MaSSSoftech

Arizona has formed a state committee designed to target federal broadband stimulus dollars and spread the technology into rural areas.

The Arizona Broadband Advisory Committee will feature representatives from 10 state agencies as it looks for ways to capture some of the $1.6 billion that will be available initially for broadband grants.

The Arizona Government Information Technology Agency will support the committee. GITA’s director, Chad Kirkpatrick, will serve as committee chairman.

The advisory committee will prioritize federal broadband grant applications and make recommendations to the governor as to which of those projects would best deliver broadband services to unserved and underserved areas in Arizona, Kirkpatrick said.

The group will work on grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The state agencies participating include the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and the state departments of Administration, Commerce, Education, Health Services, Homeland Security, Public Safety, Transportation and Land.

VANCOUVER — Curtailed spending by customers due to the global recession sent Epic Data International Inc.'s (TSXV:EKD) revenues down 59 per cent, trimming its third-quarter profits.

The manufacturing and data collection systems software and technology provider said net income for the quarter ended June 30 fell to $113,000 or a penny a share. That compared with year-earlier profits of $452,000 or four cents a share.

The Vancouver company said Friday that revenues plunged close to 60 per cent to $1.4 million versus $3.4 million in the year-ago period.

"Each of hardware, software and professional services revenue was down significantly compared to the same period in 2008, in part as customers curtailed spending in light of the global economic downturn," the company stated in a release.
A single project with a major U.S. defence contractor also accounted for higher revenues in the year-ago period, it added.

"We continue to see our customers in North America and Europe delay capital expenditure programs in light of the current economic conditions," said president and chief executive Robert Nygren.

He said that the company will continue to focus on sales and marketing initiatives as well as product development to deliver long-term success.

Shares of the Epic Data last traded Thursday at eight cents on the TSX Venture market.

THIBODAUX — Business students at Nicholls State University have new options for high-tech classes this year because of a partnership with IBM.
Working with the International Technology Corp., Business College administrators and faculty revamped computer-information-systems curriculum to offer new courses that better prepare students for jobs after graduation.

"Just the three letters IBM are exciting," said Bryan Samaha, a senior majoring in computer-information-systems and president of the information-systems student organization. "This will help students in the long run."

By teaming with professionals at IBM, many of whom are veterans in business technology, school administrators were able to reshape the department. Computer-information-systems classes will now include skills that students might not have learned until they were in the workforce.

Neset Hikmet, an information-systems professor involved with the changes, said students will be able to choose courses to fit their intended careers.

The new classes began this fall, and Hikmet said they have already received a great deal of interest, even drawing students to Nicholls from other schools.

Hikmet said computer-information-systems classes teach students how to make computer systems work for businesses. The program includes classes in a wide range of business-related fields: accounting, economics, marketing and computer systems.

Samaha said the field is perfect for students who love technology but don't want to sit behind a computer all day.

The new classes will be offered to students across all levels, including undergraduate and MBA students.

Also at Thursday's meeting were representatives from area businesses looking to capitalize on a local source of technology-savvy business graduates. Organizations represented included Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, Assumption Parish School Board and the Baton Rouge branch of Exxon Mobil.

"Here's a whole area of job opportunities in information technology that are real, very much alive," said Sherry Welch, an IBM representative.

Welch also said there will be a strong emphasis on internships and other job experience that will benefit both students and businesses.

"They become our new key employees," she said.

For information about the program or new classes, call 448-4176 or go to www.nicholls.edu/cis/.

HANOI, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The fourth World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR 2009) ended here on Friday, calling for great cooperation among countries in information technology development, Vietnam News Agency reported.

At the forum, delegates agreed that the development of information technology plays an important role in boosting the growth of the economy. It is the "infrastructure of the infrastructure" of each country's economy and the global economy.

Information technology has a deep impact on different aspects of the social life, and helps to bridge the gap among developed and developing countries, and between urban and rural areas, said the delegates.

Speaking at the closing session, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said countries need to enhance cooperation in the information and communication technology (ICT) and information exchanges.

Hong urged countries to further cooperate and share knowledge on ICT development in order to develop an informatic society.

The forum is co-organized by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications. It is the first time the forum is held in Asia.

The Veterans Affairs Department faces systemic problems in managing and executing complex information technology projects, according to a new report from the VA inspector general.

The report focused on the failure of one key project, a $167 million program to develop a patient scheduling system for VA hospitals, begun in 2000 and put on hold earlier this year by Roger Baker, the department's new chief information officer.

Mounting problems with the replacement scheduling application led the VA Office of Information and Technology in 2008 to ask the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) for help on engineering and application development under a 2007 interagency agreement. But the IG concluded, "We do not believe this to be a viable solution because our review of the SPAWAR contract found that most of the work was being performed by contractors, not SPAWAR government employees."

The IG identified four 2008 task orders from Veterans Affairs to SPAWAR for work on the replacement scheduling application, but said in its report that "VA was unable to determine exactly what work was to be performed on or relating to [the replacement scheduling application] by SPAWAR, what deliverables were required under the [statements of work], or which VA personnel were monitoring or tracking the work."

When the inspector general asked the current but unnamed RSA program manager to identify the work SPAWAR was supposed to do under those contracts, he said, "I have not been able to locate anything regarding these four SOWs. The first and last were not technically assigned to RSA, but were created to support RSA and HealtheVet from other parts of the organization. I have not received a copy of them and the person who created them is now gone."

According to the IG, the department's lack of supervision over the work performed on the replacement scheduling application is consistent with findings from a June report concluding VA "relinquished oversight" of information technology work to SPAWAR.

In March, VA awarded an $11 million contract to CACI Inc. to "support all operational and technical requirements associated with the systemic analysis planning, and budgeting, and execution of IT investments," according to a letter from Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to the IG. In the letter Burr asked, "Why does VA appear not to have the capability to manage these projects internally?"

Though CACI issued a press release on the award, the IG said no one in the department's Office of Acquisition and Logistics had "knowledge of any contract meeting that description."

The VA Office of Information and Technology told the inspector general that the $11 million contract with CACI was awarded through the General Services Administration. But the report noted that evidence of the transaction was lacking. "No one in VA had a copy of the task order issued by GSA, only a statement of work, which may or may not have been the statement of work included in the contract," said the report.

The IG said a spreadsheet the Office of Information and Technology maintains showed that since 2007 GSA has awarded at least 68 contracts valued at more than $77 million for services including software licenses. But, the inspector general said, "There is essentially no visibility within VA over these procurements. VA appears to merely fund the contracts through GSA."

CIO Baker launched a program to tightly manage IT projects. "This new rigorous approach to IT proactively manages projects, provides frequent delivery milestones and enforces aggressive oversight," the department said in response to the IG report.

Ed Meagher, a former deputy CIO at VA and director of strategy for health affairs at contractor SRA International, said the inspector general's report highlighted the very difficult job that lies ahead for Baker and his team. "There are no easy or quick fixes to the issues raised by the RSA debacle," Meagher added.

Harold Gracey, a consultant with Vienna, Va.-based Topside Consulting who served as VA chief of staff from 1994 to 1998, agreed that Baker has a daunting task, but believes he is the person who can straighten out the department's IT department.