Autodesk under GSA

DLT Solutions, Inc., a VAR, has increased the procurement options available to state and local governments for the purchase of Autodesk software in 18 states. Building on its already state contracts that includes GSA Schedule (GS-35F-4543G), Texas - DIR 513 and 491, and COSTARS, DLT can ease the procurement of Autodesk’s portfolio of 2D and 3D design and engineering software with contract vehicles in additional states including Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and more. To help state and local agencies understand how IT and digital design solutions can help the fast-tracking of “shovel-ready” projects, DLT has created a Recovery Act Web portal that provides insight into how the economic stimulus affects each government agency and tools that can help them administer and implement the provisions of the Act.

One-to-Watch: CADSmart software enables users to easily and automatically asses the skills of existing and prospective members of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) team: ensuring the right people are hired and training is given where it is needed. http://www.cadsmart.net.

Corrections and rehabilitation - $245 million

EDS (HP) has won a $245 million, 4.5-year agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to transform the agency into a digital environment by automating manual business processes to improve productivity, accuracy and, ultimately, enhance staff, public and offender safety. EDS will provide system integration and applications modernization services to help increase availability of accurate and complete information so employees can easily monitor the effectiveness of department programs. Additionally, EDS will create and manage the image capture, database, information storage and server environment where offender information will reside. The new initiative streamlines dozens of databases, record keeping processes and systems with a single integrated solution. HP will provide servers, scanners and printers as part of the agreement. (Scott Kernan, undersecretary of operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.)

Electronic maintenance - $30 million

A five-year contract, valued at up to $30 million issued by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) in Warren, Michigan, will enable O’Neil & Associates to mainten and develop the Army’s next-generation Electronic Maintenance System (EMS). The EMS system enables intrusive diagnostics for tactical and combat vehicles within the Army fleet as well as other branches of the armed services. It seamlessly integrates the diagnostic information with the appropriate maintenance and parts information. Technical Manuals created in EMS can be displayed on a wide range of standard computing devices, including ruggedized electronic service tools and PDAs. The EMS software will also generate data packets that are fed back into Army databases for parts ordering and predictive maintenance tracking. The communication can be done via land or wireless communications.

BankAtlantic, "Florida’s Most Convenient Bank," has extended its relationship with Harland Clarke Corp. The five-year extension of the agreement is anticipated to deliver BankAtlantic’s personal, small business and commercial customers with best-in-class integrated financial solutions. (Jarett Levan, CEO of BankAtlantic.)

Honeywell sub-contracts - $3.6m

Sypris Electronics of Tampa, FL has been awarded a $3.6 million contract by Honeywell International, Inc., Defense and Space Electronic Systems (DSES) to produce various units for the F-16 Digital Flight Control Computer (DFLCC). The flight-critical DFLCC is a quadruple redundant computer at the core of the fly-by-wire flight control system for the F-16. The DFLCC combines pilot inputs along with aircraft motion and flight conditions to command position of the flight control surfaces for increased aircraft performance and survivability. The F-16 Fighting Falcon, first introduced in 1978, is a lightweight, multi-role fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed Martin.

Health system outsources

Valley Baptist Health System has entered into a ten-year agreement for PHNS to manage and provide all of Valley Baptist’s IT services. PHNS also will relocate Valley Baptist’s data center to PHNS’ national subterranean data center to provide high availability, disaster recovery and business continuity services. In addition, PHNS’ experienced EMR/EHR implementation team will assist Valley Baptist in completion of its EHR implementation. (James E. Eastham, CEO of Valley Baptist.)

Visitor analysis

Public institutions that rely on corporate sponsorships and renewed memberships know that steady attendance to ticketed exhibitions is also important to earned income. To better capture and understand feedback from its annual visitors, the Cleveland Museum of Art has chosen SPSS Inc’s Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) to paint a better picture of their visitors’ overall experiences and improve marketing campaigns, heighten attendance and increase revenue. (Cindy Fink, director of marketing and communications at the Cleveland Museum of Art.)

