MaSSSoftech

A bipartisan group of lawmakers supports legislation that would establish a database of economic bailout information to track, monitor and manage the $700 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.

We applaud the efforts of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) for sponsoring H.R. 1242 and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) for introducing a companion bill in the Senate, S. 910. In addition, we would like to thank Chairman Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) and ranking member Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) for their leadership in holding a hearing recently in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The hearing, titled “Utilizing Technology to Improve TARP and Financial Oversight,” shed light on the importance of data and data analytics.

H.R. 1242 would require the Treasury Department to deliver continuous, real-time updates on the status of bailout funds in a centralized database to provide true transparency. Such detailed reporting could support TARP and allow data analysts and government specialists to instantly detect possible systemic risk, waste, fraud and abuse in the future — using software alert notifications and predictive analytics for preventing potential economic disaster.

Currently, information regarding TARP funds has been spread across 25 federal agencies that are using incompatible formats and isolated databases. This makes it very difficult for government officials or taxpayers to gain an understanding of how TARP funds are being used and allocated. The technology proposed in H.R. 1242 would provide powerful new visibility that would benefit everyone — Congress and taxpayers alike.

True transparency and accountability require the integration of frequently-updated information from multiple sources into one centralized, immediately accessible database. This type of technology is what the best companies in every industry have been embracing for years. We call it business intelligence. Such a system would deliver timely, relevant and valuable insight to the financial oversight process, allowing regulators to head off potential problems before they become big enough to threaten the system.

Gathering, integrating and centralizing the right information and making sense of it is certainly a top priority. Intelligence begins with the integrity of information in the database. Financial oversight of the scope and depth required depends on a realistic grasp of the big picture — supported by enough detail to bring attention to potential issues. This requirement would be met with the deployment of an enterprise data warehouse, which would track all data movement to and from banks and the extended TARP network while providing continuous updates to the approved users.

We encourage Congress to pass legislation and establish a database that represents the very best of today’s information technology. True transparency for effective financial oversight depends on it.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Ann Arbor-based ProQuest has ranked 27th on the 2009 InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. ProQuest, best known for its creation of information and technology tools that support research, is the top-ranked Michigan-based company and even placed higher than distinguished technology giants. InformationWeek is a premier source of news and analysis of leading-edge products and vendors in the business IT industry. Its InformationWeek 500 list is considered unique among industry rankings for its spotlight on the power of innovation in information technology.

"It's an honor to be named to this prestigious roster of information technology innovators," said ProQuest Chief Information Officer Bipin Patel. "Our customers and our employees have long considered ProQuest a leader in end user-driven information technology innovations. It's gratifying to have those opinions confirmed by a respected team of industry analysts."

ProQuest was recognized by InformationWeek for its establishment of a research and development team, which continually monitors new technologies and tests their applicability for researchers, librarians and end-users. The team collaborates with a variety of market segments to identify new ideas. An R&D lab provides freedom for team members to generate and test prototypes internally and externally. ProQuest's innovation efforts are focused on investigating new ways in which its products can improve the quality of research, both in experience and the breakthroughs it generates.

"For over 20 years, the InformationWeek 500 has honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek Editor-in-Chief Rob Preston. "Year after year, InformationWeek 500 companies harness technology to improve efficiency, boost productivity, drive revenue, and establish a competitive advantage. We applaud this year's winners, and the CIOs and other executives whose ingenuity and risk taking are at the center of business technology innovation."

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, now in its 21st year, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America's best-known companies.

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/.

About ProQuest

ProQuest creates specialized information resources and technologies that propel successful research, discovery, and lifelong learning. A global leader in serving libraries of all types, ProQuest offers the expertise of such respected brands as Chadwyck-Healey(TM), UMI(R), SIRS(R), and eLibrary(R). With Serials Solutions(R), Ulrich's(TM), RefWorks(R), COS(TM), Dialog(R) and now Bowker(R) part of the ProQuest brand family, the company supports the breadth of the information community with innovative discovery solutions that power the business of books and the best in research experience.

More than a content provider or aggregator, ProQuest is an information partner, creating indispensable research solutions that connect people and information. Through innovative, user-centered discovery technology, ProQuest offers billions of pages of global content that includes historical newspapers, dissertations, and uniquely relevant resources for researchers of any age and sophistication--including content not likely to be digitized by others. Inspired by its customers and their end users, ProQuest is working toward a future that blends information accessibility with community to further enhance learning and encourage lifelong enrichment.

For more information, visit www.proquest.com or the ProQuest parent company website, www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow - from the defining and framing of objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties like DarkReading.com (security), IntelligentEnterprise.com (application architecture), Network Computing (networking and communications) and PlugintotheCloud.com (cloud computing). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets such as CIOs, developers and SMBs with Dr. Dobb's InformationWeek Global CIO and bMighty.com, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare. With content at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy, IT professionals turn to our network of expert voices, research and communities to stay informed, get advice, and research technologies to make strategic business decisions. (http://www.informationweek.com/)

COLUMBUS, OH -- (Marketwire) -- 09/22/09 -- The health reform bill currently pending in the House of Representatives, combined with the impact of the cuts being waved in front of Medicare-funded nursing homes -- an estimated $12 billion over 10 years -- will find Ohio's seniors in need of nursing and rehabilitative care on shaky ground. Conservative estimates are putting the system at $2.5 billion over the same period, placing the State fifth among all those facing the highest cuts, according to the American Health Care Association.

Ohio currently ranks in the middle of states in per-beneficiary Medicare spending, but some parts of the state are among the highest spending nationwide. Elyria and Cleveland are among the 100 most expensive of the nation's 306 hospital referral regions in terms of expenses.

From a national perspective, nursing homes and elder care are the fastest growing segments of healthcare, often the most expensive, and the changes in healthcare will certainly have far reaching affects among this population. Locally, besides the long-term care community-facing danger, so are the jobs or more than 3,100 caregivers in Ohio.

Technology: Band-Aid or Solution?

The number of hospitals using a computer network to conduct exams and transfer medical information continues to grow, according to a story in the Canton Repository. According to Michael Schramm, Vice President, IVANS, a healthcare information technology services company, this will go a long way to help ease the burden on facilities and the healthcare workers. "The number one priority of healthcare providers is to provide excellent patient care. The main benefit of technology, in terms of health and medical practices, is that it frees up clinicians and the staff so they can focus more time on the patient than on time-consuming administrative tasks."

A recent survey of more than 500 healthcare providers conducted by the company on the issue of healthcare reform indicated that all is not cut and dry. While respondents, specifically the more than 300 home healthcare and nursing home organizations, believe in the importance of healthcare policy, they are concerned about the toll it will have on patients and providers. "Many of these facilities are already in a tough position with the massive cuts proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. These cuts, which include an estimated $1 billion proposed cuts in Ohio alone, on top of state cuts of $184 million to skilled nursing facilities imposed through a recently passed state budget, could certainly have a huge impact on the long-term care workforce working with the patients and behind the scenes and threaten care quality," Schramm continued. To that end, he recommends providers, patients and their families arm themselves with as much information as possible, from available services to how much staff time a facility provides to each patient, and so on so they can make informed decisions.

The survey, which focused on healthcare reform and technology, showed providers are overwhelmingly hopeful that changes to health information technology could have a far-reaching impact -- lowering the cost and improving efficiency of care.

Among the findings:

-- Nearly 70 percent of home healthcare and nursing home organizations
say that electronic health records (EHRs) will have a positive impact on
their day-to-day business (a fact echoed by the National Coordinator for
Health Information Technology, which estimates that the healthcare system
will save an estimated $140 billion/year if this technology is adopted);
and
-- 56 percent of respondents have begun to or plan to implement EHRs
within the next year;
-- More than half (52 percent) of providers doubt that stimulus money
will successfully encourage adoption of healthcare information technology;
-- Providers support the use of Health Information Technology to increase
quality of care and improve efficiencies;
-- Almost three quarters (72 percent) believe a pay-for-performance model
could lead to improved patient outcomes.


Said Tamara Van Bibber, RN and Certified OASIS Specialist-Clinical, Principal, Blessed Care Solutions in Ironton, Ohio, "We work with home care agencies across the state to provide them with useful information and solutions so they can provide the best care possible, without incurring astronomical costs." In some cases, she continued, this means teaching them about new and not-so-new technologies that helps to keep costs down but maintaining the level of care.

"Blessed Care Solutions was started by former home health nurses, so our priority as a business is ultimately in ensuring the health and well-being of patients," she continued. "Wherever we can help caretakers our reduce the burden on the caretakers and find alternatives to everything from managing hours to processing payments, we will."

For more information, including local facts and figures, more detailed survey results or to schedule an interview with any of the professionals quoted, please contact Ellen Werther @ ellen@ellenink.com /212 980 4499

Contact

MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- As the economy improves, chief financial officers (CFOs) will look to bolster their information technology (IT) systems, a new survey suggests. When asked where they are most likely to place their investment dollars when a recovery occurs, 40 percent of CFOs interviewed cited IT.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources, the world's premier provider of senior-level accounting and finance professionals on a project and interim basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.

