MaSSSoftech

NEW YORK — A $286.6 million computer and software system upgrade, described as the "cornerstone of a United Nations-wide effort to bring groundbreaking reform" to the management of the U.N. Secretariat, is already about three to four months behind schedule, and is headed to be tens of millions of dollars over budget, less than a year and a half after being approved.

Those tidings are contained in a 53-page draft report on the project obtained by FOX News, which was prepared on behalf of a steering committee of top U.N. bureaucrats overseeing the information technology overhaul. The head of the committee is Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Under Secretary General for Management, Angela Kane.

The technology system described in the report is intended to unify and coordinate — as well as redefine — jobs and functions across the global secretariat, including its fast-expanding peacekeeping efforts, which have grown in cost from $1 billion to $8 billion annually in just the last five or so years.

Yet despite the unappetizing revelations about the cost and timing of the technology project-named Umoja, or "unity" in Swahili — the bureaucrats in charge of the scheme remain relentlessly upbeat about the final outcome.

PHOENIX, Sep 01, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- CellTrust, a leading provider of secure mobile messaging and applications, today announced it has been named as a finalist in the Arizona Technology Council's 2009 Governor's Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) awards, in partnership with the Arizona Department of Commerce. CellTrust was selected as a finalist in a category that recognizes the most innovative small companies in Arizona.

"We are pleased CellTrust has been selected as a finalist for this prestigious award," said Sean Moshir, Chairman and CEO of CellTrust. "CellTrust remains a leader in secure information technology, and this nomination solidifies our continued growth within the industry. We are currently planning for our growth in 2010 which will create many more jobs here in Arizona."

GCOI honors Arizona's technology leaders and innovators each year, and more than 1,000 guests are invited to share the evening with the nominees during the gala event.

While there are many handset manufacturers today, fewer suppliers create true multi-platform mobile software enabled to run on all handsets, due to the difficulty of developing software for multiple handsets from different manufacturers. CellTrust has broken this barrier, and is considered to be one of the few suppliers of this multi-platform technology.

"After assessing potential companies for this award, our independent panel of judges determined that CellTrust stood out as a strong candidate for innovation and leadership," said Steve Zylstra, president & CEO of The Arizona Technology Council. "CellTrust has been honored as a finalist to recognize its milestone achievements within the last year in secure information technology."

Winners will receive Arizona's highest honor for technology innovation on November 19, 2009 at the Orpheum Theatre, 200 West Washington Street in Phoenix from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Tickets for the prestigious awards gala include the pre-award show cocktail reception, awards ceremony, strolling dinner and a VIP Backstage "Green Room" party can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/AZGCOI.

About CellTrust Corporation

CellTrust is a leading provider of secure mobile messaging and applications. CellTrust's patent pending Secure SMS Gateway(TM) featuring Secure SMS and a suite of mobile applications provide advanced secure mobile messaging and information management across 190+ countries and over 700 carriers. CellTrust ensures the secure and trusted exchange of information on mobile devices to the financial services, healthcare, government, education, energy, information technology, marketing, and travel, among other global industries. For more information about CellTrust's Global, North American and Australian operations: www.celltrust.comwww.celltrust.com.au

About the Governor's Celebration of Innovation

The Governor's Celebration of Innovation was established in 2003 by combining two technology award ceremonies: the High Tech Industry Cluster's 17-year Innovator of the Year awards ceremony and the Arizona Software and Internet Association's 10-year "Celebration of Innovation." With the addition of the Governor's support, the Governor's Celebration of Innovation has become the premier technology community gathering of its kind in Arizona. For more information on GCOI, please visit http://www.aztechcouncil.org.

SOURCE: CellTrust

HONG KONG — China is set to tighten its hammerlock on the market for some of the world’s most obscure but valuable minerals.
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Juergen Bauer/www.smart-elements.com

China is cutting exports of elements like terbium, pressuring manufacturers to open factories there.
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Rare Wealth
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Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

Toyota’s Prius hybrids use several pounds of neodymium, a rare earth, in their electric motors.

China currently accounts for 93 percent of production of so-called rare earth elements — and more than 99 percent of the output for two of these elements, dysprosium and terbium, vital for a wide range of green energy technologies and military applications like missiles.

Deng Xiaoping once observed that the Mideast had oil, but China had rare earth elements. As the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has done with oil, China is now starting to flex its muscle.

