Karsun Solutions modernizes enterprise systems enabling agencies to make the next technological advancement their next opportunity to elevate mission capability. IT solutions from Karsun are tailored to meet agencies’ unique needs and optimize operations. These solutions adapt and stay relevant to current trends while using secure, digital architecture built to last. It is a proven modernization partner whose expertise elevates agency capabilities and ensures every next opportunity is within reach.

Karsun Solutions modernizes enterprise systems enabling agencies to make the next technological advancement their next opportunity to elevate mission capability. IT solutions from Karsun are tailored to meet agencies’ unique needs and optimize operations. These solutions adapt and stay relevant to current trends while using secure, digital architecture built to last. It is a proven modernization partner whose expertise elevates agency capabilities and ensures every next opportunity is within reach.

Karsun Solutions proudly announces Anu Pajjur will join the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s (ACT-IAC) 2023 Voyagers Program. This selective professional development program includes mid-career government and IT industry leaders. With over 40 years of government and industry collaboration, ACT-IAC is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization established to improve government through the effective and innovative application of technology. The Voyagers Program is a comprehensive nine-month leadership and professional development program.

Anu’s participation in the Voyagers Program is part of a long legacy of fostering leaders in the IT industry. Karsun’s support of ACT-IAC’s professional development programs spans over a decade. Past graduates include its co-founders, executives and other up-and-coming leaders. Several of these return to their ACT-IAC programs to serve as chairs, vice-chairs and mentors.

Meet Anu Pajjur

Anu is a Portfolio Lead at Karsun Solutions, currently leading a multi-million dollar Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiative. She manages modernization projects from conception through implementation with a focus on building high-performance teams that deliver business solutions in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

She is a seasoned professional with 20 years of experience spanning all areas of end-to-end software development life cycle, including Project Management, Business Analysis, and Software Development. She has industry standard certifications including SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) and Professional Scrum Master (PSM1) and is engaged in groups like ACT-IAC for continuous learning and sharing opportunities.

Software Solutions Delivery at FAA

Anu’s team began work on Karsun’s FAA Software Solution Delivery support services contract in 2017. The contract provides technical support services and assists in implementing and continuing support of enterprise-wide software application and database development. Under this contract, Karsun also performs maintenance and sustainment of existing systems.

Karsun Solutions modernizes enterprise systems enabling agencies to make the next technological advancement their next opportunity to elevate mission capability. IT solutions from Karsun are tailored to meet agencies’ unique needs and optimize operations. These solutions adapt and stay relevant to current trends while using secure, digital architecture built to last. It is a proven modernization partner whose expertise elevates agency capabilities and ensures every next opportunity is within reach.

Karsun experts and innovators took the stage at Imagine Nation Executive Leadership Conference (ELC) 2021. The annual conference for the American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) is the organization’s marquee event. In addition to graduating Karsun’s 11th ACT-IAC Fellow, Raminder Saluja, Karsun Senior Vice President Ben Marglin joined a panel on Exploring the Next Generation of Acquisition Innovation. Also an event sponsor, Karsun is a longtime supporter of ACT-IAC. Its leadership acts as mentors, experts and participants in its industry programs.

Raminder Saluja Graduates from the Partners Program

In a recognition ceremony held at ImagineNation ELC, Karsun Solutions Senior Director Raminder Saluja graduated from the prestigious Partners Program. Over the last two decades, the Partners Program has been ACT-IAC’s premier professional development program. Participants are selected among rising senior executives. Karsun boasts one of the largest cohorts of Partners alumni in the industry.

At Karsun, Saluja leads the modernization strategy for its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) portfolio. He internally steers technical delivery teams to leverage AWS and Azure infrastructure and DevSecOps frameworks. With over two decades of technology experience, he is also well versed in working with agencies within NATO, the Intelligence Community, and Immigration services. His core belief is that innovation and technology are tools to solve business problems and not constraints around which processes are reorganized. This often resonates with customers seeking modernization and upkeep of their legacy systems.

