$10.6 million for cargo screening

Smiths Detection has won a $10.6 million U.S. Government contract for its mobile, high-energy cargo screeners which will be deployed across the country to inspect inbound and outbound shipping containers and trucks. The HCV Mobile inspection vehicles use high-energy X-ray scanning designed to optimize security checks at ports, airports and border crossings. The systems are used to inspect trucks, containers and other vehicles for contraband, weapons, explosives and narcotics.

Scalable server solution

Oyster Hotel Reviews (www.oyster.com) has selected SGI's Rackable™ C2000 half-depth servers to support the company’s growing user traffic and the data processing demands required to maintain its extensive inventory of hotel photographs and reviews. Oyster Hotel Reviews publishes hotel reviews. With the Website’s expanding coverage of major global cities – including newly-added New York City and its more than 30,000 new photos and 100 hotel reviews – Oyster Hotel Reviews required a scalable server solution. (Mike Cirello, director of engineering at Oyster Hotel Reviews.)

$2.5 million for justice software solutions

A $2.5 million agreement to provide Collin County, Texas, with additional Tyler integrated justice software solutions has been signed. The addition of these products to the County’s current Tyler applications will result in an end-to-end solution that manages the data and workflow of each case from arrest through disposition. Under the latest agreement, Collin County has contracted with Tyler to implement Odyssey Jail Manager and Law Enforcement products, along with related professional services. The Collin County Sheriff’s Office will use Odyssey Jail Manager to ease inmate processing, tracking and reporting. Odyssey Law Enforcement will be deployed by constable precincts and the Sheriff’s Office for tracking and serving civil papers. (Caren Skipworth, director of information technology for Collin County.) www.tylertech.com.

$2.1 million to support cryptologic systems

Trusted Computer Solutions (TCS) has received a two year $2.1 million contract to support the Air Force’s Cryptologic Systems Group (CPSG), which provides highly-specialized security support for a wide-range of military and non-military agencies. Under the terms of the contract, TCS’ Professional Services Team will: establish and assist the CPSG’s efforts to start a government sponsored management office and provide the framework and processes to support cross domain solutions; create a lab environment to test and architect cross domain solutions; facilitate collaboration and processes to support the Community of Interest (COI) for cross domain solutions.

TCS’ SecureOffice^® Trusted Gateway (TGS) product and other cross domain solutions will be used to assist CPSG with the secure transfer of sensitive and classified information between various networks. The TCS Professional Services Team will assist the CPSG Management Office in implementing TGS and taking it through the certification and accreditation (C&A) process. SecureOffice Trusted Gateway is a cross domain solution that provides a rapid, multi-directional transfer of data between various security levels – unclassified, secret, secret releasable, top secret and sensitive compartmental information (SCI) networks. www.TrustedCS.com

Nursing home increased business efficiencies

Advocat, a provider of long-term services to nursing home patients has increased business efficiencies through UltiPro’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery, reporting capabilities, and access for remote HR/payroll staff since implementing UltiPro in 2006. Before UltiPro, Advocat used a payroll solution designed for healthcare that was not equipped to handle the organization’s large workforce and complex pay rules. Relying on spreadsheets for its payroll and employee-related reporting, Advocat began to experience inefficiencies and problems with data integrity. Advocat selected Ultimate’s SaaS offering to eliminate these issues and free its IT team from the workload related to the hardware and system maintenance for its HR/payroll technology. (Susan Shires, director of payroll and taxes for Advocat.) www.ultimatesoftware.com.

Hospital supply chain and contracts & analysis

University of South Alabama Hospitals (USA), including USA Medical Center and USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, implemented MediClick for the Supply Chain and MediClick for Contracts & Analysis (C&A). The MediClick supply chain solutions provide a holistic view of supply chain activity across its facilities so USA can track the entire materials management process. C&A ensures purchase orders always go out with the accurate contract price, meaning accounts payable and buyers have fewer errors to reconcile on the backend. MediClick also reduces manual intervention so USA can dedicate more time to strategic decision making.(Bill Bush, CFO at USA.) Lee Kopf, director of materials management at USA.) www.mediclick.com. www.usahospitals.org.

University finance and human resource functions

St. Lawrence University (SLU) has selected Datatel Colleague to create a Strategic Academic Enterprise that will integrate its finance and human resource functions into a Web-based, campus-wide information management solution. The University has also licensed Datatel’s ActiveCampus Portal and the company’s DataOrchestrator ODS reporting solution. http://www.datatel.com.

