Page 53 - FCW, October 2017

The task for Woodruff, as CACI’s lead computer systems engineer,
was to navigate the government security rules for myriad high-tech space innovations — including all
the robotics and rovers for space exploration and a humanoid robot currently on the International Space Station — without compromising their functionality.
Complying with security requirements “is not quite as straightforward if you’re trying to make a robot that’s never existed
before security-compliant for a set of requirements that’s not made for that,” Woodruff said. “There’s no guidebook on how to do anything like that.”
He added that the biggest change has been the establishment of a more centralized approach to authentication “so we don’t have 50 different passwords for 50 different machines.” He also said addressing security requirements from the start is now a priority.
“A lot of it is just changing the culture to put security requirements
first, to try to get \[them\] toward the front of a development project,” he said. “The only way the engineers are going to do that is if it’s easy for them to understand and easy for them to do — and that’s what our computer systems engineering team tries to do.”
Daniel Erdberg, CACI’s simulation and robotics technical area lead, praised Woodruff’s unparalleled problem-solving abilities. “Michael has never yet failed to help me out in a situation,” he said.
— Chase Gunter
Steven L. Wells
Senior Director, Program Management
DLT Solutions
As DLT Solutions’ senior director of program management, Steven Wells led development of a new program that helps federal agencies better manage their enterprise software.
The Software Program Management Center is similar to a department of motor vehicles for agencies’ software licenses. Just as a DMV keeps track of driver’s licenses and vehicle ownership, DLT’s center maintains data that helps
agencies centralize the buying
of software licenses, keep
accurate software inventories
and provide historic records for
audits.
DLT officials said the center combines the company’s customer portal, program life cycle management and support teams to provide agencies
with an experienced customer service resource. By using the center’s resources, federal agencies can better evaluate their enterprise contracts, make
more informed buying decisions and save money. Wells was inspired to develop the center after
the company worked with the Navy, which had
a CIO-backed initiative to consolidate, centralize
and streamline its IT procurement process using enterprise-licensed software. Now the center is helping the Navy keep track of its Oracle, Red Hat and Symantec-Veritas Enterprise agreements. That’s no small feat because the combined value of those contracts is more than $500 million, according to DLT.
Wells worked with the Defense Department and other federal customers to identify, document and
implement capabilities with an eye toward automating manual processes, improving asset visibility and accountability, and improving the overall efficiency of the process.
His hard work has paid off. Since the center’s introduction, the Navy has automated manual business processes under its $227 million Oracle Enterprise Software License Agreement and saved over $80 million in the first year, according to DLT.
— Mark Rockwell
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