FCW goes to IPIC

It is nearing spring, so that must mean it is time for IPIC, which is here in Orlando as it has been for the last few years.

One of the cool new technologies on display is RFID – well, RFID isn't new technology, but… Savi has radio frequency identification tags that they are putting on people's badges that will allow you to track where you have been – or at least where the badge has been. I'll get more info and report back.

The headliners today:

* Karen Evans, the government's IT czar, who said that agencies have enough enterprise architects and needs to hire more project managers. Evans was followed by a panel on project management.

* Dave Wennergren, the Navy Department's CIO and the head of the CIO Council, who just seems to be one of the most amazing leaders. I'll come back to this tonight as well.

But, not surprisingly, the big issue that has everybody talking is… this won't really surprise everybody… it is GSA. In fact, here is a tidbit that can give you a sense of the problem. CDW-G sponsored an unofficial poll of IPIC attendees and one of the questions was, "Are you more likely to advocate purchasing from GSA this year than last year?"

Among government attendees, nearly 53 percent said no, and the number is just slightly less among industry. Meanwhile, the FCW.com poll is showing similar numbers. We asked, "Does GSA still play an important role in IT procurement?" and almost 50 percent are saying no.

Meanwhile, we hear that there was a candidate for the administrator job who decided to pull out. We're checking on details before we give you the full details.

More to come from Orlando.