Digital Government
Help-desk automation grows up
Once a standalone internal support application for managing calls from users, helpdesk automation tools have matured into products that can serve as central repositories of vital information for tracking information technology assets and managing network performance. Along the way, the software h
Digital Government
GSA: New financial schedule due by fall
The General Services Administration last week outlined the transition to new financial management software contracts when the current mandatory schedule expires in September. The Financial Management System Software (FMSS) schedule, held by GSA's Federal Technology Service, has been under fire from
Digital Government
National Governors' Association Reports on E-Commerce
Looking to promote the growth of electronic commerce, 44 states have passed laws or regulations that support the use of electronic signatures in digital transactions, according to a study released today by the National Governors' Association.
Digital Government
Intercepts
MONOPOLY MONEY. Acquiring wellsituated property is the theme of the Monopoly board game, and it's starting to look as if it is the key factor in the sale of Boeing Information Systems, the integrator arm of the aircraft company that hasn't distinguished itself recently in the hurlyburly battle fo
Digital Government
SGI recasts market image
Silicon Graphics Inc., known for the last 17 years primarily for its highend 3D graphics computers, last week launched a new strategy aimed at educating customers on the full breadth of products it offers. Although the legal name of the company will remain Silicon Graphics Inc., the company plans
Digital Government
Radio shortage compromises crew safety
In the midst of doubling its air armada operating in Kosovo, the Defense Department is experiencing a 'critical shortage' of survival radios used by aircraft crews to call for help, according to internal DOD documents. This shortage, which resulted from design problems with the radio, including a s
Digital Government
USDA site speeds research to the Web
Access to what is probably the largest collection of free online publications relating to forestry research is a click away on the World Wide Web site of the Agriculture Department's Forest Service Southern Research Station. The station uses its site, located at www.srs.fs.fed.us, as a way to showc
Digital Government
CTA looks beyond Y2K
It is no secret that there is a looming business problem for federal systems integrators, whose business grew considerably thanks to Year 2000 remediation projects. The question they face is what to do for an encore, assuming they have done a good enough job to seek repeat business. Officials at Co
Digital Government
Same as it ever was
The juxtaposition of two stories on last week's front page one about a failed Interior Department modernization project and the second about a flagging Federal Aviation Administration modernization project again reminds us that procurement reform alone cannot ensure the success of any major fed
Digital Government
Net tool key to Hubble project
In order to keep up its steady flow of spectacular space imagery, the Hubble Space Telescope ground system requires a lot of behindthescenes network service the equivalent of 120 Ethernet networks linked together over a highspeed backbone to support the myriad of people involved with the p
Digital Government
IG questions DOD awards
Defense Department contracting officials have engaged in 'questionable' procurement practices, costing taxpayers millions of dollars in higher prices and denying some vendors a fair opportunity to be considered for DOD contracts, according to a report released this month. Between fiscal 1995 and fi
Digital Government
Network-1 unveils fixed-price security service
Network1 Security Solutions Inc. now offers a fixedprice consulting service to help agencies assess the vulnerabilities of their network security. Called the Tactical Remote Access Penetration Study (TRAPS), the package involves using 'white hat' hackers to test how easy it is to penetrate an org
Digital Government
NIH plugs ImageWorld at imaging show
ATLANTA On the floor here at the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) trade show, the National Institutes of Health booth was easy to miss. Tucked into the middle of the secondtolast aisle of the expansive Georgia World Congress Center, it was dwarfed by bigspending vendors
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
WINGING IT. It's an odd convergence of 'The Far Side' and 'Dilbert,' where humans and animals and engineers collide. The National Science Foundation last month commissioned a report on 'the migration patterns of scientists and engineers.' The report will focus on professionals with computer sc
Digital Government
MCI captures DOT telecom business
The Transportation Department today announced that it had selected MCI WorldCom to provide voice, data and Internet services through its FTS 2001 contract with the General Services Administration.
Digital Government
GTSI sues IntelliSys over PC-3 recruiting
Government Technology Services Inc. last week filed suit in Fairfax County (Va.) Circuit Court against IntelliSys Technology Corp. and two former GTSI employees who are now with IntelliSys, claiming theft of trade secrets, tortious interference, breach of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement
Digital Government
Fighting for his ideals
Bert Concklin is no Boy Scout. In fact, when he was a kid growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the 1940s, he got thrown out of the Cub Scouts for fighting. And the monkeyshines didn't end there. Concklin president of the Professional Services Council, a group that lobbies for federal cont
Digital Government
Set-Asides
IRS: Plan Prime, then spend The Internal Revenue Service has put a tight grip on the purse strings for its multibilliondollar project to modernize the agency's computer systems. Al Mazei, assistant commissioner of the IRS' Program Management and Architecture Office, said money set aside for the p
Digital Government
DOD leaders mull Internet disconnect
Hammered by relentless hacker attacks against its unclassified network for years, the Defense Department may back away from using the Internet, which it invented, in favor of relying on intranet enclaves, according to a top Army official. Lt. Gen. William Campbell, Army director of information syst
Digital Government