CFOs were asked, "In which one of the following areas are you most likely to invest once the

economy improves?" Their responses:

New or upgraded IT systems ....................... 40%
New products or service lines .................... 18%
New locations or real estate ..................... 14%
Mergers or acquisitions .......................... 6%
None, will not invest ............................ 19%
Other ............................................ 2%
Don't know ....................................... 1%
---
100%

"As companies emerge from the recession and become more profitable, they will begin to focus on shoring up critical business applications and technology infrastructure," said Paul McDonald, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources. "While finance executives may remain cautious about making bold new expenditures, they understand that updating their IT systems can help improve risk management, increase operational efficiency and ensure regulatory compliance."

McDonald noted the survey showed that the largest companies (1,000 or more employees) are most likely to invest in new or upgraded IT systems (48 percent) because of the economies of scale that come from making systemwide improvements.

He added, "IT investments encompass not only hardware and software but also reflect the human resources necessary to manage these initiatives."

About the Survey

The national study was developed by Robert Half Management Resources. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CFOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. For the study to be statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments are represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region and number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportion of employees within each region.

About Robert Half Management Resources

Robert Half Management Resources is the premier provider of senior-level accounting and finance professionals to supplement companies' project and interim staffing needs. The company has more than 145 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.roberthalfmr.com.

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CSC (NYSE: CSC) today announced it has joined the American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Chemical Information Technology Center (ChemITC). As an affiliate member of ChemITC, CSC will work with ACC companies and partners to address existing and emerging information technology (IT) challenges and opportunities in the chemical industry.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090422/CSCLOGO)

"ChemITC looks to its affiliate members to help advance IT solutions for the chemical industry and values the knowledge and experience that CSC brings to its efforts," said Abbe Mulders, chair of the ChemITC Executive Board, and vice president and chief information officer at Dow Corning Corp. "The involvement of a company like CSC that provides technology and business solutions worldwide will certainly benefit the chemical industry and ChemITC membership."

"Technology-enabled solutions play a key role in helping chemical companies simplify regulatory complexity, free up working capital, protect proprietary information and prepare for the rapid changes facing this sector today and into the future," said Bob Welch, president of CSC's Chemical, Energy and Natural Resources Group. "Becoming an affiliate member is an important step for us in sharing innovation, thought leadership and solutions to address business and technology issues impacting companies worldwide."

CSC also will participate in ChemITC's Chemical Sector Cyber Security program, which offers chemical companies resources they can use to evaluate and elevate their company's cyber security preparedness.

CSC's Chemical, Energy and Natural Resources Group, which serves chemical, power generation and natural resources companies worldwide, is a global leader in helping companies achieve strategic business objectives through the application of industry-specific business solutions and services. For more information, visit www.csc.com/cenr.

About ChemITC

The Chemical Information Technology Center (ChemITC) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) is a forum for ACC member companies to address IT issues of common concern and support the industry's ability to safely and efficiently deliver products and services essential to society. ChemITC addresses specific IT issues of member interest through its strategic programs - the Chemical Sector Cyber Security Program, Survey and Benchmark Program and Industry Networking Groups.

About CSC

CSC is a global leader in providing technology-enabled solutions and services through three primary lines of business. These include Business Solutions and Services, the Managed Services Sector and the North American Public Sector. CSC's advanced capabilities include systems design and integration, information technology and business process outsourcing, applications software development, Web and application hosting, mission support and management consulting. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., CSC has approximately 92,000 employees and reported revenue of $16.2 billion for the 12 months ended July 3, 2009. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.csc.com.

The Missouri Students Association passed legislation in support of implementing a cell phone application that would be supported by the Division of Information Technology.

This legislation is a part of many recent decisions MU and other universities nationwide have made to become more technologically advanced. As of this year, the School of Journalism requires all incoming freshmen to have either an iPod touch or an iPhone for school use.

"We have a lot of video and audio files to complement the classes," J school Associate Dean Brian Brooks said. "We've had a couple bumps with the technology but we are getting them ironed out. We are trying to adapt to the technology."

Development of technology for use on smart phones, such as the iPhone, is already being practiced at schools, such as Stanford and Duke universities. After the development of the original application, Stanford went on to allow students to create other applications at their discretion, and even hosted a free class to learn the intricacies of application technology.

"There is a class right now that develops iPhone applications," MU Student Communications Director Tim Noce said. "We have been talking with computer science and the School of Journalism about the possibility of a part of the curriculum involving the development and innovation of this application."

Other schools utilizing this technology generally operate under a third party. The costs for licensing are priced upwards of $30,000 or $40,000 a year. MU has declined the use of a third party, partially for that reason.

"A disadvantage to not paying third party is that it takes longer, but we can also do whatever we want to do because we aren't following the cookie cutter outline of that third party," Noce said.

The application, known as iMizzou, began as an idea solely for the iPhone, but is now focused on being multi-platform, meaning it will be an application for use on all smart phones. Trying to make the application multi-platform has drawn out the development process.

Among the projected capabilities of the application are weather updates, a map of campus, sports listings and updates and certain MyZou features, such as adding and dropping classes.

"The main benefit is mobile access to data," DoIT Director Terry Robb said. "There is no need to get out laptops and no need to find computing areas because you can just get it on the phone."

The program began spring semester 2009. It was a project MSA was going to take on alone but is now collaborating with other groups.

DoIT was asked to participate in the construction of the application about a month ago, and so far things are going smoothly, Robb said. The application will take time to develop because of certain security measures that need to be taken to protect the university's data.

"The application was never aimed at anyone in particular," Noce said. "Now that it's going to be multi-platform I think it could be a tool for everyone on campus."

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Dell Inc.’s proposed $3.9 billion buyout of Perot Systems Corp. reflects the second-largest personal-computer maker’s ambitions in the market for health- care information technology.

Dell offered $30 a share in cash yesterday for Perot, 31 times its earnings in 2009, according to Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital in New York. Hewlett-Packard Co. bought Dallas-based EDS last year for $13.2 billion, 14 times that company’s 2008 earnings, Reitzes said.

“The Perot deal offers them plenty of opportunities in the health-care and federal space,” said Paul Roehrig, an analyst at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester Research Inc. “Dell can build a leaner, commodity-based services offering to be an interesting competitor.”

With Perot, founded by former U.S. presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, Dell gains a partner to boost sales of computer services as consumers and companies trim PC purchases to cope with the economic slump. Larger services units helped International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard withstand the recession better than Dell, whose sales slumped 22 percent last quarter.

Perot, whose customers include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gets about half of sales from hospitals, physicians’ practices and health-insurance companies. President Barack Obama’s plan to expand health-care insurance coverage to virtually all Americans, if passed by Congress, could boost Perot’s health care-related business.

Electronic Health Records

Tighter budgets for hospitals and a shift to electronic health records also will bolster Perot’s sales, according to Reik Read, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. The U.S. economic stimulus bill included $20 billion to upgrade health-care information technology, Read said in a report.

Dell’s services business will generate annual sales of about $8 billion and the deal will probably boost profit in fiscal 2012, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said yesterday. Hewlett-Packard’s services revenue was $22.4 billion in 2008, and IBM’s was $58.9 billion.

“It doesn’t necessarily make them a contender to IBM and HP,” said Dane Anderson, an analyst at Stamford, Connecticut- based Gartner Inc. “It’s digestible from a size perspective and brings them to a level where they can compete.”

“We’ve had services capability and we’ve been trying to grow that organically,” Paul Prince, chief technology officer for Dell’s enterprise group, said yesterday in an interview. “It’s pretty clear that we felt like customers were looking for a bigger picture, bigger solution at a faster pace than we could have done just by growing it organically.”

Services Strategy

EDS, the world’s second-largest computer-services provider after IBM, helped Hewlett-Packard increase its services revenue 93 percent last quarter as sales at the PC division fell 18 percent. Perot also was the founder of EDS, established in 1962.

“The economy is forcing a lot of companies to rethink their services strategy,” said Alexander Motsenigos, director of global services markets and trends for Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC. The researcher estimates the 2008 global services market at $806 billion. “Whether it’s going to be successful is a different question.”

Perot shares, which jumped 65 percent yesterday, rose 1 cent to $29.57 at 9:34 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Dell, which ranks second to Hewlett-Packard in PC sales, fell 25 cents to $15.76 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Dell already has worked with Perot in the services market for the past two years, the companies said. Once the acquisition is complete, Plano, Texas-based Perot will become Dell’s services unit, headed by Perot’s current CEO, Peter Altabef.

Perot Contracts

Perot manages customers’ computer systems, data centers, software and Web sites through multiyear contracts. The company reported sales of $2.78 billion last year. Second-quarter net income rose 3 percent even as revenue slipped 11 percent.

The company’s revenue was forecast to decline 9 percent this year, according to the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Dell’s revenue will drop 16 percent, analysts project.