One-to-Watch: Awakin is a provider of tourism, heritage and educational mobile digital content. The company offers audio-visual trails and downloadable podcasts, playable through multimedia devices or delivered via a hand-held device. http://www.awakin.com

Health insurance

Avalon Healthcare, Florida’s fast growing statewide individual and group health insurance plan, has signed a provider agreement with Lee Memorial Health System (LMHS), which includes Lee Memorial Hospital, HealthPark Medical Center, Gulf Coast Hospital, Cape Coral Hospital, The Rehabilitation Hospital, The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, more than 30 physician offices, three outpatient centers, and many other unique services offered by LMHS throughout Southwest Florida. Open since 1916, LMHS cares for the entire region of Southwest Florida from Tampa to Naples. LMHS treats more than 64,000 inpatient visitors, delivers more than 7,000 babies and helps more than 158,000 emergency room and urgent care patients each year. LMHS is one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the United States, and employs more than 9,000 employees and physicians. (Anne Rose, Executive Director of Managed Care Services, for Lee Memorial Health System.)

Model simulation

The Argonne National Laboratory has reduced the simulation time of models built with the Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) by using Parallel Computing Toolbox and MATLAB Distributed Computing Server from The MathWorks. Using MathWorks’ Simulink and Stateflow, Argonne, funded by the US Department of Energy, developed PSAT in conjunction with leading automotive manufacturers to help automotive engineers evaluate fuel economy and performance of advanced vehicle designs, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in HEVs. Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. (Sylvain Pagerit, research engineer at Argonne National Laboratory.)

$8.5m Web-based system

Alion Science and Technology has been awarded an $8.5 million Air Force follow-on contract to design and maintain a Web-based system that reports, assesses and predicts Air Force readiness levels. Under the contract, Alion will continue creating the Predictive Readiness Assessment System (PRAS) for the Air Force Readiness Office. The modeling and simulation system gives Air Force decision-makers key information, which assists them in deciding how to allocate resources and reconstitute force structures based on various funding scenarios.

School District spends $3.1m

Tyler Technologies has signed contracts totaling approximately $3.1 million to provide the Katy Independent School District (ISD) in Katy, Texas, and the Canyon Independent School District in Canyon, Texas, with software licenses, related professional services, maintenance and support. (Kerry Rampelli, senior project manager for Katy ISD Technology. Randy McDowell, assistant superintendent of business and operations for Canyon ISD.)

Large broker selects on demand solution

Cobbs, Allen & Hall, one of the largest brokers in the United States, has selected ProspX’s on demand solution for enhanced collaboration and knowledge sharing within and across its organizational boundaries. In addition to deploying the solution internally, Cobbs, Allen & Hall will leverage Assurex Global’s XpertConnect initiative which uses the ProspX platform to connect its vast network of broker, agency, and carrier partners. As a $500 billion per year market, the commercial insurance industry provides services for hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide. Cobbs, Allen & Hall Inc. is one of the largest providers of Risk Management and Financial Services in the Southeast. With over 120 years of experience, Cobbs Allen & Hall specializes in the reduction of Total Cost of Risk. In addition to tailored risk management and employee benefits programs, Cobbs Allen & Hall offers innovative resources to clients, such as human resource consulting, customized loss control & safety programs, and health management consulting. (Grantland Rice, President of Cobbs, Allen & Hall.)

Pharmaceutical marketing

Adplex has been selected by Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy to provide database and marketing solutions. Pharmaca, founded in 2000, is the first and largest integrative pharmacy chain in the U.S., combining conventional prescriptions with natural and complementary health solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, Adplex will build an actionable marketing database and provide Pharmaca with strategic consulting, direct marketing services, database management & analytics, media services, ad production, circular printing and program management. (Laura Coblentz, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation for Pharmaca.)

One-to-Watch: Naultilus' unique holography revolutionizes overt and covert solutions for brand and print security for the pharmaceutical industry. http://www.nautilussecurity.com.

