Highlights from the 2014 SIA Government Summit

If you attended last week’s SIA Government Summit, you know that it was a great opportunity to network with industry leaders and hear from top officials in Washington working on security issues.

If you were not able to attend, here are some of the highlights from last week:

• Newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Undersecretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers delivered a keynote address unveiling his expansive vision for the Science and Technology Directorate—focused on improving long-range planning and strategic partnerships with the private sector to bolster the “homeland security industrial base.
• “DHS panelists Adam Cox, Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) director and Jose Arrieta, DHS procurement ombudsman, discussed opportunities for industry to engage and do business with DHS. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., provided an outlook for fiscal 2015 DHS funding, and raised concerns about pressing border security issues.
• General Services Administration (GSA) Assistant Commissioner Marty Jennings detailed the upcoming transition to Common Acquisition Platform and the implications for the security industry in doing business with the government.
• Security industry leaders discussed trends related to the government sector, including identity/access control, the GSA schedules program, the convergence of physical and logical security, data management and increased situational awareness.
• Panels featuring leading congressional and federal agency officials discussed the status and opportunities for industry input on legislation dealing with issues such as the biometric exit system for foreign nationals, DHS procurement reform, cybersecurity and the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program.
• A reception on the rooftop of the W hotel in Washington, D.C., near the White House, highlighted by viewing the takeoff/landing of the presidential helicopter Marine One.
• Dinner at the Hamilton Live with renowned political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, who gave a lively and entertaining analysis of recent political events, the national mood and predictions for key races in the 2014 midterm elections.

On behalf of the Security Industry Association (SIA), thank you to all who participated and made the 2014 SIA Government Summit a success! We hope to see you again in 2015—the first details about the event will be released later this year.