The Wrap: SAP Joins OneGov; AI Teaching AI; DOD's New OT ZT Plan
Quick brief for Tuesday, December 2. Federal leaders are getting fresh paths to savings, smarter AI adoption, and clearer guidance for securing operational tech. Here's what matters-and what to do about it.
SAP Joins OneGov
The General Services Administration announced an 18-month OneGov agreement with SAP that offers steep discounts across database, integration, analytics, and cloud products. GSA expects the deal to save agencies about $165 million over its duration.
What's included
- 80% discount on license-based products: SAP HANA, ASE, IQ, SQL Anywhere, Replication Server, and PowerDesigner.
- 35% discount on cloud services: SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Analytics Cloud, and HR Payroll.
- First-year $1-for-$1 modernization incentive.
- Waived data egress fees.
- Access to SAP enterprise architect support.
"The OneGov agreement with SAP gives federal agencies access to new tools as they accelerate technology modernization, transition away from legacy systems, and unlock significant taxpayer savings," said GSA FAS Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum.
Action for CIOs and program leads: map current SAP footprints, prioritize systems ready for modernization, and use the first-year incentive to clear tech debt. Coordinate with your category manager and contracting shop to move quickly while the pricing window is open. For context on acquisition support, see GSA's Federal Acquisition Service.
AI Teaching AI
ARPA-H is using AI to teach people how to use AI. CIO Nikolaos Ipiotis said the biggest blocker isn't the tech-it's culture. "People don't know how to use AI."
To fix that, the agency built a "prompt master" AI that trains employees to ask better questions and get better results. ARPA-H is supporting two AI tracks-one for internal operations and one for external customers-and is applying AI to spot hospital cyber risks and speed patching.
Practical move: standardize prompts for high-impact tasks and run short training loops. If you're standing up internal guidelines, you can pull starter ideas from prompt playbooks like these resources: Prompt Engineering Guides.
DOD's New OT ZT Plan
DOD released its first zero trust guidance built for operational technology. The 28-page document outlines 105 activities and outcomes-84 at target level and 21 at advanced level-shaped for legacy equipment, engineering workflows, and high availability environments.
The guidance separates OT into two layers-Operational and Process Control-to fit diverse systems like facility controls, power grids, transportation, and parts of weapon systems. Unlike IT systems (target-level ZT by FY 2027), the OT framework sets no deadline.
Updates to the broader zero trust strategy are slated for early 2026, plus more specificity for weapon systems and defense critical infrastructure. For background on the strategy, see the DOD Zero Trust page: DOD CIO Zero Trust.
Where to start: build a live asset inventory, segment networks around process-critical functions, and add identity controls for engineers and vendors with minimal friction. Pair monitoring with maintenance windows so security doesn't disrupt operations.
Join Us at Fix Fed Tech
On Dec. 4, congressional leaders are teaming up with MeriTalk to kick off Fix Fed Tech from 3:00-4:15 p.m. at Morton's in DC. Reps. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., and Don Beyer, D-Va. (invited), will dig into rebuilding smarter after DOGE's shake-up, how AI can close workforce gaps and improve services, and whether FedRAMP can hold without major reform.
The session launches a series of working groups that will produce recommendations for Congress and GSA next summer. Stick around for gov IT's happiest hour and a toast to this year's wins.
More updates tomorrow. Stay sharp, keep it simple, and move the work forward.
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