Supplier of uniforms upgrades

Propper International, Inc., an apparel manufacturer specializing in military and law enforcement gear, has upgraded to the most recent version of the Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System and completed implementation of Lawson Enterprise Mobility at the same time. The mobility solution provides tools to help companies gain greater control and agility in managing inventory and distribution. Propper is one of the largest suppliers of uniforms to the U.S. Department of Defense. It is a high-volume manufacturer with operations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Through the latest enterprise applications, team members now use handheld computing devices in the warehouse rather than having to move to a centralized PC to enter data. (Devin McCarthy, IT director for Propper.)

Credit Union software projects

The Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU) serves more than 80,000 members, and has chosen iRise to visualize software projects before coding as way to speed delivery and cut cost. iRise has already been used to simulate enhancements to existing Web-based systems and will soon be used in new software applications that provide enhanced online services to STCU’s members. (Danny Jones, software development manager at STCU.)

Software-based IP communications

BAI, a financial services industry research firm, has operational cost savings and efficiency improvements using NEC’s UNIVERGE Sphericall pure software-based IP communications solution. “UNIVERGE Sphericall works on standard servers utilizing a simple licensing model, and, in addition, we no longer have to rely on a service provider to make simple changes to our call routing requirements. As a result, we are currently saving about $1,500 per month on support costs alone,” said Jim DiNapoli, senior manager of networking for BAI.

Wireless for boat owners

The Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) has selected Sprint as the exclusive wireless partner for its Members. Through this partnership, more than 600,000 BoatU.S. Members have the opportunity to purchase discounted wireless devices and services from Sprint. (Nancy Michelman, BoatU.S. President.)

WAN link controller

St. Joseph’s Academy has deployed Ecessa’s PowerLink WAN link controller to manage its growing WAN infrastructure needs. The PowerLink provides St. Joseph’s Academy with automatic failover between ISP connections to ensure reliable network connectivity for its internal and external users. St. Joseph’s Academy utilizes two network connections from its service provider. “The PowerLink also simplifies our network by enabling the firewall to only see a single IP address, while the PowerLink handles the dividing of the NATed IP addresses between the three Internet connections.” - Marshall Lucas, Director of Technology at St. Joseph’s Academy.

Two-to-Watch: Replify virtualized products accelerate applications over wide area and mobile connections without the need for costly hardware. http://www.replify.com. dooloop provides bonded DSL solutions to improve network performance and reduce operating costs. http://www.dooloop.com.

Small Business Innovation Research program

Nanocomp Technologies, Inc., a developer of energy saving performance materials and component products from carbon nanotubes (CNTs), has been awarded two new contracts by the United States Air Force under the Department of Defense’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The SBIR program is funded by twelve federal agencies from their research and development budgets. It is designed to simultaneously stimulate technological innovation among private sector small businesses and to increase the commercialization of new technology through federal R&D.

Liberty sets out to cut costs

Liberty Healthcare Management has licensed Lawson Human Resource Management, Lawson Workforce Management and Lawson S3 Enterprise Financial Management to help reduce annual administrative costs and meet payroll and human resources needs. Liberty Healthcare manages 17 long-term care facilities, more than 20 home health care offices, more than 20 hospice offices and four assisted living centers. The organization provides operational, financial and regulatory management services. (Joe Calcutt, chief financial officer of Liberty Healthcare Management, Inc.)

Patient education solution

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center looked for a patient education solution and has turned to Krames On-Demand (KOD). KOD features a library of over 3,000 HealthSheets spanning 38 medical specialty areas, plus over 2,000 Medication Information Sheets. (Sister Agnes Marie Cummings, IHM, RN, MSN Department Education Council Chair at Penn State Hershey.)

Two-to-Watch: CMSense from Cain Medical provides a simple solution to acquiring data from bedside medical devices such as patient monitors, ventilators and infusion pumps. Clinical applications can be given the ability to be compatible with a wide range of devices, rapidly and with the confidence to support any hospital applications. http://www.cainmedical.com. Kelsius automates temperature monitoring of refrigerators and cold rooms, simplifying task management and providing cost effective compliancy reporting for users in the healthcare industries. http://www.kelsius.com.

