Contractors at DISA just got a warning from Douglas Packard, head of contracting activity with an open letter about unallowable practices on government devices. The letter provides all the contracting clauses that state what’s allowed on government devices and what isn’t. And it calls out specific inappropriate uses that should not be happening, like “viewing inappropriate and/or sexually oriented material, operating a private business or participating in non-contract/task order employment activities, and gambling.”
Packard goes on to explain that “Further, use of GFE or otherwise using time paid under a DISA contract/task order to complete training or academic courses (unless specifically authorized by the contract/task order) is prohibited.” The letter also reminds contractors that the systems are monitored.
And that’s a good reminder for everyone to check in with their employees who provide on-site support to government clients. Timecard fraud or misuse of government devices can not only result in security clearance revocation, but it can also result in a lawsuit – something that neither employee nor employer want to see.
Layoffs
Microsoft
Microsoft has faced some layoffs this summer. Back in July, the company announced that 1% of their staff was laid off, as part of internal readjustments. And last week, Business Insider reported another 200 employees from Microsoft’s Modern Life Experiences team were laid off.
Hiring
Boeing
With Boeing’s recent move to Virginia, the contractor has increased hiring in the area, with career fairs in three locations in August. With their global headquarters now in Arlington, VA, they also have “plans to develop a research and technology hub in the area to harness and attract engineering and technical capabilities”. Boeing is hiring experienced engineers, as well as, candidates with experience in operations, IT planning, training systems, and finances. The defense contractor has a variety of options available.
Cleared Employer at Work: TSA
Opportunity to Watch
Visionist was awarded a four-year, single award $70 million prime contract from the DoD, to develop and support a voice-based processing application for both national and tactical intelligence missions. This contract modernizes a currently deployed system, establishing a next-generation software and hardware capability at hundreds of sites worldwide. Modernization activities include technology refresh, a modernized user interface, streamlined user workflows, improved enrichments and integration of state-of-the-art voice analytics.
“We are excited to support the development and deployment of a modernized system,” said Chris Berry, President of Visionist. “Visionist is committed to improving intelligence analysis by integrating software and data analytics in response to our war fighter’s needs. By leveraging our team’s technical, engineering and software expertise, our nation’s intelligence analysts and military will be able to keep pace with the ever-growing amount of data collected.”
The Visionist team will initially bring a cadre of 30+ highly technical professionals from across industry to drive analytic discovery and support application development. Additional technical services are expected to be added over the next two years.