Ben Marglin Explores Next Generation Acquisition Innovation

Earlier at the conference, Karsun Solutions Senior Vice President of Client Solutions Ben Marglin spoke during the panel discussion on Exploring Next Generation Acquisition Innovation. Adopting the overall theme Adventures in Change, the conference examined the impact of innovation on the federal IT industry. This talk was included as part of the Changing the Way We Work track. The collaborative session examined if accelerating IT modernization and innovative acquisition practices supported agencies’ goals to meet mission critical needs faster, cheaper and more efficiently.

During the panel, Marglin briefly described Karsun’s novel approach to enterprise modernization with its acquisitions customers. Karsun’s Acquisitions Modernization domain is not only one of its most innovative, it is one of its original offerings. Past solutions include analytics platform modernization, cloud migration and legacy application modernization from an on-premise database. Karsun currently performs work acquisition innovation under the GSA COMET BPA.

About Karsun Solutions

Karsun Solutions is a fast-growing, innovative enterprise modernization firm. Recently awarded Best Company Culture by Comparably.com, its teams deliver modern software development, cloud, and data solutions to customers at government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and General Services Administration. Leveraging GoLean, Karsun teams drive digital transformation and help its government customers Do Extraordinary. Learn more at Karsun-LLC.com.

This week the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) kicked off its 2021 Partners Program Class. Karsun Solutions Senior Director Raminder Saluja was among the new cohort. The prestigious program connects senior industry leaders with their public sector counterparts. Beginning in 2010 Karsun Solutions leadership prioritized participation in these professional development programs. In 2019 Karsun President Terry Miller served as the Partners Program Industry Chair. Ten members of its leadership team graduated from one of the ACT-IAC fellowship programs including 2020 Voyagers graduate Satish Alluri.

About Raminder Saluja

Raminder Saluja’s all-encompassing experience in the Private, State, Federal, and International sectors allows him to bring a forward-looking innovation mindset to Karsuns Federal and State clients. He leads the modernization strategy for the FAA portfolio of programs and internally steers technical delivery teams to leverage AWS and Azure infrastructure and DevSecOps frameworks. Having designed, managed, and delivered Identity Access Management products, he is well versed in working with agencies at NATO, Intelligence Community, and Immigration services. Raminder has over two decades of technology experience, setting him to be a versatile leader managing cross-functional, cross technical and distributed international development teams.  His core belief that innovation and technology is a tool to solve business problems and not a constraint around which processes are reorganized resonates with customers seeking modernization and upkeep of their legacy systems.  Raminder is an Engineering Graduate and has several certifications, including patents that substantiate the subject matter expertise and technical depth he brings to all his client programs.

Karsun Solutions celebrated the graduation of Satish Alluri from the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) Voyagers Program. Alluri is the firm’s tenth graduate from an ACT-IAC professional development fellowship. With just a decade in business, this is a notable milestone for the fast-growing enterprise modernization company. Graduates were recognized at ACT-IAC’s Vision 2020: Voyager Graduation and Fellows Reunion.

Comprising 32 industry and government professionals, program participants were nominated by their respective government agency or company sponsor and evaluated by a panel of senior government and industry executives. One of three professional development tracks from ACT-IAC, industry participants are first matched with their government counterparts. They then work on shared projects together leading up to capstone events or panels. At the same time, the program pairs participants with an industry leader who mentors them throughout the program.

Satish Alluri, represented Karsun as a member of ACT-IAC’s 2020 Voyagers Class. He is currently serving as the Deputy Program Manager on an $80 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Grants Management Modernization initiative. A motivated and recognized leader, he has 14+ years of experience in implementing a wide variety of IT solutions and modernization. His efforts extend across public sector industries and different federal agencies including the General Services Administration (GSA). He also has experience in the financial industry.  He actively pursued industry-standard certifications including Scrum Master (CSM), Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Professional (CSP), and Certified Agile Leader (CAL). An advocate of continuous learning, he engages in multiple Communities of Interest. This will be the tenth class with a Karsun Solutions team member.