Even tighter limits on production and exports, part of a plan from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, would ensure China has the supply for its own technological and economic needs, and force more manufacturers to make their wares here in order to have access to the minerals.

In each of the last three years, China has reduced the amount of rare earths that can be exported. This year’s export quotas are on track to be the smallest yet. But what is really starting to alarm Western governments and multinationals alike is the possibility that exports will be further restricted.

Chinese officials will almost certainly be pressed to address the issue at a conference Thursday in Beijing. What they say could influence whether Australian regulators next week approve a deal by a Chinese company to acquire a majority stake in Australia’s main rare-earth mine.

The detention of executives from the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has already increased tensions.

They sell for up to $300 a kilogram, or up to about $150 a pound for material like terbium, which is in particularly short supply. Dysprosium is $110 a kilo, or about $50 a pound. Less scare rare earth like neodymium sells for only a fraction of that.

(They are considerably less expensive than precious metals because despite the names, they are found in much higher quantities and much greater concentrations than precious metal.)

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drafted a six-year plan for rare earth production and submitted it to the State Council, the equivalent of the cabinet, according to four mining industry officials who have discussed the plan with Chinese officials. A few, often contradictory, details of the plan have leaked out, but it appears to suggest tighter restrictions on exports, and strict curbs on environmentally damaging mines.

Beijing officials are forcing global manufacturers to move factories to China by limiting the availability of rare earths outside China. “Rare earth usage in China will be increasingly greater than exports,” said Zhang Peichen, the deputy director of the government-linked Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute.

Some of the minerals crucial to green technologies are extracted in China using methods that inflict serious damage on the local environment. China dominates global rare earth production partly because of its willingness until now to tolerate highly polluting, low-cost mining.

The ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comment in the last eight days. Jia Yinsong, a director general at the ministry, is to speak about China’s intentions Thursday at the Minor Metals and Rare Earths 2009 conference in Beijing.

Until spring, it seemed that China’s stranglehold on production of rare earths might weaken in the next three years — two Australian mines are opening with combined production equal to a quarter of global output.

But both companies developing mines — Lynas Corporation and smaller rival, Arafura Resources — lost their financing last winter because of the global financial crisis. Buyers deserted Lynas’s planned bond issue and Arafura’s initial public offering.

Mining companies wholly owned by the Chinese government swooped in last spring with the cash needed to finish the construction of both companies’ mines and ore processing factories. The Chinese companies reached agreements to buy 51.7 percent of Lynas and 25 percent of Arafura.

Leading Global IT Service Provider Clinches Spot in the Top Third of Fastest
Growing Technology Integrators



WESTBOROUGH, Mass., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Virtusa Corporation
(Nasdaq: VRTU), a global information technology (IT) services company that
provides business consulting, outsourcing , IT services, and application
outsourcing services through an enhanced global delivery model, today reported
it has been named to Everything Channel's Fast Growth 100 list. Virtusa
claimed the 33rd ranking on the list, which honors the fastest-growing
integrators in the industry.

"This independent recognition is a testament to Virtusa's solid financial
foundation and firm footing in the market, and our growth reflects the
business value we're providing to our customers," said Doug Mow, senior vice
president of marketing at Virtusa. "Companies today feel mounting pressure to
reduce total cost of ownership of IT operations while focusing on business
results. Virtusa's broad portfolio of IT services provides its customers with
a complete partnership able to handle complex projects end to end."

A leader in IT consulting, systems integration and application outsourcing,
Virtusa helps their customers streamline the systems that support their
critical business functions. Virtusa's unique platforming approach
consolidates, rationalizes and modernizes core systems resulting in an
efficient, lean IT environment. Virtusa specializes in business process
management, data warehousing and business intelligence, and enterprise content
management.

Everything Channel, a division of United Business Media, selected the honorees
based on average revenue growth from 2006 to 2008. Companies on this year's
Fast Growth 100 list averaged 87 percent revenue growth during these two years
and turned in median annual sales of $192.2 million.

"The companies included in this list are channel industry leaders," said
Robert C. DeMarzo, senior vice president and editorial director for Everything
Channel. "These solution providers offer business-oriented IT solutions as
well as cutting-edge technologies. In addition, they understand the
importance of strong sales philosophies. We congratulate Virtusa on their
well-earned success."

