Last week GovExec hosted the Fed100 awards ceremony celebrating leading innovators and forward-thinkers fostering transformation in the federal government. The event highlighted the interdependence between tech companies and the federal government, as both sides rely on each other to collaborate and drive modernization. Virtru was honored to sponsor and attend, where this year’s distinguished honorees shared insights and commentary on the future of the federal technology ecosystem.
Three major themes echoed throughout the event amongst both speakers and attendees:
1. Innovation Requires Calculated Risk
One overarching message was the importance of taking calculated risks by adopting new, cutting-edge technologies. The federal government has traditionally moved cautiously with new solutions due to security and compliance concerns. However, the challenges of our digital age require a bolder mindset.
Award winners showcased how they are pioneering emerging capabilities like artificial intelligence, data-centric security, cloud computing, and more. Their leadership in embracing innovation is paying dividends through increased efficiency, better mission outcomes, and enhanced security postures.
2. Zero Trust Data Sharing Remains Critical
Achieving a Zero Trust security model was also a major focus throughout the ceremony. In the age of remote work, cloud migration, and sophisticated cyber threats, the traditional perimeter-centric approach has become obsolete. Data must be secured no matter where it resides or travels.
Countless federal agencies are progressing along their Zero Trust journey by adopting modern security frameworks centered around principles like intentional, offensive data sharing, tagging and classifying, and encryption. Award winners offered their thoughts on Zero Trust roadmaps, proving that a tangible security evolution is actively underway. Additionally, the notion that no single vendor can check off every box was noticeable throughout the night, with speakers emphasizing that agencies must leverage multiple partners for specific functions in order to reach mission success.
3. Digital Transformation Is Foundational for Our Future
Underpinning all the innovation highlighted at the event was the drive for comprehensive digital transformation across federal IT. Modernizing antiquated legacy systems, consolidating tech stacks, automating processes - these were all cited as crucial components of the federal government's path forward.
Digital transformation enables the first two themes by providing the secure, agile technology foundations required to rapidly scale innovation and implement a resilient Zero Trust architecture.
A Successful Strategy Embraces All 3 Priorities
Among the Fed100 Award winners, one use case stood out to our team: Steven Costa, Senior Systems Engineer at CENTCOM, was recognized for helping lead the development of a solution that facilitates secure and efficient collaboration between nearly two dozen countries to coordinate missions in the Middle East. Mr. Costa introduced a transformative, status quo-challenging tool that boosts efficiency, saves money and bolsters mission success, exemplifying all three themes that dominated this year's award ceremony.
Fed100 highlights the innovative work that federal teams are doing to protect and defend our nation — and, critically, its data. At Virtru, we’re thrilled to see a heightened focus on Zero Trust strategy, mission interoperability, and secure collaboration. We’re proud to support a wide range of public- and private-sector organizations in achieving their Zero Trust goals by helping them secure the data that must be shared for national defense.