Celebrating its tenth year in operations, Karsun Solutions’ development is closely intertwined with the growth of ACT-IAC’s professional development fellowships. Karsun team members frequently engage in these programs as both participants and mentors. Juan Robles, Senior Director of Business Development and Voyagers Program graduate, served as an Industry Vice Chairs for the current Voyagers class. Terry Miller, Karsun COO and Partners Program graduate, supported the program as a mentor. He was also the Industry Chair for the Partners Program in 2019, ACT-IAC’s professional development program for executives and senior leadership.

This year the graduates and their mentors celebrated virtually. The August 17 event titled Vision 2020 explored leadership challenges and the evolving landscape as a result of Covid19. The Voyager candidates assembled a panel that shared their insights on the future of leadership post Covid19. Talks included a panel with past Voyagers on “Where are they now”, “Where are we headed”, and “Leading thru Crisis”.

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) announced the release of the first volume of its Intelligent Automation Playbook. This playbook is designed for agencies considering Robotic Process Automation (RPA), running pilots or accelerating deployment. By automating administrative tasks RPA may also address the shrinking federal workforce and decreasing budgets.

The President’s Management Agenda, Cross-Agency Priority Goal 6 encourages shifting from low-value to high-value work. This imperative challenges agencies to find efficient solutions for administrative processes. These include tasks like data entry, completing forms using information read in a document and extracting then processing data. In addition to improving efficiency, accuracy, auditability and compliance, RPA adoption should reduce cycle time and increase citizen and employee satisfaction.

The playbook addresses implementation from organizational readiness through operating and maturing RPA. The playbook was preceded by the Intelligent Automation Primer, released in January 2019. This is suggested reading for those unfamiliar with intelligent automation and RPA.

The playbook and primer were developed by ACT-IAC’s Intelligent Automation Working Group. Manish Bhatia, from Karsun Solutions Cloud Practice, is a member of the working group. In May he shared his thoughts on the solutions demonstrated at ACT-IAC’s Igniting Innovation event.

Karsun Solutions supports ACT-IAC’s professional development and working group programs. ACT-IAC programs build relationships between government and industry. Like many Karsun team members, Manish is deeply connecting to the IT contracting industry through ACT-IAC. In March, Karsun Solutions spotlighted his involvement in these emerging technology communities.

Karsun Solutions, the enterprise modernization experts, announced Data and Analytics Director Shaunak Ashtaputre graduated from the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) Partners Program.  Graduates were recognized at ACT-IAC’s annual conference, Imagine Nation ELC 2019. Held at the Philadelphia Convention Center October 20^th-23^rd, the conference featured more than 150 speakers. Included among talks on Cybersecurity, Emerging Technology and Healthcare were speakers from the recent graduates of ACT-IAC’s Partner Program.

National Treasures in a 5G World

Speakers formed one of three challenge teams. These collaborative teams include both industry and government leaders in the Partners Program. Shaunak’s team spoke on National Treasures in a 5G World. In this one hour session, the ten-member challenge team explored a use case where the nation’s historical records, artifacts, and public spaces are experienced and managed in a 5G optimized environment. Their talk addressed areas required for agency 5G readiness and implementation including stakeholder education, acquisition, and infrastructure requirements.

Karsun’s ACT-IAC Fellows Legacy

Karsun Solutions supports ACT-IAC’s professional development programs. Each of the not-for-profit organization’s programs builds relationships between government and industry across varying levels of experience. Upon graduation, program members are named ACT-IAC Fellows. Karsun Solutions participates in these programs as both a member and a mentor. Senior Director of Business Development Juan Robles is an Industry Vice Chair for the Voyagers Program and Business Analysis Lead Satish Alluri is a member of the Voyagers 2020 class. With Shaunak’s graduation nine Karsun Solutions leaders are ACT-IAC fellows.