Michael Dell, 44, called the purchase a “profound” move. “This isn’t a services acquisition. It’s the right services company for us,” he said yesterday in an audio message to both companies’ employees that was included in a regulatory filing. The deal “illustrates pretty clearly how we’re remaking Dell around a clear vision, on our terms.”

Cost Cutting

Dell, which lost the PC market lead to Hewlett-Packard three years ago, has relied on cost reductions including job cuts to help prop up profit amid the recession. The company, aiming to save $4 billion a year, already has farmed out 40 percent of manufacturing and said it expects to contract out even more. Still, net income dropped 23 percent last quarter.

While Michael Dell has predicted a new version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system for PCs, due next month, should help boost PCs sales, he also said the company doesn’t expect to see a huge uptick in PC upgrades until 2010.

Perot’s Chairman, Ross Perot Jr., may join Dell’s board of directors. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised Perot on the transaction, and Morgan Stanley advised Dell. Perot agreed to pay a termination fee of $130 million to Dell if it breaches the agreement.

Perot is unlikely to get another bid, given that Dell has an established relationship with the company, the offer is all cash and Dell is paying a “significant valuation premium,” Baird’s Read said.

Investors say they aren’t concerned that Dell may have to hold off on other purchases, at least for a while.

“They have enough on their plate,” said Kimberly Caughey, investment analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group Inc. in Pittsburgh, which owns about 230,000 Dell shares. “They need to look at their portfolio and see how they are going to market themselves.”

To contact the reporters on the story: Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net; Katie Hoffmann in New York at khoffmann4@bloomberg.net

UAB Vice President for Student Affairs Douglas Rigney, Ph.D., has been named interim vice president for Information Technology (IT), a position he will assume Sept 25.

Rigney's appointment comes as a result of the departure of outgoing Vice President Sheila Sanders, who is retiring from UAB after more than 25 years.

"Doug was a natural fit to lead IT during this interim period because of his background in engineering, his long institutional memory and understanding of UAB operations, as well as the leadership role he played when we implemented the Banner student information system," said President Carol Garrison. "That was a very complex implementation, executed with strong leadership and organizational skills that will serve IT well moving forward.

"Sheila Sanders will be missed. She is another with a long history at UAB, and she has provided outstanding direction to IT," Garrison said. "We wish her all the best."

Rigney has served as vice president for Student Affairs since 2006. For the immediate future, the division will report directly to Provost Eli Capilouto.

Rigney has a long association with UAB, dating back to the 1970s when he began his undergraduate education, leading to a bachelor of science in engineering. After three years as an engineer with Alabama Power, he returned to UAB and earned a bachelor's degree in materials engineering and master's and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering. He joined the UAB faculty in 1989 as an assistant professor in materials science and engineering, moving up the ranks to professor of biomedical engineering in 2005. Rigney also has been assistant dean for Academic and Student Affairs and associate dean of the School of Engineering.

Active both in the profession and community, Rigney has served in leadership roles in the Academy of Dental Materials, the Society of Biomaterials and the Alabama Electron Microscopy Society, plus the UAB National Alumni Society, Cahaba Heights and the Community Schools Advisory Council.

Posted by Tyler Greer on 9/21/2009 11:00:00 PM

To Address Both Short- and Long-Term IT Talent Challenges, Deloitte Offers Recommendations to Organizations for Improved Talent Strategies and Execution

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- According to new research from Deloitte, IT functional leaders have an increasingly clear understanding of what they must do to effectively support their organizations' business strategies. However, existing IT talent strategies and programs appear to be falling short - leaving IT without the talent necessary to do the job.

Based on a global survey of 306 IT decision-makers and executive business managers, and 15 subsequent one-on-one interviews with select respondents, current IT talent issues are having an impact on IT and business performance. Based on the research, Deloitte identifies two major IT talent gaps: growing talent gap for IT leaders and project managers; and the critical need for improved IT talent strategies and program execution. Additional key findings included:

* The majority of survey respondents (51%) strongly believe talent issues have limited their organization's productivity and efficiency.

* Half of the respondents say the talent shortage is limiting their ability to innovate, which is the strategic core of the benefits that technology can bring to a business.

* Significant numbers of respondents indicate that IT talent issues are having a material impact on other key dimensions of business success -- growth (58%), speed to market (54%), quality (53%) and customer relationships (53%).

* The vast majority of IT organizations surveyed expect to expand their workforces over the next three-to-five years. In fact, nearly half of the respondents (47%) expect to see at least 5% annual growth in the IT workforce over that period -- even as the pool of experienced and qualified IT workers in many countries gets smaller.

"Even in the midst of hiring freezes and layoffs, organizations continue to face talent shortages in critical areas such as IT," said Jeff Schwartz, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "We believe differentiation is key when trying to attract, develop and retain top IT talent. This means organizations will need to revitalize their efforts and focus on areas such as company brand, workforce flexibility, multi-generation workforce strategies, job rotations, virtual management skills, improved on-boarding and accelerated development."

Deloitte offers additional recommendations for organizations to consider as they address current and future IT talent challenges:

* Establish clear roles and responsibilities. CIOs and their management teams need to own and lead the IT talent challenge. However, HR/talent functional leaders and teams have significant opportunities to improve their strategic partnership with IT by improving their capabilities and focusing on services that address the unique talent needs of the IT function.

* Improve workforce analysis and planning capabilities. Leverage internal and external data to provide clearer views of long-term talent trends, both in terms of supply (e.g., demographics, baby boomer retirements -- and longer time to retirement, education, and global labor markets) and demand (e.g., new business requirements and technology advances).

* Refine global sourcing strategies. Explore innovative ways to manage a diverse, global workforce that is increasingly comprised of non-traditional resources, including contractors, outsourcing vendors, retirees and offshore staff.

* Strengthen alignment between IT and business priorities. Rotate people from IT into the business and from the business into IT. In an environment with significant outsourcing and global dispersion of IT workforces, these rotation programs are even more important because building and managing relationships with business units is one of the retained IT team's primary responsibilities.

* Learn how to manage a multi-sourced, global workforce. Without an improved approach to sourcing and managing a global workforce, global sourcing can be more of a hindrance than a help and organizations can end up in challenging situations where sourced employees are performing roles that could be staffed internally and the sourced labor costs are higher than they should be.

* Pay more attention to on-boarding. In particular, companies should focus more effort on on-boarding for contractors and other non-traditional resources. Current processes are generally designed to meet the needs of traditional in-house staff. That, however, is not what the IT workforce looks like any more.

For a full copy of this research report and for the latest information about talent strategies, innovative talent and work solutions, please visit Deloitte's Talent Management website. The Deloitte Review also recently published a detailed article on retaining key talent as the economy improves. The article entitled, "Where did our employees go? Examining the rise in voluntary turnover during economic recoveries," can be found in Issue 5 at www.deloittereview.com.

About the Survey

Deloitte, in collaboration with CIO, conducted a global survey of 306 IT decision-makers and executive business managers at companies with revenues of $500 million or more. Additional insights were obtained through personal interviews with selected respondents.

The U.S. version of the survey was completed among qualified members of the CIO audience. The Canadian, European, and Asia-Pacific versions of the survey were completed among an international panel of IT and business professionals. In addition, Deloitte conducted the survey among select companies in South Africa. The survey was conducted between March 17, 2009 and April 1, 2009.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Services LP, subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--For Dell Inc. (DELL), trying to become a one-stop technology shop comes at a hefty price.

The world's second-largest computer maker paid a steep premium to acquire Perot Systems Corp. (PER), especially when compared to Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (HPQ) similar acquisition of Electronic Data Systems last year. But Dell needed a big move into information-technology services to keep pace with H-P and other rivals as computer profits dwindle. Perot Systems' position in two still-strong markets - health care and government - makes the company a particularly felicitous purchase.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell will pay $3.9 billion, or $30 ...

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of their efforts to improve the effectiveness of both security and clinical workflows in the healthcare delivery process, Sentillion, whose identity and access management (IAM) solutions are the most widely implemented in healthcare, today announced their participation in the “Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics” Healthcare Information Technology Showcase on Thursday, September 24th on Capitol Hill. The Technology Showcase is part of the activities of “National Health IT Week” going on September 21st – 25th in Washington DC.

The all-day event will bring key public and private healthcare constituents representing the full spectrum of healthcare interests together to elevate national attention to the necessity of health IT adoption and to raise awareness among members of Congress of the pivotal role it can play in transforming the nation’s health system.

Sentillion, whose identity and access management solutions are the most widely adopted in healthcare, with over 1,000 hospitals and 400,000 caregivers using its solutions daily, will be demonstrating how organizations including Duke University Medical Center, Sharp HealthCare, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Texas Children’s Hospital, and The Methodist Hospital System are securing electronic health records (EHRs) and protecting patient data while also making it easier and faster for physicians and nurses to use EHRs and access patient information.

