Small Businesses Turn Out for DOT Information Technology Vendor Day

Last week in the West Atrium, the Department of Transportation Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) hosted “Consider I.T. Done: What Cloud Computing Can do For Your Small Business,” a small business day focused on information technology. Partnering with the office of DOT Chief Information Officer Nitin Pradhan, this event showcased technology procurement opportunities at the Department as well as experts from tech giants Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce.

OSDBU Director Brandon Neal	IT Vendor Day Audience

“At DOT, there are many procurement opportunities for IT businesses. We want to make sure small businesses are aware of what’s available and how to go after those contracts,” said OSDBU Director Brandon Neal during his remarks.

During the general session, Computerworld Senior Writer Patrick Thibodeau discussed the evolution of Cloud Computing. His presentation focused on current research to gain a better understanding of key Cloud Computing trends, and the effect these trends are having on IT. Secretary LaHood offered keynote remarks, emphasizing DOT’s commitment to small businesses and approach to technology. The Secretary also spoke about DOT’s efforts to continue this dialogue with small businesses via his FastLane blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed. The event program included break-out sessions led by Salesforce, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and the US General Services Administration. In addition, small business specialists from all DOT modal administrations as well as regional technical assistance providers met one-on-one with attendees.

DOT Secretaty Ray LaHood