<FONT SIZE=2>The Defense Department CIO is expected to sign a policy next month that will set guidelines for using wireless devices across the department. The new policy will revise the Pentagon Area Common IT Wireless Security Policy signed last fall, said Dawn Meyerriecks, chief technology officer for the Defense Information Systems Agency. DOD users and vendors should find the departmentwide policy more comprehensive than the Pentagon policy, she said. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Information Age has spawned an archivist's nightmare. Computers make it easier to create records, whether e-mail or formal documents. But storing them for the long haul wasn't part of the original plan.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>When city officials in Austin, Texas, decided to reduce pollution by allowing more city employees to telecommute, they found Expertcity Inc.'s GoToMyPC software enables employees to telecommute without the expense of upgrading the city's virtual private network. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>A new integration system developed with Defense Department funding can fit the functions of incompatible back-end applications onto a single desktop screen.</FONT>
While the Defense Department has undertaken the process of mapping its processes to an information architecture blueprint, its approach has been uneven, according to a General Accounting Office report.
The GSA has released the final request for proposals for an online travel management system for the federal government. The contract could be worth up to $10 billion over 10 years.
Federal CIOs expect to outsource more information technology projects to the private sector during the coming year, especially in areas where agencies lack in-house resources or technical expertise, according to a new survey.
<FONT SIZE=2>The White House has proposed a far-reaching policy change that would require small businesses to recertify annually their eligibility for some contracts reserved for small business. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Government health departments will be among the largest purchasers of homeland security solutions at the state and local level as the nation struggles to develop the capability to respond to biological terrorist attacks.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The January release of two proposed rules on contract bundling again draws attention to the debate over procurement strategies and their impact on small business. But the new rules are not the only manifestation of that focus. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The president's budget proposal for fiscal 2004 cuts funds for 25 cross-agency e-government projects by nearly 24 percent, to $173.9 million, not including investments by the Defense and Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be announced next month. Thirteen projects got more money, nine projects less and two held steady.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Deirdre Lee, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, said the General Accounting Office and Congress will be watching how Defense contracting officers implement Section 803. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Bush administration appears determined to make good on its promise to help small businesses. Earlier this month, Angela Styles, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, announced a proposal that would eliminate a procurement loophole that allows large companies to win contracts reserved for small businesses.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington and the General Accounting Office are investigating whether large businesses are fraudulently pursuing -- and winning -- government contracts set aside for small businesses. </FONT>
The administration's e-government fund felt the pinch of the budget crunch last night as Congress allocated only $5 million for the account in the final agreement on the fiscal 2003 civilian budget.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is closing a loophole that lets agencies receive credit for awarding contracts to small businesses under governmentwide acquisition contracts without knowing if they truly are small. <br>
Soon, federal agency contracting officers will be able to call on the staff of the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service for help with contracting for professional services, GSA Administrator Stephen Perry said Wednesday.
The Transportation Security Administration is mismanaging its contracts and faces a $3 billion funding shortfall over the next two years, according the Department of Transportation's inspector general.