“Since our company’s inception, Sentillion has been dedicated to improving the effectiveness of privacy and security measures within a hospital environment through the adoption and utilization of identity and access management technologies,” said Paul Roscoe, president of Sentillion. “With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we believe the nation’s healthcare IT delivery system is about to transform dramatically over the next several years, which is why we have made a commitment to participate in the “Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics” Healthcare Information Technology Showcase and to collaborate with policymakers and government officials in an effort to reach the ultimate goal of creating a secure digital patient healthcare record system.”

The “Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics” is focused on developing legislative priorities and awareness related to telehealth, e-Health and healthcare informatics. Honorary Steering Committee Co-chairs are: Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND); Mike Crapo (R-ID); John Thune (R-SD); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representatives Eric Cantor (R-VA); Rick Boucher (D-VA); Bart Gordon (D-TN); Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA); and David Wu (D-OR). The Steering Committee coordinates many activities with the U.S. House of Representatives’ 21st Century Health Care Caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), and is supported by more than 20 major organizations in the healthcare and health information technology (HIT) communities, including trade associations, government agencies, universities and corporations.

About Sentillion

Since 1998, Sentillion has been revolutionizing healthcare IT with award winning, industry recognized identity and access management technology. Sentillion has successfully combined patented technology with a deep understanding of the healthcare industry to deliver the most comprehensive set of solutions for single sign-on, identity management, clinical workstations and desktop virtualization. Recognized as the number one single sign-on (SSO) vendor in the KLAS Top 20: 2008 Year-End Report, Sentillion is the only identity and access management company whose solutions are used daily by over 400,000 caregivers in leading healthcare organizations across North America and Europe. Sentillion is a privately held company headquartered in Andover, Mass. For more information, visit Sentillion at www.sentillion.com.

A study from the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology has found that most microbloggers are updating their status with "mundane" messages.

Curiously, the Finnish institute chose to examine the also-ran microblogging platform Jaiku. In sifting through 400,000 messages on Jaiku, HIIT found that the most common messages users send out include the words "working," "home," "work," "lunch," and "sleeping."

"Microblogging works because of the total control users have over their postings, but it is a hobby that seems to require a significant investment of time which many cannot afford," the Institute said in a statement.

Jaiku is now a shadow of its former self, some two years after it was acquired by Google. According to the site's About page, it's "maintained by volunteer Google engineers on their spare time," after the Web giant decided at the start of the year that a half-dozen products including Jaiku, Dodgeball, and Google Video weren't contributing to its brand or bottom line. In March, the service was moved to Google's App Engine. The company also open sourced its code base, putting the future of the service "in developer hands."

As valuable as the Institute's finding might be to Jaiku users, Twitter is the dominating force in the microblogging space. The Institute didn't analyze tweets, making the study less applicable to the entire population of microblog users.

That said, earlier this year the Oxford University Press studied 1.5 million tweets to see which words were found most frequently on the popular service. Aside from obvious words like "the," "it," "and," and "to," the organization found that "work", one of the top words on Jaiku, is also a top term on Twitter. It was included in over 26,000 tweets the organization analyzed and was one of the most-used terms on the site. One of the least-used terms Oxford found in its study was "running." It was included in just 3,195 of the 1.5 million tweets it researched.

The study from the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology will be available in an upcoming issue of the Personal and Ubiquitous Computing Journal.

Benefits Include Improved Availability, System Performance and Rapid Software
Deployment
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(Business Wire)--
TMW Systems, the largest developer and integrator of transportation management
software for the trucking industry, today announced the launch of TMW Managed
Services, a new service offering designed to help companies in transportation
services to reduce IT infrastructure investments, ensure scalability and
optimize scarce resources. TMW Managed Services offers enterprise-class
application hosting and systems management to reduce the complexity of software
implementations and project startups, improve application availability,
reliability and scalability, and lower the capital cost of major software
implementations.

As a leading software development and solutions delivery company, TMW Systems
already deploys comprehensive hosting services to fully manage back-end and
customer facing operations for many of its software customers in industries such
as freight transportation, waste and municipal fleets. Today`s announcement
formalizes those services for marketing and sales purposes.

"Transportation service providers are re-examining core competencies and looking
for ways to further reduce information technology costs in already lean
organizations, while maintaining their competitiveness," said Scott Vanselous,
vice president and general manager at TMW. "TMW Managed Services provides
enterprise-class application hosting and management services at an affordable
monthly fee." Vanselous stated that with TMW`s fully managed hosting services,
the total costs are both more visible and more manageable through
clearly-defined service arrangements.

Managed services are ideal for organizations that want to deploy new
applications quickly, without managing the hurdles of hardware procurement,
infrastructure upgrades, or IT staff expansion, all while aligning with
corporate IT department policies. They can also provide business continuity
assurance and co-location capabilities.

"One advantage of working with TMW Managed Services is access to our unmatched
transportation services industry knowledge. Our engineers are highly certified
and experienced and our consulting services can align with corporate IT policies
and growth expectations," Vanselous said. "We offer a very cost-effective
alternative to maintaining mission-critical software applications with in-house
IT resources." he added.

About TMW Systems

TMW Systems, Inc., is committed to delivering customer-driven solutions that
help companies in the transportation services sector seize market opportunities
while improving profitability and gaining a better return on information. TMW
customers include 3PLs and shippers, private and for-hire trucking, brokerage,
construction, ready-mix concrete, municipal fleet, heavy-duty repair and waste
management operations. With offices in Cleveland, Ohio; Durham, North Carolina.;
Indianapolis, Indiana; Dallas, Texas; and Vancouver, British Columbia; TMW
currently serves more than 1,600 customers managing over 325,000 power units and
maintaining more than 1.1 million assets worldwide, including North America,
Europe, China and Latin America. For more information, visit www.tmwsystems.com
or call (800) 401-6682.

Release Summary:

TMW Systems launches TMW Managed Services, a new service offering designed to
help companies in transportation services to reduce IT infrastructure
investments, ensure scalability and optimize scarce resources.

Keyword Tags:

hosting services, it infrastructure, software, technology, tmw managed services,
tmw systems, transportation, trucking



TMW Systems, Inc.
Monica Truelsch, 216-831-6606
mtruelsch@tmwsystems.com

By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
More skilled immigrants are giving up their American dreams to pursue careers back home, raising concerns that the U.S. may lose its competitive edge in science, technology and other fields.

ECONOMY: Driving emigration

"What was a trickle has become a flood," says Duke University's Vivek Wadhwa, who studies reverse immigration.

Wadhwa projects that in the next five years, 100,000 immigrants will go back to India and 100,000 to China, countries that have had rapid economic growth.

"For the first time in American history, we are experiencing the brain drain that other countries experienced," he says.

Suren Dutia, CEO of TiE Global, a worldwide network of professionals who promote entrepreneurship, says the U.S. economy will suffer without these skilled workers. "If the country is going to maintain the kind of economic well-being that we've enjoyed for many years, that requires having these incredibly gifted individuals who have been educated and trained by us," he says.

Wadhwa surveyed 1,203 Indian and Chinese immigrants who had worked or been educated here before returning to their homelands and found the exodus has less to do with the faltering U.S. economy than with other factors:

•Career opportunities. At NIIT, an information technology company based in New Delhi, about 10% of managers in India are returnees, mostly from the U.S., says CEO Vijay Thadani.

Most go into mid- to senior management and make "excellent employees," he says. "They're Indian, so they understand India, and they have lived outside the country."

China's government entices some skilled workers to return with incentives such as financial assistance and housing, says Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. "China needs a lot of well-trained personnel" in fields such as finance and information technology, he says.

•Quality of life and family ties. People return to India to reconnect with their families and culture, Dutia says. "They have a support system there, family and friends."

Purchasing power is greater, he says, which allows returnees to afford more luxuries than they did in the U.S. Dutia describes a complex of "magnificent homes" in Bangalore. In the club room, there were "all these Americans and Europeans and expats on the treadmills with iPhones, watching CNN and BBC," he says. "Things have changed."

•Immigration delays. Multinational companies that belong to the American Council on International Personnel tell Executive Director Lynn Shotwell that skilled immigrants are discouraged by the immigration process, she says. Some can wait up to a decade for permanent residency, she says. "They're frustrated with having an uncertain immigration status," she says. "They're giving up."

It has taken two months longer than he hoped, but Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce has announced the ground rules of the Government's plan to lay ultra-fast broadband fibre-optic cable to 75 per cent of the population. In doing so he has rejected several proposals from private operators, singly or jointly, who believe they could use some of the $1.5 billion on offer to more effectively advance the Government's aims.

Not only has he rejected them but the ground rules now exclude any telecommunications retailer from more than a minority participation in the local fibre companies that will lay the cable, own and operate it. If Telecom wants to be a full partner it will need to sever its retailing business entirely, a step it has long resisted and still seems unlikely to take.

It can maintain its copper network monopoly for the best part of 10 years before the fibre service begins to match it. The next step in the Government's plan is to establish a company, to be called Crown Fibre Holdings, to manage the state's outlay. Its first task will be to select private sector partners in each region to set up the local fibre companies, effectively wholesalers for use of the "dark fibre" by internet service providers and others.

