For this edition of "Behind the Curtain" we're taking a look at the 2016 Federal Forum taking place on June 14 in Washington, D.C. The Federal Forum, sponsored by Brocade and produced by FedScoop, is in its fifth year and provides a unique platform for government and industry to discuss network modernization. The network infrastructure is 20 years old and today's environment demands that data be available anywhere anytime. The network must be able to reach the efficiency and speed needed to support mobility as well as cloud.
This event is focused on defining and discussing the New IP Network that begins with infrastructure upgrades to fabric-based physical networks and evolves to software defined virtual services and advanced methods of control and orchestration. This network evolution can deliver the rich performance and experience that federal end users, citizens, and war fighters demand.[Tweet "The 2016 Federal Forum is focused on IP network evolutions for #Fed users and beyond. #GovEventsBlog"]
The 1,000 attendees include a mix of government and industry but they all share a focus on the network. Outside of the three government keynotes and a special presentation on Machine Learning, the event is divided into a general session track with numerous government/industry panels and a technical track giving attendees the depth of discussion that applies to their position.
We spoke with Ginger Kessler, Federal Marketing for Brocade, to get a sense of what we can expect from this year's event and see what goes into planning this network-focused event.[Tweet "Brocade's Ginger Kessler provides a look inside the 5th Federal Forum. #GovEventsBlog"]
What are the "hot topics" for this year's event?
Being a network-focused event we take on way more than just routers and switches. Government is now taking a serious look at Software Defined Networking (SDN) - moving services that used to be on physical infrastructures to a software model. Agencies are in the pilot phase with many of these technologies and we expect them to share their early experience and hope to hear when they plan to implement SDN as a wider IT strategy.
The use of open standards will be a recurring theme throughout the event. Using solutions built on standards not only ensures compliance with government mandates like FITARA and FAR, it also ensures that agencies are not locked into a single vendor and have the flexibility to have a best of breed multi-vendor infrastructure to put them in control of how the network operates.
"As a service" models and how they work for the network will also be discussed. While there is solid understanding of the model and its benefits, the ability to procure technology in this way has not caught up. Look for a lot of conversation around acquisition reform that will enable more "as a service" buying as well as requirements based procurement.
Security is of course a huge concern. 25% of breaches happen on the network. A recent survey conducted by Market Connections revealed that the Federal government is not protecting the network for the speed data travels today. We'll have one general session panel as well as a technical track session focused solely on network security.
What should attendees not miss at this year's event?
We'll have 15 hands-on demos showing the impact of modernizing the network. We featured the Brocade Technology Pavilion during the 2015 Forum and gave over 1,000 demonstrations to attendees. We've expanded it this year to give attendees access to even more innovative technologies.[Tweet "The 2016 Federal Forum expanded for access to even more innovative tech. #GovEventsBlog"]
How do you attract your speakers?
Our speakers and attendees both know that the legacy network infrastructure is a huge obstacle in moving Federal IT ahead. They want to discuss with their peers and industry how to modernize the network to improve the performance of the entire data center and this forum gives them that opportunity. Our past performance with this event also allows us to attract great speakers because many of them have experienced the event or have heard about the robust content and networking opportunities. And we are partnering with FedScoop to help us secure high level government decision makers to speak and to ensure that the event is a great experience for all attendees.
How are you using social as part of the event?
LinkedIn and Twitter are our key social platforms. We have an active posting schedule that lets people know about speakers as they commit and we highlight the sessions so people can begin planning their agenda before they get to the forum. At the event we'll have a social media booth sponsored by SAGE Communications, our PR and Social Media firm, where attendees can get their photo taken and share what they are learning at the event. Highlights of all of our sessions will be live tweeted to give people who cannot attend a feel for what's going on.
Before and after the show, we'll post blogs about the key topics being discussed. In addition, the event also has its own mobile app. With the app those who have registered can determine which sessions they want to attend and put them on their calendar. As new speakers confirm and the agenda solidifies those registered get updated via the app.
What if someone cannot attend? Can they still access the content?
We realize that many people who want the content from the Forum are outside the D.C. area. We will produce a number of e-learning courses on individual sessions as well as a rebroadcast of the event for those who cannot attend. We encourage everyone to register so that even if they cannot make it they will receive the content after the event.
For more info on the agenda, speakers and sponsor for the 2016 Federal Forum check out GovEvents.com.
