This month Smart Card Talk spoke with Lolie Kull, who is with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services and supports the Global Identity Practice, Public Sector. She has extensive experience within the federal government and supporting federal government identity, credentialing and access management initiatives. Lolie’s first assignment after moving to HP was with the Veterans Administration as the deployment manager and physical access control coordinator.
During her tenure with the federal government, she was the Program Manager of the Department of Homeland Security’s HSPD-12 office and responsible for meeting the deadlines as defined by the HSPD-12 directive and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Lolie also served as the Program Manager for the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Program from the end of the technology evaluation phase to the scheduled end of the prototype phase of the program.
Prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration, Lolie was employed by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Domestic Facility Protection. In her last assignment with the Department, she was responsible for the implementation of the Department’s Smart Card Access Control Program that included the issuance of 30,000 smart cards and the implementation of a new smart card-enabled physical access control system.
Lolie Kull was a founding member of the Smart Card Alliance Physical Access Council and is currently serving as a member of the Steering Committee. She has been a member of the Smart Card Alliance since her tenure at the DOS. She continues to be an active member of the Alliance and promotes the use of smart card technology for use within federal, state and local government as well as the private sector.
1. What are HP’s main business profile and offerings?
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. Lines of business include: applications services, business process outsourcing, IT outsourcing and industry solutions.
2. What role does smart card technology play in supporting your business?
Smart card technology has been a key driver for our federal government identity, credentialing and access management business. We have supported the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and civilian agencies in the implementation of smart card technology since the late 1990s and continue help them meet requirements defined by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and the Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management (FICAM) Roadmap and Implementation Guidance to support the deployment and use of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards for the General Services Administration (GSA) USAccess program and for the DoD Common Access Card program.
In addition, HP has provided and continues to provide support to countries around the world with their passport, driver’s licenses and national ID card programs. As the need for establishing trusted identities increases, the need for identity management and technology such as smart card technology will continue to be a major business driver for HP.
3. What trends do you see developing in the market that you hope to capitalize on?
I would like to quote Dennis Stolkey, senior vice president and general manager, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, “Two of our most significant priorities are healthcare and cybersecurity, and you can’t have either one without ID management.”
HP has the capability to provide a robust identity, credentialing and access management solution to support the healthcare industry. It would reduce fraud for Medicare and Medicaid, help protect the privacy of patients, and reduce the administrative workload for healthcare professionals. Many states are now considering implementing smart card technology for patients as well as medical professionals. HP is willing, ready and most able to help them attain that goal
Dennis is 100% correct. You simply cannot achieve secure access to the Internet or any application or resource that you need without being able to have a strong trusted identity and secure authentication. With smart card technology, and HP’s expert identity management support, we (government, businesses and citizens) can begin the road to true trusted identities in cyberspace that will enhance privacy and provide security for information and transactions. .
Closing the agency gaps for compliance with the FICAM Roadmap and Implementation Guidance and OMB M-11-11 is another key goal for HP. Although not a new trend, HP has been extremely successful with implementing complex identity, credentialing and access management programs within and outside of the federal government. Our goal is to help agencies overcome their organizational and infrastructure challenges. As a first step, we can help them establish a roadmap for incremental improvements to protect scope and price creep and demystify identity and access projects.
Lastly, state and local adoption of interoperable smart card solutions based on Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201 and the associated special publications will help state and local entities capitalize on the lessons learned by the federal government. They will also be able to purchase a wealth of standardized products and services that have been and will continue to be developed. HP has many state, local and private sector customers and potential customers that would benefit from taking advantage of our expertise and the lessons we have learned from our global identity, credentialing and access management implementations.
4. What obstacles to growth do you see that must be overcome to capitalize on these opportunities?
The economy is putting a strain on budgets across the government and within the private sector. Even though in most cases there will be a huge return of investment in the implementation of smart card technology for identity, credentialing and access management, the initial outlay may be difficult for some to handle. The trick will be to maximize what is in place and build a practical and sometimes gradual transition plan rather than rip and replace everything all at once. A gradual transition will allow a return on the investment that can be re-invested for one robust identity, credentialing and access management solution built on a single infrastructure or implemented using a managed service or cloud solution.
5. What do you see are the key factors driving smart card technology in government and commercial markets in the U.S.?
For the federal government, the drivers are obvious. The Office of Management and Budget recently released memorandum M-11-11 which directs all agencies of the Executive Branch of the federal government to fully implement HSPD-12, which means that they must implement the use of PIV cards for physical and logical access. OMB M-11-11 goes one step further and defines the time frame for implementation as no later than Oct 1, 2011. In addition, OMB M-11-11 warns agencies that their technology budget refresh dollars may be in jeopardy if they do not meet the timeline. Lastly, OMB M-11-11 also requires that the FICAM Roadmap and Implementation Guidance be followed. Agencies must now get busy and do what it takes to comply.
For state and local governments, the drivers are not mandated in the same way. They must find ways to streamline their business processes and gain efficiencies to reduce their operating cost. Many may see those cost savings in capitalizing on the new products that are available for less money. They will also be able to build on the lessons learned by the federal government to streamline their processes and stove-piped ways of doing business. Most importantly, state and local governments may realize the advantage of becoming interoperable within their own environment and with the federal government.
From a healthcare perspective, the major driver will likely be the reduction of fraud in state, local and federal government programs. However, we should not discount cost savings as a key driver. The ability of healthcare professionals to reduce administrative duties of signing and capturing redundant data from patients every time they come in for treatment will make a huge difference. This will also improve the patient’s experience with every visit they make.
6. How do you see your involvement in the Alliance and the industry councils helping your company?
The Smart Card Alliance has given HP participants educational opportunities to learn more about smart card technology and to better understand the direction that government and industry are leaning when it comes to meeting the identity and cyber security challenges that face us today. The Alliance also provides a place to come together with industry professionals to jointly support key government and private sector initiatives that can be supported through smart card technology.
Member point of contact
Lolie Kull
Lolie.Kull@hp.com