While the prospect of network competition is welcome, economic considerations cannot be ignored. An outlay of $1.5 billion is a significant commitment of public funds and it is intended to entice a similar commitment from the private sector. These are resources that ought to flow to purposes of greatest economic value, which ultra-fast broadband could be but it has not passed the market tests.

Mr Joyce freely admits the Government is making this investment because private companies have decided fibre-to-the-home is not commercially worthwhile at this time. Tellingly, Crown Fibre Holdings cannot be set up as a state-owned enterprise because it will have some non-commercial objectives. Some of the first beneficiaries of ultra-fast broadband to 33 population districts will be schools and health clinics. That is unlikely to boost national productivity.

It might always be hard to measure the returns on this investment; how fast does information need to travel? It is not apparent that anyone is missing export opportunities at present internet speeds. But all comparable countries are planning ultra-fast broadband for fear they might be left behind. To doubt its value sounds dangerously Luddite.

But if the infrastructure is worthwhile, access to it must carry wholesale charges that reflect its full cost. If that causes it to be underused in competition with existing networks, so be it. The country would be better served by the most economical wiring rather than a subsidised luxury that drives economic operations out of business.

The finalised plan announced last week has modified the proposal put out for discussion in March. It provides more flexibility for potential users of the open cable, envisages coverage of more population centres, gives specific design requirements for retail products that will be permitted access and includes more commercial and technical detail.

Now it remains to be seen what sort of partners the Government attracts. It is not making its offer entirely to the private sector. Local government, iwi, trusts, are also eligible. And they can have an interest in more than one local fibre company.

If all goes to plan it could change the shape of telecommunications and other line services that might share the "pipe". At the very least it will end Telecom's dominance and that, for many, would be $1.5 billion well spent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama travels to New York on Monday to promote his strategy to improve the U.S. economy by spending on education and innovation, as he shifts his focus from healthcare reform to a week of diplomacy and international economic issues.

Obama will talk about his strategy, building on more than $100 billion in economic stimulus funds, as well as regulatory and other initiatives, in a speech at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, a city in eastern New York 140 miles north of New York City, the White House said in a statement.

The plan includes developing an advanced information technology system, restoring U.S. leadership in basic research, improving education, development of clean energy, advanced vehicle technology and information technology for use in healthcare, and promotion of U.S. exports, the statement said.

"For this purpose, government has a key role to play. A modern, practical approach recognizes both the need for government to lay the foundations for innovation and the hazards of overzealous government intervention," it said.

The statement echoed Obama's recent calls to broadly develop the U.S. economy, rather than spending on one sector, such as finance or consumer spending.

"Explosive growth in one sector of the economy has provided a short-term boost while masking long-term weaknesses," it said.

Obama has sought in recent weeks to highlight the signs of an improving economy to try to boost his popularity, which has suffered amid a heated debate over his plan to overhaul the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system.

He was traveling to New York City later on Monday day for the start of his biggest week on the world stage.

The nuclear dispute with Iran and the Afghan war will be among the top issues as Obama begins three days of U.N. meetings on Tuesday. He will lay out his foreign policy vision in his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.

In the shadow of a financial meltdown that triggered fears of another Great Depression, Obama will host a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 world's biggest economies on Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Chris Wilson)

Canadian courts and government have approved the dismantling of one of Canada's last technology champions, underscoring fears that the country is falling behind in high-tech.

Canadian and U.S. courts last week cleared the sale of Nortel Networks Corp.'s giant business-phone unit to U.S. telecom-equipment maker Avaya Inc.

Meanwhile, Canada's industry minister said the government wouldn't challenge the sale of Nortel's other big unit, with its wireless operations, to Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., based in Waterloo, Ontario, had demanded the Canadian government block that sale on the grounds that it would harm national security.

SHANGHAI, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Dragon Capital Group Corp (Pink Sheets: DRGV), a leading holding company of emerging high-tech companies in China, announced today that Toro Research is initiating coverage of Dragon Capital Group Corp. (Pink Sheets: DRGV) with a speculative "Buy" recommendation and a performance rating of 8, on a scale of 10.

According to the report, our recommendation is based primarily on the company's revenue performance for the first half of 2009 as it relates to current market trends in the Asian region, as well as the company's historical performance and additional outside factors such as recovering Chinese economy and expanding growth in the country's Information Technology and Telecommunications sectors. For more details, please visit http://www.dragoncapital.us. The following is an abstract for the research report.

Comparative Market Trends:

Dragon Capital Group reported (unaudited) revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009 was $15.0 million, a 27% increase over the $11.8 million recorded in the second quarter of 2008. The company's revenue stream are currently derived from electronics hardware distribution and network integration. The 27% increase during the second quarter, as well as 20% for the first six months of 2009, seems to be defying current market trends in the region, from even some of largest players in the Information Technology industry.

Hewlett Packard, the world's largest technology company, with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, reported in July that Second Quarter revenue declined 10% in Asia-Pacific. When adjusted for the effects of currency the decline was 5%. IBM reported Second Quarter Asia-Pacific revenues decreased 7 percent (5 percent, adjusting for currency) and Dell said Asian revenue was down sharply during the second quarter, falling 21 percent compared to last year.

However, it is important to note that many of these large Information Technology companies operating in the region are seeing improvements in 2009. On August 28th, 2009, Dell, said it hopes to see revenue grow on an annual basis from 2010, driven by increasing demand from China and India. "China appears to be emerging fastest out of the financial crisis," Steve Felice, Dell's president for small and medium business, told reporters on a conference call.

Industry Overview: Technology and China's Ascent

Over the past 30 years, China has been the fastest growing nation in the world, achieving year-after-year, an average annual GDP growth rate of around 9% to 10%. And even in the face of one of the deepest global recessions since World War II, China's economy continues to show resilience as the country's recovery continues to gather steam. In July 2009, China reported that Gross-Domestic-Product growth reached 7.9% in the second quarter, just below the 8.1% goal the government set for growth in 2009, and well above the 6.1% seen in the first quarter.

This steadfast growth and economic development, together with a population of well over 1.3 billion people, has placed China as one of the fastest growing telecommunications and information technology markets in the world. And the availability for growth in these sectors seems limitless.

Take for example the Chinese Mobile Telecommunications Industry, one of the largest in the world. In April 2009, statistics from the country's carriers showed that China had almost 648 million mobile users after adding 26.7 million subscribers in the first quarter. However, Third Generation (3G) wireless technology is just now beginning to take hold, as the government, aimed at restructuring the domestic telecom industry, awarded 3G licenses to the top three carriers in January 2009. The move has since then spurred a wave of new investments, and aggressive development and deployment of telecommunication infrastructure throughout the country.

Conclusion:

As Dragon Capital Group continues to focus on the development of its subsidiaries, and capitalize on their individual innovative technological offerings, the company seems to be working towards taking a commanding position in China's high-tech sector in 2009 and beyond. The company's established operating history and proven track record of success has been evident, especially 2009, as it continues to post increases in sales at time when most others are reporting significant declines throughout the region. And finally as China continues to lead the way in economic recovery, and sign of improvements continue to materialize, we believe that Dragon Capital should be able to capitalize on the tremendous growth potential of the economic rebound.

However, it is important to note that, while the upside potential certainly exist for (OTC: DRGV), the company does face general business and operating risks, such as the competitive nature of the Information Technology and Electronics industry, a continued downturn or stagnation in the economic environment of China, changes in the political and economic policies and reforms of the Chinese government, as well as the fact that most of Dragon Capital's subsidiaries and assets are based in China, outside the jurisdiction of any legal system of the US. Investors are urged to be cautious and perform their own due diligence before making any investment in Dragon Capital Group (OTC: DRGV)

About Dragon Capital Group Corp.

Dragon Capital Group Corp (Pink Sheets: DRGV) is doing business in China through its subsidiaries. Dragon was established to serve as a conduit between Chinese high-growth companies and Western investors. DRGV functions as an incubator of high-tech companies in China, offering support in the critical functions of general business consulting, formation of joint ventures, access to capital, merger acquisition, business valuation, and revenue growth strategies. DRGV has developed a portfolio of high-tech companies operating in China. For more information about DRGV, please visit http://www.dragoncapital.us

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements set forth in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the word expressions of similar meaning. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results and financial position to differ materially from those included within the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Company's ability to grow its business. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Sep 21, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- PASO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Patient Access Solutions, Inc. (Pink Sheets:PASO), a leading provider of healthcare/financial processing solutions for the healthcare, homecare, nursing LTNC and dental industries, today announced that the Company has started working and marketing to sell D-PAS digital pen products to various government and military agencies. The Company has introduced the D-PAS digital pen technology to the Veterans Health Administration for use in its Point of Care pilot program at selected VA hospitals. Additionally, there has been introduction to the U.S. Military Health System and the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force.

