Small business must "decide what they want to be when they grow up," said experts at the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference. If entrepreneurs don't take time to think through the vision for their start-up, it is unlikely that they will be able to choose the right partners, network with the right individuals or approach the right government agencies to obtain business, they agreed.

The National Capital Region, comprising Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, is one of the busiest, most powerful and hence most complicated areas in the United States when it comes to security. Cathy Lanier, chief of police, District of Columbia, and James F. Schwartz, chief, Arlington County Fire Department, Virginia, emphasized that cooperation and coordination are essential no matter the size of the municipality or the threats it faces.

Government may have been in the slow lane to accept social media as a viable conduit for sharing information, but agencies are now coordinating their efforts to ensure messages going out to the public can be trusted. Members of a panel discussing its uses at the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference said the technologies that facilitate ubiquitous communications among the public are merely another change in generations of changes.

Recent legislation is opening the doors for public safety organizations to do more in the wireless broadband realm. Among the benefits is improved collaboration among emergency service organizations and additional dollars that will be spent to improve communication capabilities.

Small business must "decide what they want to be when they grow up," said experts at the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference. If entrepreneurs don't take time to think through the vision for their start-up, it is unlikely that they will be able to choose the right partners, network with the right individuals or approach the right government agencies to obtain business, they agreed.

The National Capital Region, comprising Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, is one of the busiest, most powerful and hence most complicated areas in the United States when it comes to security. Cathy Lanier, chief of police, District of Columbia, and James F. Schwartz, chief, Arlington County Fire Department, Virginia, emphasized that cooperation and coordination are essential no matter the size of the municipality or the threats it faces.

Government may have been in the slow lane to accept social media as a viable conduit for sharing information, but agencies are now coordinating their efforts to ensure messages going out to the public can be trusted. Members of a panel discussing its uses at the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference said the technologies that facilitate ubiquitous communications among the public are merely another change in generations of changes.

Recent legislation is opening the doors for public safety organizations to do more in the wireless broadband realm. Among the benefits is improved collaboration among emergency service organizations and additional dollars that will be spent to improve communication capabilities.

The Honorable Charles E. Allen, former undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stated that terrorism in the second decade of this century continues, but those groups that organized attacks are a shadow of their former selves. Allen, the initial Thursday speaker at AFCEA International's Homeland Security Conference warned, "We cannot declare victory."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is rife with opportunities for the commercial sector, but companies should be aware that the rules of engagement are changing, or already have changed, in a number of instances, so they should thoroughly research upcoming contract awards.