlined digital experience. The US federal government has the opportunity to meet these demands and enhance its services. However, it comes with plenty of challenges. 

To ensure success, federal government organizations must rise to the occasion. Fortunately, there are strategies that organizations can use to overcome these challenges. This includes leveraging existing technologies, investing in modernization initiatives, and upgrading security and privacy standards. By taking these steps, organizations can create a more efficient system that meets the needs of citizens in the digital era.

TechSur Solutions leverages the latest technologies to help you overcome your challenges and gain a competitive advantage in this digital era. Reach out to us today for more information about our enterprise solutions and our dedication to optimizing governmental operations.