Working with Brigadier General Uri (Tony) French, U.S. Army (Retired), PAS is drawing on established relationships and continuously building new ones among buyers and senior personnel of the military and the government.

State and local governments, using money provided under the economic stimulus law, will increase spending on health care information technology over the next few years, according to a report from the market research firm Input. The state and local market for the technology is expected to grow to $9.6 billion by 2014, from $7.6 billion in 2009, a compound growth rate of 4.6 percent, the report states.

State and local agencies also are investing in electronic health records systems, which are a primary component of health IT. Their spending on such systems is projected to expand from $850 million this year to $1.85 billion in 2014, according to Input's "Health IT Transformation: FY2009-FY2014 State and Local Market Forecast," which was released Aug. 26.

"Working with General French provides PAS with an important opportunity to tap into two huge markets, the government and the military. We believe that our products could be quite useful for active duty personnel as well as veterans, both in the healthcare and non-healthcare environments," stated Bruce Weitzberg, CEO and President of Patient Access Solutions. "The goal of PAS is to capture a percentage of this spending by leveraging the technology they currently offer, with integration into currently used products."

About Patient Access Solutions Inc.(www.pashealth.com)

Patient Access Solutions Inc. (PASHealth) is a Healthcare Solutions company which has created a formidable array of technology, resources and allies to enable it to become an agent of radical change in what has traditionally been a slowly evolving healthcare environment. For more information about the services and products of Patient Access Solutions, please visit our website at www.pashealth.com.

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the companies, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among other things, the following: general economic and business conditions; competition; unexpected changes in technologies and technological advances; ability to commercialize and manufacture products; results of experimental studies; research and development activities; changes in, or failure to comply with, governmental regulations; and the ability to obtain adequate financing in the future. This information is qualified in its entirety by cautionary statements and risk factors disclosure contained in certain of Patient Access Solutions Inc. Securities and Exchange Commission filings available at http://www.sec.gov.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

A key ingredient to health care reform is becoming reality with little fanfare and a lot of federal stimulus money.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources estimates that $48.8 billion in recovery funds will be spent on health care information technology.

Those dollars include grants to deploy regional health information networks, money to providers so they might tie into them, as well as funds to ensure — in the bureaucracy’s words — that meaningful use is made of the data.

Physicians are in line for stimulus money, too — $44,000 each to reimburse them for turning their patients’ paper charts into electronic medical records. Prescribing drugs electronically will net them a bonus. Tying into a network that other providers, and ultimately the patient, can access may net them more.

Those are the carrots.

The stick for providers who don’t make the leap is reductions in payment for treatments under the government’s Medicare insurance program for senior citizens.

The new urgency follows by five years the announcement of an ambitious plan to create the East Tennessee Health Information Network to allow hospital systems and ultimately other health care providers to share information through a centralized data bank, thereby improving patient care, increasing efficiency and cutting costs.

Knoxville’s hospital systems put $480,000 into the project, and its first effort was to enable images to be electronically exchanged between hospitals.

And then the project stalled.

Attempts to secure venture capital dried up when talk of health care reform started and questions were left unanswered about how to sustain such networks.

Leaders of that effort are now working with a new nonprofit organization created by the state, the Health Information Partnership for Tennessee, to secure funding to get the network working on a broader scale.

Creating the local network will cost $2.5 million to $3 million, and another $3 million over the next three years. Annual operating costs are estimated at between $300,000 to $400,000, said Mike Ward, chief information officer of Covenant Health and board member of the regional network, since redubbed the Innovation Valley Health Information Network.

East Tennessee’s budget request is being forwarded to the state, which “will roll up its request to the federal level by the end of September, and we are hoping we might get stimulus money by the end of the year, although it could be middle of next year before the money is released,” Ward said.

Employers are going to be asked to chip in, too, having been identified as beneficiaries of such a system and the likely sources for the matching dollars needed to garner government grants to get the network up and running.

“We are laying a plan to approach the employer community,” Ward said. “We expect to have to come up with $750,000 to $800,000 to get in the game.”


Who benefits, who pays?

What stalled the network initially were the unanswered questions: Who benefits? Who should pay?

Measuring how much the initiative would reduce costs — particularly savings to those contributing to its upkeep — proved to be a stumbling point.

They’re still tough questions.

“That’s always been the elusive problem — Who should pay for this paradigm shift? There’s a lot of theories, but not a lot of people want to fund theories,” said Dennis Corley, chief executive officer of Digital Crossing, the data center in downtown Knoxville that was chosen to house the initial network.

There’s no question that the effort improves patient care — and that in turn may save individuals money in the short term and society money in the long term — but no one expects donors to see a quick, measurable return on their investment.

The hope is that what’s learned by studying the data — the meaningful use — will ultimately yield savings. Electronic records that can be easily shared among providers — and accessed by patients themselves — will produce less testing, better management of drug use and less duplication of care, proponents argue.

“There is so much variation in the community that no one individual or institution can see the benefit, but after we have been at meaningful use for two or three years, we’ll see it’s great to have this connectivity,” Ward said.

Employers, particularly, will have better access to data on whether employees are managing their health and the ability to develop appropriate rewards and punishments based on that behavior. Many employers are already adjusting employees’ insurance premiums, for example, for participating in medical screenings and signing up with third-party consultants to discuss the results.

“Smokers are going to have to pay more because they are costing everyone more … but we have to get to the data exchange first, improved outcomes second, and what I am talking about is five to seven years away where we can look at preventive maintenance and health management,” Ward said.

“If there’s no money, there’s no mission. We will have to get to the point that we’re saving dollars and improving the quality of care.”

Tom Tarver, president of LBMC’s eHealth Solutions, doesn’t expect electronic medical records to save physicians money or allow them to see significantly more patients each day. But the technology should improve patient care.

“There’s a lot of qualitative reasons for doing it,” he says. “It’s kind of like religion — you just have to have faith.”

Mark Field, a vice president of the Knoxville Chamber and former insurance company executive, has been involved with the local network since its inception.

He says there’s an economic development component to the effort — being able to tout Knoxville as a community that’s addressing health care costs and quality “could be another feather in our cap” as the region competes for new jobs.


Rocky road to travel

Regardless of the benefits or savings, migrating data from paper to the computer is a boon to information technology companies, as well as consultants in an array of fields.

“We are being extremely proactive because health care is a large piece of our business in each of our companies,” said Stacy Schuettler, president of LBMC Technologies, whose sister companies focus on a range of financial services and human resources.

The promise of stimulus money is trickling down from health care providers to companies providing computer hardware and software, training, data analysis, work flow advice and what it means to garner “meaningful use” from the technology so they can be assured of a federal reimbursement for their investment.

“It’s really a paradigm shift on so many different levels, and it’s being thrown at them like you drink water through a fire hydrant,” said.

Unlike other sectors — distribution, manufacturing and retail — health care has been a slow adopter of technology, except for clinical use.

And the required capital investment comes at a time when hospitals and physicians are feeling the pinch of a recession, with an increasing number of patients unable to pay medical bills and even more postponing treatments they view as elective.

Schuettler said her company is pitching shared-service software, an increasingly popular business solution that doesn’t require the purchase of expensive servers — just an Internet portal.

Ron Jenkins, chief operating officer of Saratoga Technologies, said his firm is looking at offering a lease package to physicians wary of making a huge investment.

“We offer the solution and the hardware and are partnering with a company that does the EMR software and the training,” he says. “We will do the ongoing support.”

He worries, however, that many physicians are moving too slowly.

“This product has to be in use and fully operational or they won’t get their money,” Jenkins said. “If we don’t start installing some of these now, you won’t have enough trainers to train people.”


Maryville group ahead of the innovation curve

East Tennessee Medical Group, a Maryville-based multi-specialty organization with 45 health care providers, began converting charts to electronic medical records three years ago.

“The majority of our physicians are on electronic medical records, but some of them are in different stages,” said Ron German, the physician group’s CEO. “We just don’t have the IT staff to implement this all at one time.”

German extolls the virtues of the system — not having to file paper charts, not having them misplaced — and says patients see the benefit as X-rays and other diagnostic tests that can easily be accessed, with no wait, to primary-care physicians and specialists within the group. If drugs or medical devices have been recalled, it’s much easier to identify patients who may be using them. Monitoring when patients need to return for laboratory work or other procedures is also simplified.

The practice has begun using the data, as well, to study treatments and outcomes for diabetic patients and those with heart disease.

He estimates the group has spent about $30,000 per physician.

The group, however, will have to chuck its software because it’s neither certified under the new standards nor does it offer the means to prescribe drugs electronically.

As a larger group by East Tennessee standards, East Tennessee Medical Group is still farther down the road than many of its peers.

Dr. Mark Browne, a physician and principal with the consulting firm Pershing, Yoakley and Associates, said some of the reticence among providers is that converting paper charts to electronic records represents more than simply typing them into a computer.

“Frequently it takes a period of time to work out all the kinks,” Browne says. “And in the meantime there’s a combination of a decrease in volume and increased length in accounts receivable that has a significant impact on the practice’s cash flow.”

