Digital Government

Vendor aims to ease Internet searches with new software

Core Software Technology this week begins shipping a new version of a software package that gives agencies a single user interface for accessing geospatial information in a hodgepodge of databases. The new product TerraSoar Release 2.5 replaces Core's ImageNet Plus product which the company created

Digital Government

FTA to tap college-driven bus site

The Federal Transportation Administration will soon have at its disposal an Internetbased geographic information system (GIS) to help it track how cities are spending federal funds on public bus systems. As part of its mission to support highquality public transportation the FTA each year gives h

Digital Government

ALMRS not ready, GAO says

The Bureau of Land Management got its hands slapped by the General Accounting Office for having too aggressive an implementation schedule for its massive Automated Land and Mineral Record System (ALMRS). In a March report to a House subcommittee GAO also said BLM did not have the policies or proced

Digital Government

GAO wants DOD to develop strategy

The General Accounting Office issued a report last month that calls on the Defense Department to help forge a governmentwide strategy for using and gauging the success of telemedicine technology in the federal arena. The report comes at a time when federal use of telemedicine is increasing. In fisc

Digital Government

Vendors compete for NIMA prototype

Vendors submitted proposals last week for a National Imagery and Mapping Agency prototype project that will let the agency evaluate rapidly maturing offtheshelf technology for geographic information systems. The project Geospatial Information Infrastructure (GII) 97 will likely see multiple award

Digital Government

SEC's EDGAR II RFP finds few interested bidders

The deadline for proposals to support and upgrade the Securities and Exchange Commission computer system that provides intimate financial details on public companies came and went last month without many vendors submitting bids. Very few companies which included incumbent BDM Federal Inc. bid on th

Digital Government

Education looks for IT answers

Poor management of information technology systems has put billions of studentloan dollars at stake at the Education Department which has systems that appeared on the General Accounting Office's 'highrisk' list. Computer systems for the studentaid programs are crucial to the department's stabilit

Digital Government

Data General, ESRI ally

Data General Corp. and Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. late last month inked a deal that allows ESRI to resell Data General Aviion servers running ESRI's Arc/Info 7.1 Windows NT software a graphic application for working with geographic data. Both the server and ESRI's stable of softw

Digital Government

DOD readies health services RFP

The Defense Department plans to issue a request for proposals next month for a potential billiondollar followon to an existing medical systems contract that will make military patient records in DOD's sprawling health care network electronically accessible from anywhere in the world. DOD's health

Digital Government

VA opens up PAIRS - again

The Department of Veterans Affairs last month changed directions with its procurement strategy for a large agency computer services contract and decided to permit all contractors regardless of size to compete. The move sparked questions and criticism from the Small Business Administration because t

Digital Government

HUD faces fight to exit `high-risk' list

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has a lot more work to do to clean up information technology deficiencies that leave the agency open to waste and fraud the General Accounting Office reported last month. The sharply worded report issued as part of GAO's renowned 'HighRisk Series ' c

Digital Government

HUD pilot project takes bids on-line

The Department of Housing and Urban Development last year began a pilot project that requires all real estate brokers bidding on foreclosed HUD properties to submit bids via the Internet or telephone saving the department time and money. Under the online bid submission pilot which is being tested

Digital Government

FCC ruling could boost wireless development

The Defense Department plans to remove the government key escrow software from its Fortezza cards used on the Defense Message System a move that signals the death of the Clinton administration's controversial Clipper initiative and one that should encourage civilian use of the cryptographic cards.

Digital Government

Hughes wins EROS follow-on

The U.S. Geological Survey last month awarded to Hughes STX Corp. a $100 million followon contract to provide technical support services for the Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center. Hughes the incumbent contractor will provide software engineering systems integration application

Digital Government

NIH to launch ECS follow-on

The National Institutes of Health plans this week to launch the recompete of its popular Electronic Computer Store contracts this time as a fiveyear program potentially worth several hundred million dollars. The current ECS program has far surpassed the $96.8 million in sales that NIH anticipated

Digital Government

VA chooses 23 vendors for $50 million contract

The Department of Veterans Affairs tapped 23 vendors last month for a $50 million services project aimed at making its ADP center more costeffective. The Multiple Award Requirements Contract for Information Technology Services (MARCITS) will offer a broad range of services. The large scope of the

Digital Government

Mapping moves toward Internet

The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has begun working on a project that during the next four years will seek to deliver more maps over the Internet. Under the $21 million Data Architecture and Gateway Services (DAGS) project awarded to Harris Corp. last month NIMA plans to produce fewer CDROM

Digital Government

Digital, Sysorex snag $1.5B VA pact

The Department of Veterans Affairs last week tapped Digital Equipment Corp. and Sysorex Information Systems Inc. to provide personal computers software and peripherals to VA hospitals and administrative offices nationwide under a $1.5 billion program. The VA plans to use the Procurement of Computer