March 11th and 12th GovSec held its annual US Law and Ready conference in Washington, DC. This is one of the largest government contractor trade shows in the Justice/Public Safety vertical. The event featured speakers and demonstrations from a wide variety of executives both from the public and private sector. This year was especially exciting because GovSec coincided with the annual FOSE conference and trade show. Both conferences brought in a wide array of government contractors both large and small.

Interoperability remains a hot issue eight years after September 11th, and 4 years since Hurricane Katrina. It ranks as one of the country's largest hurdles when it comes to law enforcement and emergency response. Interoperability is not something that can be achieved overnight, nor can it be achieved by one person. It involves a variety of different dimensions that all need to come together in order to achieve success. The seminars that took place at the 2009 GovSec conference followed these guiding principles. All of the speakers and presenters stated that interoperability, whether it is through equipment and technology or through private-public partnerships, is at the forefront of strategic plans across the country. This is seen through emerging grant programs, national infrastructure protection programs, national emergency communications plans, and statewide programs designed to achieve one goal: Interoperability.

IMPLICATIONS FOR VENDORS:

- Less grant money will be available for technology/equipment, but more for governance and standard operating procedures.

- Integrating data from various systems will require additional infrastructure and resources from the private industry

- The public sector wants to work with the private sector as much as possible, so building meaningful relationships can be a key to success.

For more information on the 2009 GovSec conference, please see INPUT's Analyst Recap of the event HERE.