About ATARC
The Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC) was established in September 2012; the Advanced Mobility Academic Research Center (AMARC) was formed in response to the Digital Government Strategy, which was released earlier that year. AMARC founder Tom Suder played a prominent role in the formation of the DGS and created ATARC to continue the dialogue between government, industry, and academia.
AMARC hosted a pair of Federal Mobile Computing Summits before being asked by the General Services Administration in 2013 to hold additional events on the topics of Cloud Computing and IT Networks.
As AMARC’s collaborative focus changed from Mobile to Federal IT, so too did its name. In early 2014, Suder renamed AMARC the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center and within the next year, ATARC expanded its portfolio to include Cybersecurity, DevOps, and Data & Analytics and Health IT events.
In 2017, ATARC published a 235-page report to the American Technology Council and Federal CIO Council titled Navigating the Future of Mobile Services. Produced in the spirit of the Digital Government Strategy and in conjunction with the cross-agency Mobile Services Category Team, the report was a collaborative effort between more than 160 people representing 75 agencies, bureaus, and companies.
In 2018, ATARC published its 25th White Paper in conjunction with MITRE as outputs from events in the ATARC Federal IT Summit Series. Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as language translation, decision-making, and visual perception. Data Analytics (DA) is the science of analyzing raw data to reveal trends and draw conclusions, informing and supporting decision making and planning. This information can then be used to optimize processes and increase the overall efficiency of a business or system.Â
The Government Information Technology Executive Council (GITEC) announced their merger on May 31, 2018. The merger brought together two non-profits with similar goals that provide professional development and collaborative forums for Federal government, academia, and industry to identify, discuss, and resolve emerging technology challenges; pivots that have been necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote work being the ‘new normal’ for the Federal Government will increase the benefits of AI and DA usage for government agencies and organizations.