About Shaunak Ashtaputre

Shaunak Ashtaputre serves as the Director of the Data Analytics Practice.  He is an accomplished Data and Solutions Architect, with over 27 years in developing and delivering solutions to modernize enterprise data platforms helping customers maximize the value of their data.  Shaunak holds a Master’s degree in Manufacturing Systems and has international experience in leading business intelligence and data practices. He brings sharp focus and drive in enhancing capabilities and creating innovative solutions for streaming data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

Shaunak is a recognized data warehousing, big data, and analytics expert. In July 2018 Karsun Solutions formed the Karsun Innovation Center Data & Analytics Practice. Shaunak leads this data innovation-oriented extension of the firm. He also regularly speaks at industry events including the recently launched DataOps NoVa Meetup hosted at Karsun Solutions.

About Karsun Solutions

The federal IT modernization experts, Karsun Solutions enables enterprise transformation for its government customers including Modern Software Development, Cloud, and Advanced Analytics solutions. The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, and General Services Administration are among the firm’s current customers. They are an established firm, with a DCAA Approved Accounting System, AWS Government Competency, and CMMI Level 5 – DEV appraisal, as well as ISO 9001, ISO 20000, and ISO 27001 certifications.

As part of their journey at Karsun Solutions employees participate in industry led professional development programs. Among these are the leadership programs, working groups and events sponsored by the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC). ACT-IAC recently selected Karsun team members to both participate, and serve as leaders, in the highly-selective 2020 Voyagers Program. The purpose of this program is to prepare mid-level managers for their future roles in industry and Government.

Satish Alluri, a Business Analysis Lead at Karsun Solutions, will join as a member of ACT-IAC’s 2020 Voyagers Class. This year’s class of 32 is comprised of both industry and government professionals. Participants were nominated by their respective government agency or company sponsor and evaluated by a panel of senior government and industry executives. Participants spend the year building a relationship with their government counterparts. Karsun Solutions employees frequently participate in these mentorship programs. This will be the tenth class with a Karsun Solutions team member.

Mr. Alluri is a highly engaged, innovative individual managing overall analysis operations for a team of 20+ analysts on a 5-year $80 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiative. A motivated and recognized leader, he has 14 years of experience in implementing a wide variety of IT solutions and modernization. His efforts extend across public sector industries and different federal agencies including the General Services Administration (GSA). He also has experience in the financial industry.  He actively pursued industry standard certifications including Scrum Master (CSM), Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Professional (CSP) and Certified Agile Leader (CAL). An advocate of continuous learning, he engages in multiple Communities of Interest.

The organization also named Juan Robles, Senior Director of Business Development at Karsun Solutions, one of the Industry Vice Chairs for the current Voyagers class. Robles graduated from the ACT-IAC Voyagers program in 2017. He previously served as the Treasurer of the Young AFCEA Bethesda board of officers for which he received the 2015-2016 Distinguished Service Award.

At Karsun Solutions he leads business development, capture, and pricing and is responsible for driving sustained growth in the Federal sector. Prior to joining Karsun, he served as a Federal BD Manager at VIP, Unisys, Harris and CSC (Now part of GDIT).

Beyond the 2020 Voyagers Program, Karsun Solutions engages in other ACT-IAC fellowship opportunities, both as member and mentor. Chief Operating Officer Terry Miller is the Industry Chair for the Partners Program, which is ACT-IAC’s fellowship program for executives and senior leadership. Shaunak Ashtaputre, a Director at Karsun Solutions, is a member of the 2019 Partners Class. This fellowship cohort will be recognized at ACT-IAC’s Imagine Nation – ELC Conference October 20^th-23^rd in Philadelphia.

Manish Bhatia, an innovator the in Karsun Solutions Cloud Practice, recently attended Igniting Innovation, the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s (ACT-IAC’s) celebration of innovation in government modernization. Below he reflects on his experience at the event and as a member of the evaluation committee. This post first appeared on LinkedIn.

