Enhanced signal processing

DSPCon, a supplier of data acquisition, analysis, archiving and recording solutions for high-value military, aerospace and rotating machinery applications, has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Contract by the US Air Force to continue development of an optimized processing platform to enhance signal processing capabilities in Propulsion Health Management (PHM) systems.

Point to point connectivity

Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO), the contracting arm of the Department of Defense (DoD)’s Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), has purchased point to point connectivity services from GTT to support their internal network infrastructure. DITCO-Scott (PL8)’s mission is to procure global net-centric capabilities to support our customers in the continental United States through innovative contracting. DITCO is responsible for the procurement of commercial Information Technology (IT) services and equipment required by DoD agencies and other U.S. Government agencies. http://www.disa.mil/.

$6.5m to reduce engine vibration

MTI Instruments, Inc. (“MTII”) has received a new multi-year contract for repairs and services on the PBS-4100 and PBS-4100PLUS vibration and balancing system the U.S. Air Force (USAF). This contract has a potential value of $6.5M over the full 5-year term. PBS-4100 systems are used to automatically collect and record aircraft engine vibration data, identify vibration or balance trouble, and calculate a solution to the problem. This reduces engine vibration while extending engine life and lowering fuel costs.

$11.7 million on network

LGS, a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent dedicated to serving the U.S. government community, has been awarded an $11.7 million delivery order, to provide network installation and integration and professional services for a communications infrastructure upgrade to the United States Department of the Army. The delivery order, which has a total potential value of $30.7 million if all options are exercised, will involve a variety of communications network projects at Fort Benning in Georgia. Fort Benning and its Infantry Center is one of the Army’s busiest installations, with more than 130,000 soldiers and civilians. The installation provides extensive training for soldiers and leaders for today’s combat situations while developing and planning for requirements for the future.

LGS will provide all labor, supervision, management, tools, materials, equipment, facilities, transportation and design to upgrade Fort Benning’s data network and perform tasks in preparation for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). As a part of this process, Fort Benning will grow to accommodate operations of other bases that have closed. The LGS work includes the upgrading of four area distribution nodes, which serve as a main data communications hub, as well as wireless infrastructure to connect new buildings.

The delivery order award is under the Infrastructure Modernization (IMOD) contract and is in support of the Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) Installation Information Infrastructure Modernization Program (I3MP) managed by the Project Manager, Network Service Center (NSC) at Fort Monmouth, N.J.

Mobile banking application

U.S. Bank has launched the Mobile Wallet, a new free downloadable mobile banking application that allows more convenient banking access on the go to its customers. The bank is collaborating with Firethorn Holdings, LLC, a Qualcomm company, to provide the technology behind the Mobile Wallet. The Mobile Wallet allows U.S. Bank customers to check balances, review transaction history, transfer funds between accounts, check rewards balances and view special offers from U.S. Bank. (Mac McCullough, executive vice president for the enterprise revenue office at U.S. Bank.)

San Mateo CU adopts document preparation engine

San Mateo Credit Union has deployed IMM’s TotaleAtlas, a document preparation engine that captures signatures electronically in-branch, and TotaleAtlasWeb, which captures signatures remotely via the Web. TotaleAtlas was previously integrated with the credit union’s core system and now additionally supports its third-party loan origination system, making San Mateo CU’s document output a fully automated, paperless process. (Pete Kneisler, vice president of information technology at San Mateo CU.)

Florida firm has end-to-end claims management

United Automobile Insurance Company (UAIC) and Guidewire Software, a leading provider of flexible core systems to property/casualty insurers, have successfully deployed Guidewire ClaimCenter as a new end-to-end claims management system. The company has also selected Guidewire BillingCenter to provide single system agency- and direct-bill functionality for its entire organization. (Abraham Estevez, chief information officer, UAIC.)

United Automobile Insurance Company (UAIC) was incorporated on March 2, 1989 in Florida to provide a high quality and low cost insurance product to the non-standard automobile insurance market. The company is family owned and is one of the largest privately held property and casualty insurance companies in the United States.

Missing girl found

When a nine year old local Sandy girl was reported missing in this Salt Lake City suburb in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains, the Sandy Police Department (SPD) was able to use the department’s new state-of-the-art wireless mesh video surveillance network to track her path. The system allowed the department to survey a vast portion of the city which narrowed the search area and decreased the time it took to locate the girl and return her to her family. The surveillance system, which was deployed by Salt Lake City’s AlphaCorp Security using Firetide wireless infrastructure mesh equipment, was initially installed by the SPD to monitor the town’s main State Street corridor, parks and business districts. Because the wireless network has been a resounding success for the community’s public safety goals, the network is building upon the interest from other municipal groups as they realize its value. (Sandy Police Chief Stephen Chapman.)

Online and phone-based citation payments

The Municipal Court of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, one of the largest traffic courts in Georgia, is joining over 80 other jurisdictions throughout Georgia that are taking advantage of nCourt for online and phone-based citation payments. Individuals who are facing a traffic violation citation visit www.athensgatix.com or www.ncourt.com and select Athens-Clarke County from the menu. They can also pay by phone at 1-800-701-8560. The easy-to-follow system enables payments to be made and confirmed within minutes, ensuring completion and avoiding further potential penalties. The nCourt service also provides a free, bilingual customer help center that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court Judge Kay Giese.)

