Sean and Brian kick off the inaugural episode of The GIST of Govt IT, and they're diving into why speed and real results are suddenly the only things that matter in federal IT, what's actually exciting in first response tech, and which consumer tech trends are about to hit the public sector harder than anyone expects. Then they turn to their big bets of 2026, where app modernization, AI, and data strategy are colliding into one massive shift, all riding on the infrastructure overhaul that's been put off for way too long. Finally, they discuss what the government is deprioritizing and deemphasizing when it comes to IT investments. Sean gets roasted about what car his wife will let him buy next.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Conferences & Events
- Government Business Executive Forum (GBEF)
- EDGE@ces — GBEF's annual summit at CES

Government Design & Modernization
- America by Design initiative
- National Design Studio
- Joe Gebbia — first U.S. Chief Design Officer
- Executive Order: "Improving Our Nation Through Better Design"

Industry Acquisitions Discussed
- ServiceNow to acquire Armis ($7.75B)
- IBM completes acquisition of Confluent ($11B)

Industry Partners & Communities
- ATARC — Advanced Technology Academic Research Center
- ATARC Working Groups (Zero Trust, Agentic AI, Cyber AI Convergence)
- Armis
- Dragos — OT cybersecurity

OT, Cybersecurity & Frameworks
- Purdue Model for ICS Security
- NIST SP 800-82 — Guide to Operational Technology Security
- NIST SP 800-53 — Security and Privacy Controls
- CISA — Industrial Control Systems resources
- CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model

Government Data & Open Policy
- Federal Data Strategy
- Data.gov

The Hosts
- Swish Data
- GIST 360

CONNECT WITH US

Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Let us know.

Brian Lake - blake@swishdata.com

Sean Applegate - sapplegate@swishdata.com

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