BAT signs five-year IT deal

British American Tobacco has signed a five-year application co-sourcing contract with Accenture to help improve the design, development and implementation of information technology (IT) solutions for its business operations. Under the agreement, Accenture and British American Tobacco will jointly design a wide range of applications for British American Tobacco’s functions, including finance, supply chain, sales and marketing, with Accenture developing these applications for global, regional and local use. (Craig Wallace, head of solution delivery at British American Tobacco.)

Critical infrastructure security systems

Smiths Detection has reached a five-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for critical infrastructure security systems to help protect U.S. government buildings across the country. Federal Protective Service (FPS), an operational division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security, chose Smiths Detection’s sophisticated X-ray systems to help pinpoint any potential threat items. The advanced X-ray systems will be used to screen employees’ and visitors’ personal bags and other belongings, as well as packages and deliveries before entering the building. These solutions enable the FPS to protect entry points, loading docks and other accessible areas. The systems will be delivered and installed over the course of the five-year program.(www.smithsdetection.com)

$1.8 million on network forensics

Solera Networks, the provider of network forensics products and services, has been awarded a $1.8 million contract with “a major U.S. federal agency critical to the nation’s security.” The agency will use Solera Networks’ network forensics appliances as a component of their cyber security arsenal to enable a rapid response in the event of a breach or attack. Similar to camera surveillance at a bank, Solera Networks helps its customers access a complete trail of evidence for analysis if a network breach occurs, providing the ability for the customer to promptly respond to any event. http://www.soleranetworks.com.

Mobile Resource Management

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has implemented a Mobile Resource Management (MRM) solution from CompassCom Software Corp. to manage its maintenance, emergency services and command vehicles. The automatic vehicle location (AVL) system is being used to improve service to SPU customers by reducing response time to utility service calls. SPU, which manages Seattle’s water, waste water, and solid waste disposal services, selected the CompassLDE GPS based tracking solution due to the system’s open architecture. This enabled SPU to integrate the AVL server with an existing Maximo ticket assignment and asset management system. With an Oracle database on the back end, SPU developed a Field Operations Mapping System to serve as the interface between Maximo and the CompassLDE MRM server. (Steve Monsey, Infrastructure Engineer in the SPU IT Department.) www.compasscom.com

Remote signature capture

Aspire Federal Credit Union has gone live with TotaleAtlasWeb, a remote signature capture and secure document delivery solution that enables their members to sign documents remotely anywhere, 24/7 via the Web. The credit union completed 69 member signing events during May and increased by 34 percent to 105 in the month of June. (Diane Cannon, Aspire FCU lending sales team manager.) www.immonline.com

Digital radiographic system

Beloit Memorial Hospital has selected a GE Healthcare Optima XR640 digital radiographic system for its expanded emergency department. Digital systems capture X-ray images on computers instead of film. The exams are faster and provide high-quality images, with radiation dose efficiency. The system will help physicians clearly see injuries and abnormalities and confidently prescribe appropriate treatment. (Mardell Jacobsen, Director of Medical Imaging at Beloit Memorial Hospital.) www.gehealthcare.com www.beloitmemorialhospital.org.

Auto partnership &search research

Specific Media, the independent media platform, has reached an online advertising partnership with automotive group, MileOne Automotive. One of the nation’s largest privately held dealer groups, MileOne Automotive represents 28 major automotive brands including Honda, Nissan, and Mercedes in 63 retail locations. In addition, MileOne Automotive manages collision-repair centers, and provides vehicle leasing and car rentals through its Allstate division. Utilizing Specific Media’s proprietary targeted display and data technologies, MileOne will target automotive in-market shoppers across the Specific Media premium publisher network. (David Metter, CMO, MileOne Automotive.) www.specificmedia.com www.mileone.com

CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, reports that searches on carmax.com for hybrid vehicles has risen four percent in June over May while diesel vehicle searches rose seven percent over the same time period. Visits to the Fuel Economy section of carmax.com have risen 17 percent over May as consumers look for ways to improve their gas mileage. Searches on carmax.com for hybrid vehicles have continued to rise for the past several months and are up four percent in June and nine percent since March. Popular hybrid vehicles on carmax.com include the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX400h and the Honda Civic hybrid. June searches for diesel-powered vehicles rose seven percent and are up 12 percent over March figures. Popular diesel vehicles include the Ford F350, Dodge Ram 3500 and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. During the twelve months ended February 28, 2009, the company retailed 345,465 used vehicles and sold 194,081 wholesale vehicles at its in-store auctions. http://www.carmax.com