Browne and Tarver both use automobile analogies to describe the shift.

Tarver says the ramp-up is much like the creation of the interstate system — it was expensive, messy and inconvenient during construction, but the results were worth it.

Browne compares the change to seat belt use — if seat belts were only mandated for Buicks, for example, the impact would be negligible. But mandating seat belts in every vehicle, and that drivers and passengers use them, has a significant impact.

Amy Nolan is editor of the Greater Knoxville Business Journal.

University of Missouri Health Care is now negotiating with the Kansas City-based Cerner Corp., administrators have confirmed.

However, it does not appear an agreement with the company has been reached, according to a statement that Harold Williamson, vice chancellor for health sciences, and James Ross, CEO of MU Health, released to the Tribune late Friday.

MU Health information technology workers have been worried for months that their jobs could be outsourced to Cerner, considered one of the leading health information technology providers.

Several employees have said supervisors told them different Cerner-related stories, but mostly workers have been kept in the dark.

Williamson and Ross said employees would be notified “promptly” if a Cerner agreement is made.

“We have a talented information technology workforce at the health system with unique skills that are critical to the success of future initiatives we may undertake with Cerner,” they wrote. “The retention of our talented workforce is one of the principal points of our discussions, and we are committed to providing a favorable employment opportunity for each employee.”

MU Health IT workers saw Williamson’s and Ross’ statement Friday but weren’t reassured. Talk of favorable employment opportunities “pretty much confirms to us that we are gone,” one health system IT worker said, asking to remain unidentified.

Some staff members also were surprised that UM System President Gary Forsee’s name wasn’t mentioned in the statement. He is thought to have initiated the negotiations.

Forsee has several business and personal ties to the company. He previously served as CEO of Sprint, which works closely with Cerner. Forsee and Cerner CEO Neal Patterson serve together on at least two boards of trustees, and online records indicate Forsee’s son-in-law, Brandon Bell, works for Cerner.

The university has a longstanding relationship with Cerner. The company provides hardware products for the hospital and has an educational partnership with the MU School of Medicine.

Current discussions would “result in a significant investment in our health information technology and identify ways that we can collaborate on a range of new initiatives,” Williamson and Ross wrote. “If an agreement is reached, it will accelerate the integration of a comprehensive, cutting-edge electronic health record across our entire health system.”

* Complementary Strengths Enhance Dell`s IT Services Portfolio, Perot Systems`
Global Reach
* Companies Together Represent $8 Billion in Services Revenue
* Acquisition Expected to Be Accretive to GAAP Earnings in Fiscal 2012

ROUND ROCK, Texas & PLANO, Texas--(Business Wire)--
Dell and Perot Systems have entered a definitive agreement for Dell to acquire
Perot Systems in a transaction valued at approximately $3.9 billion. Terms of
the agreement were approved yesterday by the boards of directors of both
companies.

The acquisition will result in a compelling combination of two iconic
information-technology brands. The expanded Dell will be even better positioned
for immediate and long-term growth and efficiency driven by:

* Providing a broader range of IT services and solutions and optimizing how
they`re delivered;
* Extending the reach of Perot Systems` capabilities, including in the most
dynamic customer segments, around the world; and,
* Supplying leading Dell computer systems to even more Perot Systems customers.

Complementary Capabilities

Dell and Perot Systems share several key characteristics and our products,
services and structures are overwhelmingly complementary. They have similarly
strong, relationship-based business cultures. People in both organizations are
recognized for helping customers thrive by using IT for greater effectiveness
and productivity. The combination also provides some compelling opportunities
for improved efficiency, which will benefit our customers even further.

Dell`s global commercial customer base spans large corporations, government
agencies, health-care providers, educational institutions, and small and medium
enterprises (SME). The company`s large existing services business includes
breakthroughs in the concept and delivery of modular services, as well as
expertise in infrastructure consulting and software-as-a-service. Dell is a
leader in computer systems, including standards-based network servers, and in
the fast-growing segment of data-storage hardware.

Perot Systems provides world-class services, including in applications,
technology, infrastructure, business processes and consulting. The company is a
leading provider to clients in health-care, government and other commercial
segments, from SMEs to the largest global institutions. Perot Systems has a
large and growing base of customers and service-delivery capabilities in North
America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia.

Over the past four quarters Dell and Perot Systems had a combined $16 billion in
enterprise-hardware and IT-services revenue, with about $8 billion from enhanced
services and support.

Tender Offer, Closing and Initial Integration

Under the terms of the agreement, Dell will commence a tender offer to acquire
all of the outstanding Class A common stock of Perot Systems for $30 per share
in cash. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. The
transaction, which is subject to customary government approvals and the
satisfaction of other customary conditions, is expected to close in Dell`s
November-January fiscal quarter.

Once the acquisition is complete, Perot Systems will become Dell`s services unit
and be led from Plano by Peter Altabef, the current Perot Systems chief
executive officer. At the same time, Dell directors are expected to consider
Ross Perot Jr., Perot Systems` chairman of the board, for appointment to the
Dell board. Based on current estimates, the transaction is expected to be
accretive to Dell`s GAAP earnings in its fiscal 2012.

To hear a related analysts call with Dell and Perot Systems executives ("live"
at 8:30 A.M. EDT today, then later via replay), go to www.dell.com/investor.

Quotes:

Michael Dell, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Dell: "We
consider Perot Systems to be a premium asset with great people that enhances our
opportunities for immediate and long-term growth. This significantly expands
Dell`s enterprise-solutions capabilities and makes Perot Systems` strengths
available to even more customers around the world. There will be efficiencies
from combining the companies, but the acquisition makes such great sense because
of the obvious ways our businesses complement each other."

Ross Perot Jr., Chairman of the Board, Perot Systems: "This transaction
represents a great opportunity for our company and our associates. Today`s
announcement is the next step in formalizing a relationship that has flourished
for some time. When my father founded Perot Systems he envisioned a global
information-technology leader. The new, larger Dell builds on that promise and
its own successes by taking Perot Systems` expertise to more customers than
ever."

About DELL

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology
and services they need and value. For more information, visit www.dell.com.
Investors wishing to communicate directly with Dell may go to
www.dell.com/dellshares.

About Perot Systems

Perot Systems Corporation (NYSE: PER) is a worldwide provider of information
technology services and business solutions. Through its flexible and
collaborative approach, Perot Systems integrates expertise from across the
company to deliver custom solutions that enable clients to accelerate growth,
streamline operations and create new levels of customer value. Headquartered in
Plano, Texas, Perot Systems reported 2008 revenue of $2.8 billion. The company
has more than 23,000 associates located in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and
Asia Pacific. Additional information on Perot Systems is available at
www.perotsystems.com.

Special Note:

The planned tender offer described in this release has not yet commenced.The
description contained in this release is not an offer to buy or the solicitation
of an offer to sell securities. At the time the planned tender offer is
commenced,Dell will file a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and Perot Systems will file a
solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the
planned tender offer. The tender offer statement (including an offer to
purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other tender offer documents) and
the solicitation/recommendation statement will contain important information
that should be read carefully before making any decision to tender securities in
the planned tender offer. Those materials will be made available to Perot
System`s stockholders at no expense to them.In addition, all of those materials
(and all other tender offer documents filed with the SEC) will be made available
at no charge on the SEC's website: www.sec.gov.

Statements in this release that relate to future results and events are
forward-looking statements based on Dell's and Perot Systems` current
expectations, respectively. Actual results and events in future periods may
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements because of a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be
deemed forward-looking statements, including the expected benefits and costs of
the transaction; management plans relating to the transaction; the expected
timing of the completion of the transaction; the ability to complete the
transaction; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of
management for future operations, including the execution of integration plans;
any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions
underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include
the possibility that expected benefits may not materialize as expected; that the
transaction may not be timely completed, if at all; that, prior to the
completion of the transaction, Perot Systems` business may experience
disruptions due to transaction-related uncertainty or other factors making it
more difficult to maintain relationships with employees, licensees, other
business partners or governmental entities; that the parties are unable to
successfully implement integration strategies; and other risks that are
described in Dell`s and Perot Systems` Securities and Exchange Commission
reports, including but not limited to the risks described in Dell`s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended January 30, 2009 and Perot
Systems` Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.
Dell and Perot Systems assume no obligation and do not intend to update these
forward-looking statements.

DELL is a trademark of DELL Inc.

Perot Systems is a trademark of Perot Systems Corp.

Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.



Dell
Media Relations:
David Frink, 512-728-2678
david_frink@dell.com
or
Jess Blackburn, 512-728-8295
jess_blackburn@dell.com
or
Investor Relations:
Robert Williams, 512-728-7570
robert_williams@dell.com
or
Shep Dunlap, 512-723-0341
shep_dunlap@dell.com
or
Perot Systems
Media Relations:
Marvin Singleton, 972-577-5881
marvin.singleton@ps.net
or
Investor Relations:
John Lyon, 972-577-6132
john.lyon@ps.net

AbilITy Connection Award Night recognizes achievements of information technology students and graduates with disabilities



Five individuals, including college students and graduates with disabilities who are pursing careers in information technology, will receive AbilITy Connection financial assistance awards during a program from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Briggs & Stratton Corporation, 12301 W. Wirth St., Wauwatosa. The students and graduates’ mentors also will be recognized for their support.



