Earlier this month, FCW announced the 2015 winners of its prestigious Federal 100 Awards. In its 26^thyear, the Fed 100 program has evolved to become one of the most recognizable achievements in the federal IT market. These awards honor individuals from government, industry and academia who have had a significant impact on how federal agencies leverage technology systems and services. Winners are selected for their progressive efforts and demonstrating innovative thinking in the federal IT community. In short, these are the individuals directly influencing how technology is being used to transform agencies' operations and help them achieve mission success.

Here at Cisco, we are fortunate to have had fantastic customers and employees recognized for their contributions over the years. This year, I'm very pleased to congratulate Cisco's own Larry Payne, Area Vice President for U.S. Federal Sales, as well as Dr. Himanshu Singh, Associate Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS) for their selections as Fed100 Award recipients.

Bringing 20 years of experience to his team of more than 800 engineers and sales professionals, Larry is an influential leader for the Cisco Public Sector team. Larry is dedicated to helping federal organizations leverage technology to better protect, serve and educate. He works with the highest level IT executives at defense, civilian and intelligence agencies to create best of breed solutions that improve networks, enable transparency and ensure interoperable and reliable communications, even amid budget constraints. Having worked alongside Larry for a number of years, I can tell you first hand that his dedication to supporting active duty soldiers, intelligence officers and Veterans Affairs officials with achieving mission objectives through the use of technology is unwavering.

Dr. Singh manages VAAAHS, a highly complex medical center that serves our Veterans, which is in the top six out of 151 VA health care systems and top three research programs of VA National Center for Patient Safety. Operating with a tight budget, Dr. Singh has implemented processes to streamline hospital operations, saving millions in inefficiencies and redundancies while ensuring better patient experiences and bridging the gap between IT and health needs. Specifically, Dr. Singh is a trendsetter, having deployed a unique nurse call solution for VAAAHS to combat the growing issue of nurse fatigue in hospitals. The solution has since been recognized across the VA healthcare system, and several VA facilities are looking at implementing the same or similar technologies.

Congratulations to Larry, Dr. Singh and all of this year's Fed 100 winners, and I look forward to meeting everyone at the Federal 100 Awards Gala in March. Your hard work and commitment to innovation has had and will continue to have a meaningful impact on how federal agencies operate, helping us build toward a smarter, more efficient and supportive government.