Innovation Summit 2025: The Shape of Things to Come

The continuing pace of innovation in IT calls for government to respond in kind – adopting new tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), building in greater security and resilience, modernizing infrastructure to end the constraints of legacy systems.

Among the most significant trends is the acute need to implement Zero Trust principles as a bulwark against cyber threats. Just as AI is making it possible to streamline agency workflows and decision-making, it is providing similar capabilities to hostile actors. And these, in turn, drive the need to modernize government infrastructure. The growth of endpoints, expanding the perimeter of agency networks, means an expansion of the attack surface – something that new policies and procedures, new tools and techniques, are better able to address.

Join us at this in-person event as thought leaders from government and industry discuss how several innovative trends – Zero Trust, AI, and infrastructure modernization – are combining to change the way agencies deliver services to citizens and meet their mission.

Session One: Progress in Getting to Zero Trust

As the cyber threat landscape grows increasingly complex, pressure grows on agencies to implement Zero Trust architecture to protect their users, their data, and their systems. The obstacles include the need to modernize legacy systems, how to manage identity, and keeping up with evolving compliance standards.

This panel will explore how governments are leveraging artificial intelligence to improve public services, enhance decision-making, and ensure national security. Experts from policy, technology, and public administration will discuss the challenges of AI adoption. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving role of government in shaping the future of AI responsibly and effectively.

Session Three: Government Infrastructure Efficiency

This panel emphasizes the critical role of data centers in enabling government transformation, while highlighting innovation and scalability as key priorities in modernization and AI efforts. It resonates with the public sector goal of improving and meeting evolving mission demands. Attendees will gain insights into driving government modernization efforts that balance innovation with resilience and regulatory compliance.

• Identify how to adapt zero-trust principles into concrete actions to mitigate risks
• Review steps to ensure resilient, secure operations as an extension of zero trust protections
• Outline the ways AI is being applied currently in agencies and the steps in common those agencies took to leverage its capabilities
• Delineate metrics that can be used to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of systems and procedures that have been supplemented with AI
• Evaluate how to strike a balance between innovation, resilience, and regulator compliance in your agency’s modernization efforts
• Assess the feasibility of pilot programs and the scalability of potential solutions

Hosted by: Claudia Hosky, Publisher, FedInsider

Moderated by: Jane Norris, Contributing Editor, FedInsider

Sponsored by: Carahsoft Technology Corp, Dell Technolgies and The College of Professional Studies at GWU.

Complimentary Registration

Please register using the form below or call (202) 237-0300. Participants can earn up to 3 CPE credits in Business Management. To receive CPE credit you must arrive on time, fill out and submit your evaluation to registration as you leave. Certificates will be e-mailed to registrants. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 50 minutes equals 1 CPE.

Additional Information:

Prerequisites and Advance Preparation: None required

Program Level: Basic

Delivery Method: Group Live

Fee: There is no fee associated with this event, and no penalty for cancellation or no-show. For more information regarding concern and/or program cancellation policies please contact [email protected]

CPE certification for this event is being administered by The George Washington University College of Professional Studies, registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority in the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website .

Info: Welcome! Register or check in with our FedInsider team

Info: As the cyber threat landscape grows increasingly complex, pressure grows on agencies to implement Zero Trust architecture to protect their users, their data, and their systems. The obstacles include the need to modernize legacy systems, how to manage identity, and keeping up with evolving compliance standards.

Info: This panel will explore how governments are leveraging artificial intelligence to improve public services, enhance decision-making, and ensure national security. Experts from policy, technology, and public administration will discuss the challenges of AI adoption. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving role of government in shaping the future of AI responsibly and effectively.

Info: This panel emphasizes the critical role of data centers in enabling government transformation, while highlighting innovation and scalability as key priorities in modernization and AI efforts. It resonates with the public sector goal of improving and meeting evolving mission demands. Attendees will gain insights into driving government modernization efforts that balance innovation with resilience and regulatory compliance.

Info: Join us for a Networking reception afterward! There will be a variety of delicious fare & drinks. This is a unique and amazing opportunity to network with your State, local and industry peers.

Info: AI’s rapid adoption is transforming both the design and use of communication networks. Robust telecom infrastructure—such as private 5G, SD-WAN, and edge computing—is critical for transporting and processing the massive data flows underpinning AI workloads across industries. At the same time, artificial intelligence is evolving communications themselves, powering network automation, predictive analytics, and intelligent monitoring for greater resilience, efficiency, and security. This discussion will examine how communication networks support AI deployment at scale, and how AI optimizes network operations and enables use cases like mission-critical communications, safety, and real-time analytics at the edge. Challenges and strategies for advancing this symbiosis will also be addressed.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., United States