The AbilITy Connection financial assistance awards support individuals with disabilities who are working toward or who have completed information technology degrees. The awards are offered to help overcome obstacles to continued education and the search for employment.



The individuals receiving awards are:



- John Blimke, who attends Waukesha County Technical College and lives in Waukesha, Wis.



- Noelle Romashko, who holds an associate’s degree in Computer Programming from Milwaukee Area Technical College and lives in Waukesha, Wis.



- Andrew Stasey, who holds associate’s degrees in Computer Information Technology (Network Specialist and Microcomputer Specialist) from Waukesha County Technical College and lives in Waukesha, Wis.



- Larry Taylor, who holds an associate’s degree in Computer Electronics from Milwaukee Area Technical College, is working on an additional IT Programmer/Analyst associate’s degree and who lives in Milwaukee.



- Chuck Tripi, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Milwaukee Area Technical College and who lives in Brookfield, Wis.



AbilITy Connection, a program of Goodwill Industries, is designed to keep pace with the ever-changing and challenging field of information technology. The program offers mentoring, internships, financial assistance awards and job placement services to students and recent graduates with disabilities who are interested in pursuing information technology careers. Through dedicated professionals who serve as mentors, individuals receive the guidance, experience and insight to prepare them for future employment. Upon graduation from a college or technical school, the program’s Business Advisory Council members assist students in finding internships and full- and part-time employment.

Addis Ababa (September 21, 2009) – Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) and the Chinese Telecom Corporation, ZTE, recently signed a 10 million dollar agreement to construct part of the technological infrastructure of the long awaited Information Technology (IT) Park of the federal government.

The Ministry of Capacity Building first planned to build the IT-Park project, which is to be located behind Bole International Airport, some six years ago in collaboration with donors. However, the ministry had to distribute different phases of the project to various stockholders owing to donors’ failure to finance this huge project.

ETC was chosen to manage part of the project, which led the state-owned telecom provider to negotiate with ZTE so the latter can include the project in the 1.5 billion vendor financing program signed in 2006.

“This principal contract needs to be in place and signed at this moment in order to make sure that the IT-Park project are taken in to consideration within the vendor financing program,” reads the agreement signed by the two parties.

Detailed site surveys should be made to determine the exact price of the IP-Park infrastructure project. The two sides have agreed that a sum of 10 million dollar should be set aside from the remaining balance of the vendor financing projects until the survey is completed.
Currently, the partners are negotiating to verify which projects can be cancelled out of the remaining vendor financing projects that will cause minimum harm to the client and contractor. ETC and ZTE are expected to sign this agreement in October to commence the IT project. According to their agreement, ZTE is expected to build the Internet Protocol (IP) framework and will supply equipment such as routers and switchers. Building National Operating Center (NOC) which will be used to manage, maintain and operate the IT Park is also a job for ZTE, which is further expected to supply an internet protocol phone service with an integrated access device.

When the IT Park is completed it will give an opportunity for businesses willing to engage in IT manufacturing and the IT service industry to work in the same compound.

New Recognition Honors IT Executives for Influence, Innovation and Ability to
Collaborate with Integrators and Vendors

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Everything Channel, a
division of United Business Media, today announced the CIO 50 West winners, a
new recognition that honors IT executives for their influence, innovation and
ability to collaborate with integrators and vendors. The awards were
presented at Everything Channel's Midsize Enterprise Summit West 2009, which
took place at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, CA.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090921/NY78146LOGO )

The CIO 50 West winners include:
1. Mohinder Chopra, SVP & CIO, OSI Systems
2. David Hudson, VP IT, Keenan & Associates
3. Tracy Cleeton, Director of IT, Saga Communications
4. Keenan Lersch, Technology Manager, American Railcar Industries
5. Thomas Smith, CTO, PSRS/PEERS of Missouri
6. Brad Cackler, IT Director, Micro Power Electronics
7. Dave McDowell, Director of IT, West Liberty Foods
8. Greg McLean, Director of Technical Services, Green Bay Packaging
9. Christopher Holda, Director, IT, Integrated Health Associates
10. Randy Nye, IT Manager, Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Inc.
11. Rita Lazar-Tippe, IS Manager, Edmonton Journal
12. Michael Gauthier, CIO, IMTT
13. Michelle George, First VP - Application Development, Securities
America
14. Nathan Church, VP & IT Manager, Columbia River Bank
15. Dave Ploch, CIO/Director, IT, Novus International
16. Greg Katers, Director of IT, Green Bay Packaging
17. David Chin, Director of IT, Stanford Hotels Corporation
18. David Price, IT Director, Resource Management, Inc.
19. Michael Brown, VP of IS, Peter Piper Pizza
20. Neil Stewart, Director Technical Operations, QuikTrip Corp
21. Dirk Anderson, VP Technology, C R England
22. Paul Dupree, CIO, Assistant VP of I.S., Asbury College
23. Bruce Hagen, VP Corporate IS, Bemis Manufacturing Co
24. Robert Bence, VP, Technology, Southwest Credit Systems
25. Larry Freed, Vice President & CIO, Atrium Companies, Inc.
26. Seth Hansen, VP - IT, Daktronics, Inc
27. David Cresswell, Director, IT Planning & Strategy, British Columbia
Institute of Technology
28. Lawrence Frederick, CIO, University of the Pacific
29. Raman Krishnaswami, Director, IT, Healthcare Benefit Trust
30. John DeLuca, Director of Information Technology, Hydranautics
31. Craig Crosby, Director, Information Services, Procopio, Cory,
Hargreaves
& Savitch LLP
32. Adam Farkas, VP IT, Crown Media
33. Leonardo Imana, Director of Technology, Adelman Travel Group
34. Sergey Bushlyar, CIO, IT Director, Paul Capital Partners
35. Neil Ferguson, Technology Director, Orrick, Herrington, & Sutclife
LLP
36. Peter Mills, Executive Director, Information Technology, Canadian
Tourism Commission
37. David Cropper, CIO, Mamiye Brothers
38. Susan Faulkner, Director, Information Systems and Technology, Bluewave
Energy
39. Eric Vlam, Director of Information Systems, Equipment Depot
40. Michael Gibbons, Director, Northeastern State University
41. Aaron Bukhari, CIO & CSO, SNC Lavalin Nuclear Inc.
42. Chris Daly, Director, Infrastructure & Application Support,
Corporation Service Company
43. Niel Nickolaisen, CIO, Headwaters, Inc.
44. Lawrence Frederick, CIO, University of the Pacific
45. Carl Gammon, Director, Information Systems, Minntech Corporation
46. James Fielder, Vice President Information Technology, Farm Credit
Services of Illinois
47. Matthew Sharp, Director of I.T., David and Lucile Packard Foundation
48. Brian Mackay, Associate VP and CIO, Thompson Rivers University
49. Nick Barakat, IT Manager, Clean Energy Fuels Corp

50. Gary Allen, Chief Technology Officer, Amarillo Independent School
District


The professionals comprising the CIO 50 West were chosen for their leadership
in utilizing technology to help increase corporate efficiencies, drive revenue
and achieve other key business goals within their midsize company or
organization. In particular, Everything Channel looked for executives with IT
decision-making ability and strong partnerships with integrators and
consultants. The size of the IT budget and the progress of ongoing IT projects
were also considered. Based on these criteria, Everything Channel's editorial
and content team identified today's leading customers.

"We are pleased to honor these IT executives for their influence, innovation
and ability to collaborate with integrators and vendors," said, Robert C.
DeMarzo, senior vice president and editorial director for Everything Channel
editorial. "Congratulations to the CIO 50 West winners on this well-deserved
achievement."

The Midsize Enterprise Summit brought senior IT Executives from midsize
businesses together with industry analysts and leading and emerging vendors.
The focus -- enabling strategic IT Decision-Making -- embraced
midmarket-specific issues, trends and solutions from a horizontal and vertical
industry-specific perspective. The business-intensive format included
analyst-led sessions, vendor-led world premiere and private boardroom
appointments, a showcase of exhibits, and networking functions.

About Everything Channel (www.everythingchannel.com, www.channelweb.com)
Everything Channel is the one-stop shop for managing and accelerating
technology sales. From branding and recruiting to marketing and sales,
Everything Channel offers technology marketers the unmatched breadth and depth
of global brands and market intelligence combined with unparalleled audience
loyalty and credibility serving all technology sales channels through an
extensive database. Everything Channel provides innovative field sales and
marketing solutions to arm the sellers of technology with the resources they
need to achieve measurable and significant results.

About United Business Media Limited (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com)
UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information
distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization
of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve
professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from
journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated
events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in
more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these
communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business
and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.