About Virtusa Corporation
Virtusa is a global information technology (IT) services company providing IT
consulting, technology implementation and application outsourcing services.
Using its enhanced global delivery model, innovative platforming approach and
industry expertise, Virtusa provides high-value services that enhance clients'
business performance, accelerate time-to-market, increase productivity and
improve customer service.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Massachusetts, Virtusa has offices in the
United States and the United Kingdom, and global delivery centers in India and
Sri Lanka.

"Virtusa" is a registered trademark of Virtusa Corporation.

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.

SOURCE Virtusa Corporation

It is estimated that the healthcare reform bill that was released by the Congressional Budget Office will amount to $600 billion within a span of 10 years. If studies are correct that approximately 30% of dollar spent on healthcare is spent on diagnostics and testing, then the opportunity for an enormous cost reduction is definitely an attractive proposition not only for doctors, patients, and insurers, but also for the government who is planning to overhaul the system.

But the ultimate benefit will be to the American patient, which is why reforms are being pushed. I believe that essential to having good care is having complete and accurate information. At present, only 20% of doctors use computerized healthcare information. This means that these doctors have uploaded their patients' data on paper into the digital network that in any case one of these patients gets into an accident and health history needs to be accessed, then it will be just by entering his or her driver's license number. Many of these doctors who've bought into the system does not even know how to maximize its use. Getting into the system does not only require relearning effort but also is expensive for the doctors too that is why yet only a few are participating.

Benefits of healthcare information technology adoption:

1. Access to medical records will be faster and cheaper for the healthcare provider.
2. Complete and accurate health record of the patient.
3. More efficient delivery of care.
4. Can decrease time spent on administrative duties and increase time spent on direct patient care.
5. Enhance clinical decision making process.

Megatrend Drivers:

1. Obama administration proposing $50 billion for the Healthcare IT adoption.
2. Government incentives for action in implementing an electronic medical record (EMR) system and penalties for non-action.
3. 3) Out of 800,000 clinicians in the US, only 17% use nationally recognized electronic health record system.
4. Reimbursement systems like Medicaid and Medicare and other insurance and healthcare providers are now requiring healthcare IT adoption from physicians and hospitals.
5. Healthcare IT adoption outside the US is expected to increase too as standard of living goes up along with the need for better healthcare services.

Focus:

Estimates indicate that up to 80% of healthcare is delivered by small scale practices. These practices usually are made up of 1 to 5 physicians. Thus, expect that the bulk of the healthcare IT adoption funding to be given to rural hospitals and small scale physician practices. And because big players will somehow be disinterested in this fragmented market, their role is to consolidate those small players serving this market. Expect these big companies to acquire small players if they want to participate in the small practices market.

List:

* Computer Program and System (CPSI) - Small to medium market
* Eclipsys (ECLP) - Small to large market
* Cerner Corp. (CERN) - Large market
* Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (MDRX) - Large market
* Quality Systems (QSII) - Small to medium market

Disclosure: Bryan Gomez does not own any of the stocks mentioned in the article.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Lockheed Martin Corp. said Monday it has completed a design review for a fingerprint identification system for the FBI.

The nation's largest defense contractor by revenue said completion of the design review by its Next Generation Identification team, which includes BAE Systems ( BAESF.PK - news - people ) Information Technology Inc., IBM Corp. ( IBM - news - people ) and other businesses, expands fingerprint processing and can accommodate other future biometric systems for law enforcement.

EMC Acquires FastScale Technology, Optimizes Application Image Management to
Dramatically Increase Performance and Scalability of Private Clouds
Expands EMC Ionix with Next Generation Data Center Provisioning that
Simplifies Deployment and Maximizes Virtual Machine Density

HOPKINTON, Mass., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the
world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced it has
acquired FastScale Technology, Inc., a privately-held, Santa Clara,
California-based provider of software platforms and solutions for next
generation enterprise IT -- adding a new dimension to the EMC Ionix portfolio
to dramatically increase the performance and scalability of private cloud
infrastructures. Designed from the ground up to accelerate the journey from
physical to virtual to private cloud, with the addition of FastScale, the EMC
Ionix portfolio will simplify end-to-end management and maximize the
performance, density and efficiency of applications and software deployed on
unified infrastructures. The transaction is not expected to have a material
impact to revenue or EPS for the full 2009 fiscal year.