$1.8 million spend by DEA

WidePoint Corporation, a provider of advanced information technology, identity assurance and protection, and mobile telecom expense management (TEM) services, said today that its subsidiary, iSYS, LLC has been awarded its first contract with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The five-year agreement is initially worth approximately $1.8 million in support of the DEA’s Office of Information Systems.

$12.7 million task order

NCI, a provider of information technology, engineering, and professional services and solutions to U.S. Federal Government agencies, has received a task order award valued at approximately $12.7 million. Awarded through the Total Engineering Integrated Services (TEIS) contract, NCI will provide engineering and implementation services for a Multi-Level Video Information System (MVIS) Project for the U.S. Central Command’s (USCENTCOM) new Headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. USCENTCOM, a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit, is the military authority for the Middle East and Southwest Asia with an area of responsibility that includes 20 nations.

Under the task order, NCI and its team members, Pershing Technologies and Advanced C⁴ Solutions (AC4S) will engineer, furnish, install, test and provide training for the MVIS in multiple conference rooms, command briefing rooms and operations centers in the facility.

Online ordering for pizza

i Brands Corporation has signed a beta test online service agreement with Zucca Bar & Pizzeria, www.ZuccaPizza.com, a casual Italian dining restaurant chain specializing in New York style pizza and family-recipe pasta/sauces. The beta test will last 90-days followed by a roll-out into Zucca’s chain. Zucca’s management intends to growth their chain, firstly on a regional then national basis.

According to pizzamarketplace.com, “Online ordering is a fast-growing part of the pizza business. For smaller, independent pizza operations, it is important to develop an online ordering system in order to stay competitive.” QSR Magazine recently reported that “of the Quick Service experts surveyed, 51% predict online ordering to be 'The Next Big Thing'.” According to i Brands, less than 5% of restaurants in the United States offer online ordering.

Document management for law firm

IKON Office Solutions, a Ricoh company, has renewed its document management solution agreement with Duane Morris LLP, a full service law firm with more than 700 attorneys practicing in 24 offices in the United States and internationally. Evolving from a partnership of prominent lawyers in Philadelphia a century ago, Duane Morris now has offices in many major markets and continues to expand across the country and overseas through non-merger growth.

As part of the new agreement, IKON’s on-site service team will manage the document production in Duane Morris’ Philadelphia headquarters, as well as provide office support, including support staff, document management, mail/distribution services, and fax services, in five additional firm offices. Ricoh equipment, including multi-function devices, have been placed in the six managed offices as well as the 15 remaining domestic Duane Morris locations. (Barry Silver, Director of Office Services, Duane Morris.)

Bank risks investment in software

As many financial institutions are looking for methods to enhance lending compliance and credit risk management, Bank of Idaho has deployed Cypress Software Systems’ BizMark software to develop an automated application and underwriting system for its small business loans. Beyond the efficiencies achieved with the loan software, Bank of Idaho also gained additional control over its credit risk management and compliance efforts. Bank of Idaho has seven branches across Idaho, holding more than $200 million in assets with more than 100 employees. (Warren Roberts, vice president and assistant loan administrator at Bank of Idaho.)

$35 million payroll contract

STG, Inc. has been awarded the Department of State’s Bureau of Resource Management (RM) Worldwide Agency-wide Locally Engaged Staff (WALES) contract. Under this $35 million, 5-year contract, STG will design, develop and implement a payroll solution for more than 90,000 American & Foreign Service National staff and Foreign Service Annuitants.

New look wrangler.com

wrangler.com has a new look and feel, an interactive home page and a new ecommerce store. The Zobrist team developed the WebSphere 6.0 Commerce / Content site architecture to deliver an integrated brand experience on wrangler.com. (Brendan Walsh, Wrangler.com Project Manager.) www.zobristinc.com and www.wrangler.com.

BPA has value of up to $28 million

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has awarded NetStar-1, Inc. a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for management consulting services for its Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) program. The new five-year BPA has a value of up to $28 million. www.netstar-1.com.

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms wins $1.7m deal

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, has received an initial order valued at $1.7 million from Northrop Grumman Information Technology TASC for systems featuring GE Fanuc’s CL11 single board computers and ICS-1555A high speed AD (analog-to-digital) PMCs. A total of 216 systems is expected to be ordered over a five-year period, making the long term value an anticipated $7.5 million. The GE Fanuc systems will be integrated by Northrop Grumman into signals intelligence solutions to support intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) information in tactical environments.

Giants' season-ticket-holder incentive

Radiant Systems has announced a new agreement with the San Francisco Giants to be a key provider of the new loaded-ticket system, a season-ticket-holder incentive deemed so successful by team officials that they have taken steps to open the program to all fans at AT&T Park.

$8.1 million award by DoD

EDS has signed an $8.1 million, 12-month add-on contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Military Health System to make technical enhancements to several Defense Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS). The work will improve the quality and delivery of healthcare for recovering U.S. service members under the DoD Wounded Warrior care initiative. The Military Health System is the largest health maintenance organization in the world, composed of a vast team of healthcare providers, medical educators and medical researchers serving at health facilities and in the field worldwide. More than 60,000 trained users operate DHIMS applications to capture, manage and share data across the DoD.