Author Archive

Frank Konkel

Executive Editor

Frank Konkel
Frank Konkel is Nextgov’s executive editor. He writes about the intersection of government and technology. Frank began covering tech in 2013 upon moving to the Washington, D.C. area after getting his start in journalism working at local and state issues at daily newspapers in his home state of Michigan. Frank was born and raised on a dairy farm and graduated from Michigan State University.
IT Modernization

VA Signs $10 Billion Health Records Contract With Cerner

VA will formally pursue the same health records platform as the Pentagon.

  • By Frank Konkel and Heather Kuldell
IT Modernization

Initial Tests Find Defense Department’s MHS Genesis ‘Not Operationally Suitable’

The test director recommends delaying further fieldings.

  • By Frank Konkel and Heather Kuldell
CIO Briefing

Marketing Your Mission and Other Ideas to Help Agencies Attract Young Talent

The administration wants more young people in its government ranks, especially in tech.

  • By Frank Konkel
Adm. Ronny Jackson Adm. Ronny Jackson
IT Modernization

With No Permanent Leadership, VA Forges Ahead on $16 Billion Health Records Effort

The Veterans Affairs Department will press on with its electronic health records contract without a permanent secretary or chief information officer.

  • By Frank Konkel
IT Modernization

JEDI Will Be Just One of Many Clouds, Says Pentagon’s No. 2

The giant and groundbreaking IT contract may cover just a fraction of the cloud-services orders to come.

  • By Frank Konkel and Marcus Weisgerber
IT Modernization

IRS’ 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day Due to New Hardware

Congress and watchdogs have been warning the IRS to upgrade its systems for years.

  • By Aaron Boyd and Frank Konkel
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the Armed Services Committee Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the Armed Services Committee
Policy

House Armed Services Chair Wants to Cut DISA and Number of Defense CIOs

Draft legislation from Rep. Mac Thornberry would eliminate several Defense agencies, including DISA.

  • By Frank Konkel
CIO Briefing

Bill Would Create Federal Customer Service Standards

And once set, it would bake them into agency performance plans.

  • By Frank Konkel
CIO Briefing

General Dynamics Completes CSRA Buy

General Dynamics finalized its acquisition of IT contractor CSRA for $9.7 billion.

  • By Frank Konkel
Emerging Tech

Is Amazon The Lone Frontrunner For A $10 Billion Pentagon Cloud Contract?

Amazon Web Services may be the only vendor capable of meeting Defense Department requirements for its highly-anticipated cloud contract.

  • By Frank Konkel
CIO Briefing

Bidding War Over? CACI Withdraws Offer To Buy CSRA

CACI withdrew its $7.2 billion offer to purchase IT contractor CSRA.

  • By Frank Konkel
CIO Briefing

General Dynamics’ Acquisition of CSRA Is An Even Bigger Deal Than You Thought

If General Dynamics’ $9.7 billion acquisition of CSRA goes forward, the company will be the federal government’s largest technology services provider by a wide margin.

  • By Frank Konkel
IT Modernization

Industry Sounds Off On Pentagon’s Cloud Strategy

The Defense Department received more than 1,000 comments from industry regarding its JEDI cloud acquisition.

  • By Frank Konkel
IT Modernization

Google Cloud Targets Federal Government

Google wants to compete with Amazon, Microsoft and other companies for a share of the government’s massive cloud computing market.

  • By Frank Konkel
The National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md. The National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md.
IT Modernization

AT&T Won Secret $3.3 Billion NSA Contract Despite More Expensive Bid

Legal documents shed light on one of NSA's most important tech contracts.

  • By Frank Konkel
CIO Briefing

CSRA Rebuffs CACI Bid

After receiving an unsolicited bid Sunday from CACI, CSRA and General Dynamics sweetened their original merger agreement.

  • By Frank Konkel
CIO Briefing

CACI Looks To Top General Dynamics' Bid For CSRA

The bid expires April 2.

  • By Frank Konkel
IT Modernization

The IRS System Processing Your Taxes is Almost 60 Years Old

The IRS’ Individual Master File may be the oldest IT system in government and its failure could disrupt tax processing nationwide.

  • By Frank Konkel
IT Modernization

Protest on JEDI Cloud Support Contract Dismissed

The Government Accountability Office dismissed a bid protest filed in February against a $7 million sole-source cloud support contract related to the Defense Department’s JEDI Acquisition.

  • By Frank Konkel
IT Modernization

Defense Agency To Begin Moving Classified Data to Amazon's Secret Cloud After Protest

Microsoft withdrew a bid protest that allows U.S. Transportation Command to begin migrating data to Amazon’s secret cloud region.

  • By Frank Konkel