Digital Government
Managing GWACs: Procurement reform's biggest challenge
We are entering a phase where continuous improvement efforts will be central to procurement reform. Right now government and industry must apply this logic to the management of governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) for services whose abrupt appearance not much more than a year ago along wi
Digital Government
Security standards to merge
A group of information technology vendors last month announced plans to merge a commercial security standard for sending email messages with one used primarily by the Defense Department a move designed to encourage more federal agencies to use secure email technology. Led by RSA Data Security I
Digital Government
Industry Watch
Nichols nabs DOD pact Nichols Research Corp. a Huntsville Ala. integrator of highperformance systems won a $4.6 million subcontract with Wang Laboratories Inc. to support the Army's Redstone Arsenal Technical Test Center. Nichols will provide Silicon Graphics Inc. equipment and integration service
Digital Government
Navy develops fast-track blueprint for IT-21 rollout
MONTEREY Calif. The Navy has adopted a fastpaced plan to turn its ambitious Information Technology for the 21st Century (IT21) vision into reality with rapid insertion of an advanced network architecture into both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets according to Adm. Archie Clemins commander in chi
Digital Government
Laptop ban makes no sense
Laptops are about as popular as cigarette smoking on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Traditionbound members of the Senate Rules Committee last week voted not to allow lawmakers to use laptop computers for any purpose in the Senate chamber. The voice vote was not recorded. The reasons given for the a
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
Borderline automation Members of Congress last week criticized an effort to install a system at U.S. land borders that would require travelers to present identification before crossing to or from Canada or Mexico. At a hearing last week many lawmakers agreed that the system would represent a major
Digital Government
FEMA to expand disaster prediction
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) last week agreed to issue a request for proposals to expand a system that predicts the number of deaths and economic losses from natural disasters. In four to six weeks NIBS a congressionally authorized n
Digital Government
Internet site boosts bookstore's federal biz
Computer Literacy (Bookshops + Online) an online and retail bookstore for computer professionals has added purchasing options to its online site to make it easier for large government buyers to use the store. The Sunnyvale Calif.based bookseller has more than 20 000 books and technical manuals ava
Digital Government
Are retired feds getting what they deserve?
Congress recently asked the General Accounting Office to determine whether federal retirees were receiving benefits that exceeded their preretirement pay. Apparently many taxpayers believe that federal retirees live too high on the hog. As will soon become apparent that just isn't so. To understan
Digital Government
Roster
The Senate last week confirmed Raymond Kammer to be director of the National Institute of Science and Technology Terry Garcia to be assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Arthur Bienenstock to be associate director of the Off
Digital Government
Cisco's voice-over-IP solution could lure feds
New voice/faxoverIP software and hardware for Cisco Systems Inc.'s 3600 Series routers may save money for federal customers allowing them to offload voice and fax traffic from expensive voice lines onto their existing data infrastructures. Likely beneficiaries include agencies with a mix of wide
Digital Government
Agenda
NOVEMBER 34 Third Annual Online Directories Conference. Hyatt Regency Westshore. Tampa Fla.The theme of this year's conference is 'Consumer and Business Opportunities in a Highly Competitive Marketplace.'Call (609) 9217200 Web www.kelseygroup.com. 34 Auditing and the Year 2000. Chicago Marriott
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
Pretty tough There's nothing like the righteous indignation of a congressman to stir the spirits especially when it's aimed at an easy target like the IRS. Rep. James Traficant (DOhio) showed his poetic side this month in a diatribe against the beleaguered agency on the House floor. According to T
Digital Government
Does off-duty behavior affect work agreements?
Is drinking while off duty a punishable offense? That issue recently was tackled by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). On Sept. 27 1996 the Navy removed an aircraft sheetmetal mechanic from his job because of his alleged breach of a lastchance agreement (LCA) signed five months earlier. T
Digital Government
Intercepts
* Admirals adrift. When Spawar formally took over San Diego NRAD/NCCOSC last month Adm. George Wagner wanted the new organization's name applied to everything including the former .nosc.navy.mil domain name. Corporate identity is important but the newly renamed .spawar.navy.mil domain left a lot
Digital Government
Asymetrix pitches sea-faring CBT solution to Navy
A symetrix Corp. recently made its third overture this year to capture a larger portion of the Defense Department computerbased training market by demonstrating that the company's CBT products can be used in real time by even the most remote of military users: sailors aboard ships at sea. The rece
Digital Government
SSA awards another round for program
The Social Security Administration last month awarded a $15 million contract to Electronic Data Systems Corp. to hook up hundreds of SSA offices to its interactive training network bringing the agency closer to training its employees via live video on the desktop. Under the fiveyear task order EDS
Digital Government
Veterans Affairs awards initial pacts for high-speed network
The Department of Veterans Affairs last month entered the final phase of a $300 millionplus project to supply health care centers with a stateoftheart telecommunications infrastructure. The emerging telecommunications system called the Telecommunications Infrastructure Project (TIP) will replac
Digital Government
Axent lands AF contract for intrusion detection
The Air Force has tapped Axent Technologies Inc. to supply all its bases worldwide with intrusiondetection and security management products in the first known deployment of commercial security technology by an armedservices branch to protect its entire infrastructure. The Air Force will install A
Digital Government