The acquisition of FastScale extends EMC's powerful EMC Ionix solutions for
automating IT management across a unified infrastructure of storage, compute,
network and virtualization resources, enabling customers to accelerate their
transition from a physical to a virtualized data center to the private cloud
and to maximize the value of their new enterprise IT architectures.

Leapfrogging traditional software provisioning and management approaches which
focus purely on administrative gains, FastScale's technology simplifies
application and server stack management and optimizes deployment for physical,
virtual and cloud infrastructures, providing significant footprint benefits
that allow data centers to run up to three times more virtual machines without
degrading performance. In addition FastScale's technology decreases memory and
disk usage by up to 75%, enabling some of the highest levels of tier-one
application performance in the private cloud.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of an expanded business and technology
alliance between EMC and VMware. Key to this expanded alliance, the companies
announced a new reseller agreement whereby EMC is now a fully authorized
reseller of VMware vCenter(TM) AppSpeed. This new solution, along with EMC's
virtualization services, will be offered through EMC Select as part of the EMC
Ionix portfolio, enabling customers to have full management capabilities
across their physical and virtual IT infrastructures.

Jay Mastaj, Vice President and General Manager of EMC Ionix Software Group,
said, "Today's acquisition of FastScale puts another stake in the ground built
by our recently announced Ionix portfolio of automated IT management solutions
for the private cloud. With FastScale, we not only give customers deeper
management capabilities via FastScale's unique application stack management
and provisioning, but we also begin to help customers fundamentally change the
way they approach compliance, security and configuration management in the
private cloud. FastScale and its portfolio of products, intellectual property
and talented employees will help us champion and expedite this transition of
physical to virtual to private cloud infrastructures."

Given the complexity of hybrid physical and virtual infrastructures, a
retrofit of existing solutions does not work for next generation data centers.
Instead, such complicated infrastructures require management at a logical
level by design. By addressing how server software built and not just how it
is deployed, FastScale uniquely delivers a low cost, high efficiency
infrastructure for managing dynamic computing in today's complex data centers.

FastScale's flagship product -- FastScale Composer Suite -- is a fully
automated platform for building, optimizing, managing and deploying
application environments in physical, virtual and cloud infrastructures. The
solution's unique technology allows customers to streamline software stacks
automatically, dynamically deploy logical servers to physical, virtual or
cloud in seconds to minutes, manage patches and configurations via policies,
increase virtual machine density and decrease memory requirements, and unify
management of virtual, physical and cloud infrastructures.

Lynn LeBlanc, Chief Executive Officer of FastScale Technology, said, "We are
very excited to join EMC and help customers facilitate the evolution of
managing their next-generation IT environments. The addition of our software
stack management, optimization and provisioning technology to the EMC Ionix
portfolio will help customers gain tremendous efficiencies and management
flexibility across storage, server and network in physical, virtual and cloud
infrastructures. The acquisition by EMC will better enable us to drive
FastScale technology through the EMC's strong research and development,
marketing and sales channels, helping to expedite this evolution in IT
management."

As a result of the acquisition, FastScale will join EMC's Ionix Software
Group, reporting to Jay Mastaj.

For additional color on Ionix and the acquisition of FastScale, please visit
the following blogs:
-- IT Management 2.0 - http://itmanagement2.com/

-- Chuck Hollis - http://chucksblog.emc.com/


About FastScale Technology, Inc.

FastScale Technology delivers integrated software platforms and solutions for
next generation data centers. Through its patent-pending technologies,
FastScale enables complex IT organizations to build, optimize, manage and
deploy server software environments with unparalleled simplicity, flexibility
and security while achieving dramatic lifecycle cost savings and server
utilization improvement. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, FastScale
is a privately held company backed by leading venture capital firms including
ATA Ventures, Leapfrog Ventures and Hunt Ventures. For more information, visit
www.fastscale.com.

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of
information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations
of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their
information. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at
www.EMC.com.


EMC and Ionix are either registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. VMware is a
registered trademark of VMware, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the
Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk
factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic
or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology
spending; (iii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks
associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks
associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of
integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v)
fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with
trading of VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited
to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and
varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and
mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality
and availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of
customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and
market change; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or
acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified
employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xiv) litigation that
we may be involved in; and (xv) other one-time events and other important
factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to
update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

SOURCE EMC Corporation

Todd Cadley of EMC Corporation, +1-843-569-2715, cadley_todd@emc.com