Acquisition

AMS, Ariba team for e-procurement

In what may be the first of many deals like it, integrator American Management Systems Inc. and Internet commerce vendor Ariba Inc. have teamed up to provide a complete electronic procurement solution to federal government users.

Digital Government

GSA, CIO Council program produces star students

The first class of students graduated this month from a twoweek program designed to train senior federal managers on the nuances of performance and management rather than the nuts and bolts of the contracting process.

Digital Government

Two firms win contracts for satellite development

A triagency program office led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week awarded two contracts worth a total of $41 million to help design the nextgeneration environmental satellite system.

Digital Government

NTIA official to play key role in critical infrastructure protection

Gregory Rohde, assistant secretary of Commerce and administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, will act as the Clinton administration's point person on protecting the country's communications and information systems from attack.

Digital Government

AMS and Ariba forge business-to-government e-commerce pact

Financial management firm American Management Systems Inc. and Internet electronic commerce vendor Ariba Inc. have teamed up to provide federal government users with products and services that will help them buy products online.

Digital Government

Clinton urges agencies to narrow digital divide

President Clinton on Thursday asked agencies to help reduce the digital divide the gap between citizens that have access to information technology tools and those who do not.

Digital Government

BMC tackles e-biz reliability concerns

BMC Software Inc. recently announced new products and services designed to improve the reliability and performance of electronic commerce applications. BMC, viewed as the fifthlargest independent software company, unveiled an initiative called Service Assurance for EBusiness, which builds on its

Digital Government

Feds join online auction craze

The federal government may follow private companies into the hot electronic commerce game with plans to test next year an online auction site for federal products and surplus property, including everything from computers to houses. FinanceNet, an electronic clearinghouse that provides information o

Digital Government

Cisco tools to speed product ordering for resellers

Cisco Systems Inc. plans to give its resellers new electronic commerce tools that will make it possible for them to search, compare and order products online, reducing errors and the time it takes to receive products.

Digital Government

DOD, GSA working on enterprise software contract

The Defense Department is working with the General Services Administration to create a standard contract that all agencies could use to create enterprise software agreements, which drive down the cost of software by allowing agencies to buy in bulk.

Digital Government

Mapping coral reefs' health

Three agencies have teamed up to develop digital, highresolution maps of the nation's coral reefs in the first step in understanding and protecting these threatened habitats. A U.S. Coral Reef Task Force working group, cochaired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geo

Digital Government

Weather watcher

Jamie Hawkins recalls that when he was a child he would sit under his sister's clear plastic bubble umbrella watching the thunderstorms roll in. Even after 21 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hawkins still is obsessed with watching the weather. 'I was an absolute weathe

Digital Government

New Year's fete no fun for CIOs

It won't be the champagne giving federal chief information officers a headache at New Year's. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to partake in a threeday millennium extravaganza scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., adding a logistical challenge to federal CIOs' Year 2000 problems

Digital Government

Biggest Y2K costs behind U.S.

Government agencies and businesses in the United States will wind up spending about $100 billion to identify and fix systems to make them Year 2000compliant, according to a report released by the Commerce Department today.

Digital Government

Airlines make Y2K progress

The Transportation Department today announced that the groundbased systems used by the nation's major airlines have no Year 2000 problems that would prevent them from complying with safety standards, but some smaller carriers still have work to do.

Digital Government

Biz criticizes contract bundling

Congress and industry have become concerned about the increasingly popular trend in the Defense Department and other agencies to combine numerous small information technology contracts into one larger contract because it makes it more difficult for small businesses to compete for government work. S

Digital Government

DOD, GSA buy into universal smart card

A new mandate that requires the use of a common smart card throughout the Defense Department and an upcoming estimated $1 billion governmentwide solicitation for smart card products and services have set the stage for the federal government to become the largest consumer of smart cards in the world

Digital Government

Exabyte to unveil big-time tape drive

Exabyte Corp. this week will unveil a larger and faster tape drive designed for organizations that want to archive and back up large amounts of data very quickly. The Mammoth2 (M2) tape drive will be the biggest and fastest tape drive available in its class when it is launched this week, said Gr

Digital Government

Anne Reed to retire Feb. 1

Anne Reed, chief information officer at the Agriculture Department, said she plans to retire from government next year.

Digital Government

U.S. savings bonds available via the Net

The Treasury Department today launched a new Internet site that for the first time will allow the public to buy savings bonds online.