One cold winter day in 2016 as I was preparing to join the GovCon industry, my mind was clouded with certain doubts – I was wondering whether the government was ready ‘Enough’ to imbibe the latest and greatest in technologies for efficient and effective solutions for the citizens. What better use of the hard earned taxpayer’s money? Hailing from the commercial sector where cutting-edge is the norm, the Government industry is thought by many to be ‘jaded’ or slow in adopting the latest and greatest in technology.

My doubts quickly died when I first joined Karsun Solutions LLC, where innovation was weaved into the very fabric of the company. The entire focus was to achieve the extraordinary while defying the status quo for its customers utilizing nothing but the most advanced technologies and processes. Additionally, my selection as an evaluator on the ACT-IAC Igniting Innovation panel convinced me to change my own ‘jaded’ belief! I am honored to be on the panel to assess and evaluate the multitude of innovations across various walks of the Government industry. Applicants here are solving an array of ultra-complex problems with use cases ranging from utilizing Augmented Reality to save lives of Air Force Pilots to sophisticated Blockchain and Machine Learning solutions for the age-old problem of government acquisition systems to everything in between.

I was stunned! A few of the use cases strongly caught my attention:

• Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) – GSA FEDSIM
• HHS ACCELERATE – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Pilot Training Next – SAIC

Process Improvement — In the world of Government business, it is a known fact that obtaining efficient service from the GovCon community is difficult, whether by vendors or by the government agency. One has to comply with FAR rules and often times it’s difficult for both the government and the startups to do business due to these regulations. GSA FEDSIM’s Commercial Solutions Opening – (CSO) initiative is an answer to this problem. It offers a platform for the government to buy innovative solutions from organizations without complying with the FAR rule book. GSA and DHS can procure innovative services easily through the reduction of barriers, contract clauses and paperwork, in turn freeing the government to obtain top-notch services from innovative companies. The CSO solution is a win-win for both the sectors, bringing in high-quality innovation to agencies at a break-neck speed which took months in the previous procurement process.

Innovative use of Technology — HHS ACCELERATE (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) could very well become the future of Procurement not only within the US government but also for governments across the world. It’s a one stop shop for Procurement with APIs to Sam.gov and has dramatically improved user experience between the contracting officer and vendors by pre-populating templates. Vendors can enhance their profile by adding capabilities that could be easily searched by contracting officers. They can quickly upload their catalogs on the platform while contracting officers can easily create documents like RFI with a click of a button.The key is the trust and transparency that is shared across the system using a decentralized database incorporated using Blockchain technologies. This enables an agency for ‘Smart Contracts’ that could be executed by various parts of the agency rather than relying on one particular department. ACCELERATE is also powered by AI and machine learning which reviews content within the agency acquisition plan and selects applicable clauses for preview along with the populated form and solicitation at any point.

Disruptive Innovation to save lives –  Pilot Training NEXT (PTN) is an experiential approach designed to maximize pilot trainees’ capacity for learning. The US Air Force Air Education Training Command is using this approach to accelerate students through the undergraduate pilot training course that teaches them basic airmanship and aircraft control. PTN utilizes Augmented Reality to generate a sophisticated simulation environment in which a trainee student can operate a variety of aircraft seamlessly. This allows them to develop critical thinking skills to fly safely and think quickly when operating an aircraft beyond the memory associated with flying a single type of aircraft. It uses biometrics, advanced analytics, human performance and advanced learning strategies to achieve and provide indicators of practical learning and student improvement. Students who use PTN can quickly learn from mistakes made during simulation allowing them to train in different situations thus saving lives in the future. PTN is the future of Air Force.

My thoughts are certainly changing as the season is changing from winter to summer and I envision that the government along with GovCon community will continue to make big strides in making the lives of citizens better through innovation and events of the likes — ACT-IAC Igniting Innovation is encouraging to solve problems like never before! We all have a responsibility to keep igniting the innovations as this is what humans have done from the beginning of evolution and this is what have to do for a better future for generations to come.

Manish Bhatia represents Karsun’s collaborative spirit within the IT contracting industry. Check out the Karsun Innovation Center for the latest on IT modernization innovation at Karsun.