IT market nears its bottom (via Washington Technology)

The downward cycle of the federal contracting market should hit bottom in 2013 and 2014 before beginning a steady, modest climb. But even with the expected declines over the next two years, the market remains a strong one, said Kevin Plexico, vice president of federal information solutions for Deltek…

first published week of:   06/18/2012

Federal Mobile App Provides Real-Time Economic Stats
by Brian Heaton

On the go but need a way to keep tabs on the latest U.S. economic trends? If so, the U.S. Census Bureau has a new mobile app that may fit the bill.

Called America’s Economy, the app provides real-time updates on 16 economic indicators, including gross domestic product, unemployment rate, international trade and construction spending. Released on Aug. 9, the app is currently available for Android mobile device users, with an Apple version set for release later this month.

“The America’s Economy app will empower anyone needing information about the U.S. economy with timely statistics right on their mobile devices,” said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves in a statement.

The app — the first mobile application released by the U.S. Census Bureau — took four months to develop and gives economists, researchers, planners and policymakers more convenient access to government statistics that can assist in business hiring, sales and production decisions.

Details Here

first published week of:   08/20/2012

Fort Worth Texas looks to save $850K a year by leaving mainframe behind
By Rutrell Yasin

The City of Fort Worth, Texas, has successfully completed the first phases of its modernization program that is expected to save the city $850,000 a year by moving mission–critical applications off of an aging mainframe system.

Fort Worth’s IT solutions department will move all applications to a new distributed platform based on the Microsoft Windows operating system and Dell servers. Integrating key applications, such as traffic signal management and jury services, was a key step in the process to enable these applications to execute in the new server environment, according to Mark DeBoer, the city's senior IT manager.

Phase two will involve replacing the city’s financial applications with a commercial enterprise resource planning system that will run on the new distributed platform. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2015, when the mainframe will be turned off.

The IT solutions department is attempting to offer innovative solutions to city departments so they can provide high-quality services to residents. Fort Worth is currently the fifth largest city in Texas and the 16th largest in the country. The administration employs more than 6,000 people and serves a population of approximately 750,000 residents, estimated to reach 1.2 million by 2030.

Initially, city officials considered an in-house solution to convert residual applications to Microsoft .NET and SQL Server, but this option required burdening the already busy staff with an additional workload that they couldn’t handle, DeBoer said.

“We wanted to move across the applications without much change,” he said, noting that it was important to maintain user involvement and keep applications in the style users were familiar with.

As a result, IT solutions turned to a systems integrator and Micro Focus because the company provided a way to move the applications with minimal disruption and change. By implementing Micro Focus Enterprise Developer and Enterprise Server, the city has been able to seamlessly move the residual mission-critical applications and keep them running in the style that users are familiar with.

Details Here

first published week of:   07/02/2012

FTC Endorses Do–Not–Track Option

M2M (machine–to–machine) technology—in the form of GPS–enabled location–based services, for instance—has the potential to give us peace of mind, or to put us on edge due to privacy and security concerns. An application that uses a mobile–device user’s current location often does so to deliver the most relevant data and services in realtime.

These services could include navigation, nearby points of interest, tracking, or location–specific social networking. However, there are many who believe there are hidden dangers lurking for consumers who too readily adopt location–based services without taking proper precautions.

This week, the Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.govwww.ftc.gov, issued a report setting forth industry best practices to help businesses give consumers more control over the collection and use of their personal data. In the report, entitled “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers,” the FTC makes certain recommendations aimed at protecting the privacy of American consumers.

One such recommendation is what the FTC calls “simplified choice for businesses and consumers,”” meaning companies should give consumers the option to decide what information is shared about them, and with whom it is shared. Specifically, the FTC says this should include a “Do–Not–Track” mechanism that provides an easy way for consumers to control the tracking of their data/activities.

Details Here

first published week of:   03/26/2012

FTC hits Google with $22.5 million fine for Safari tracking
It’s the largest penalty ever for a violation of an FTC order. The agency says that “sends a clear message” to all companies large and small to “keep their privacy promises to consumers.”
by Don Reisinger

The Federal Trade Commission has jabbed Google with a hefty fine over its alleged Safari tracking practices.

The government agency today announced that Google has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle the FTC’s charges that Google “placed an advertising tracking cookie on the computers of Safari users who visited sites within Google’s DoubleClick advertising network.” The issue, the FTC said, is that Google had assured those users that they would be automatically opted out of the tracking because of Safari’s handling of third-party cookies.

The FTC’s fine is the largest ever for violation of the agency’s order.

“The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order,” Jon Leibowitz, the commission’s chairman, said today in a statement. “No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”

Details Here

first published week of:   08/13/2012

GEO Project saving state millions of dollars

Mississippi State University Extension Service reports an advanced database training project conducted by Extension is saving the state millions of dollars, improving skills and making jobs easier.

The Geospatial Education and Outreach Project began working with local and state government agencies across Mississippi in June 2006. By November 2012, more than 2,600 people from more than 60 counties learned the concepts behind the mapping software in about 260 workshops. The GEO Project software combines geographic information with other features in an area, such as data on utilities, property lines and roads.

Jim Davis of Olive Branch, an engineering technician with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, took part in a recent class. He learned different ways to map department data including parcel information, sign inventory, and road and drainage areas.

“Learning how to use the new software makes my job easier,” he said. “I can use data from multiple sources, reference that data to its geospatial location and use that data alongside my local data. This enriches the information we are able to provide to the department. I have also gained great contacts from networking at the GEO Project courses.”

Scott Samson, professor with the Extension Service and the Geosystems Research Institute at MSU, developed the GEO Project. Having in-state training saves Mississippi about $5.5 million compared to the cost if workshop participants had to go out of state to take the same training.

Details Here

first published week of:   12/10/2012