4,000 Advisors Gain Access

Florida-based, Raymond James Financial has deployed Interactive Data’s real-time browser-based market data terminals for use by 4,000 financial advisors in their Private Client Group providing access to a broad set of financial information, including Dow Jones’ real-time news and analysis. (Chet Helck, chief operating officer, Raymond James Financial. Clare Hart, president of Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group.) www.raymondjames.com.

RFID for Disaster Relief

VeriChip Corporation, a Florida-based provider of RFID systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, has sold the VeriTrace system for disaster relief and emergency management needs to Atlantic and Mercer counties in New Jersey. The VeriTrace system includes an implantable RFID microchip, a Bluetooth handheld reader, a customized Ricoh 500SE Digital Camera capable of receiving both RFID scanned data and GPS data wirelessly, and a Web-enabled database for gathering and storing information and images captured during emergency response operations.

One-to-Watch: Founded in 1995, CoreRFID is experienced in the technologies that support, track, trace, audit and control applications. http://www.corerfid.com.

Security Event

Every year the RSA Conference is built around a different historical theme that highlights a significant use of information security. In 2009 it is influenced by Edgar Allan Poe who was fascinated by cryptography, often concealing anagrams and hidden messages in his own poems. In 1839 Poe conducted his own cryptographic contest, challenging his readers to submit their cryptographs to him, asserting that he would solve them all. A year and a half later Poe ended the contest, claiming to have solved all of the 100 ciphers sent to him. A complete listing of the RSA Conference 2009 agenda can be found at: http://www.rsaconference.com/2009/us/agenda-and-sessions.htm.

Three-to-Watch: At home Spysure’s PC product helps protect children from paedophiles and blocks adult content. In the office it monitors and views employees' activities and tells you what is happening online. http://www.spysure.com. Lanxoma, security software developed by Unity Solutions, restricts access to the root level of computer operating systems, grants limited time access permission to authorized users and records all activity while the authorized user is logged-on - so being a deterrent to the "insider threat." http://lanxoma.com. Naultilus' unique holography revolutionizes overt and covert solutions for brand and print security. http://www.nautilussecurity.com.

Document Delivery

The Manitowoc Company, Inc., a provider of lifting equipment for the global construction industry, has chosen Esker on Demand Fax Services to automate delivery of documents within the procure-to-pay cycle. The company selected Esker as part of its core SAP implementation. (Romain Ditacroute, Project One IS Core Team Member at Manitowoc.)

One-to-Watch: NewField IT is an independent software and services company that helps organisations significantly reduce their print and document storage costs. It achieves this by accurately auditing the current costs, transforming paper related processes to an optimised state, and finally managing the new estate through the use of an innovative toolset. http://www.newfieldit.com

Freedom of Information Act at county level

Culpeper County Government in Virginia has implemented CounterACT across 14 local and remote offices to meet Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) compliance, control access to the network and protect against threats. Originally deployed by Culpeper for access control alone, use of CounterACT has expanded to encompass a greater role of monitoring the network and protecting agencies including the 911 Emergency Center, EMS, Airport and Sheriff’s office from cyber attacks, malware and viruses. (Todd Frazier, Systems Administrator of Culpeper County Government.)

$2 million on illumination

Xenonics has received a purchase order valued at approximately $2 million from Aardvark Tactical, Inc. (ATI), Azusa, California, for Xenonics' NightHunter high-intensity illumination devices to be included in ATI's non-lethal force protection kits for the U.S. military.

Video Solutions

Optibase, a provider of video solutions, has announced that US armed forces units and other branches of the US government have purchased its newly released MGW Decoder platform to decode H.264 and MPEG-1/2 video streams received from the GBS network.

Federal Government CTO Welcomed

ExportAction welcomes President Barack Obama's nomination of Aneesh Chopra as Chief Technology Officer in the expectation of the importance the Obama administration will place on the $900 billion technology industry and $172 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.