Industry News
Dell Wins Contract Worth Up To $100 Million From U.S. Department Of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Dell a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for desktops, notebooks, servers, storage and peripheral products such as printers.
The one-year agreement, valued up to US$20 million per year with four one-year renewal options, is available to contracting officers and IT purchasing agents throughout the Department of Transportation.
Over the past several years, the FAA has worked toward maintaining an efficient, reliable and standardized computer environment. Through the BPA process, the FAA has successfully driven configuration consistency, helped reduce maintenance and administrative costs, and maximized its buying power. With the newly awarded BPA, all of Department of Transportation can begin to realize the same benefits.
The agreement is also designed to reduce the administration's total cost of IT ownership, create a standard method of purchasing IT equipment agency-wide, and create a method of reporting and measuring outcomes. It also includes asset recovery services for disposing of the systems at end-of-life in an environmentally sensitive way.
The agreement was awarded and will be managed by DOT's Enterprise Services Center in Oklahoma City.
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Rockwell Collins Rubicon II Selected for Marine Electronic Attack Programs
The Rockwell Collins Rubicon II jammer has been selected for the U.S. Marine Corps Communication Emitter Sensing and Attack System (CESAS) and the Mobile Electronic Warfare Support System (MEWSS). The contract is valued at US$28 million over the life of the program. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in March 2006.
The Rubicon II, with its smart jamming capabilities and wide frequency range, is the next generation of Rockwell Collins command and control warfare system that enables the U.S. military to monitor, target and deny enemy communications. Utilizing the all-VME open systems architecture design, the Rubicon II is capable of incorporating future technology insertions that are required to defeat ever-evolving threats. This includes planned growth options to counter Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices.
CESAS provides the Marine Air Ground Task Force commander with an organic capability to conduct electronic attack for the Commander's Information Warfare and Electronic Warfare plans supporting Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare.
MEWSS provides a light armored yet highly mobile signals intelligence and electronic warfare capability that can operate in a wide variety of tactical situations. The Rubicon II is the electronic attack component of the MEWSS system.
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Intel To Invest $345 Million At Two U.S. Manufacturing Sites
Representatives of Intel Corporation announced plans to invest $345 million in two of the company's existing manufacturing sites in Colorado and Massachusetts. The investments will be used to increase the capacity of the wafer fabrications facilities (fabs), Fab 17 in Hudson, Mass. and Fab 23 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Both fabs are 200mm facilities that produce primarily chipsets communications and flash memory components for a variety of Intel platforms.
In Colorado Springs $190 million will be invested as part of an upgrade to a second clean room within Fab 23 that will allow Intel to complete final processing steps for microprocessors -- produced on 300mm wafers at other Intel locations -- prior to final testing and packaging. Construction on the project is set to begin immediately, which will allow processing of advanced microprocessors in the second half of 2007. The project is expected to create several hundred new jobs in Colorado Springs over the next three years.
In Hudson, Intel's $155 million investment will be used to increase overall capacity at Fab 17 by adding new manufacturing equipment and reconfiguring portions of the factory. The additional capacity will be used to manufacture a variety of logic products, including chipsets to support Intel's platform initiatives for mobile, desktop and server systems. This investment in Hudson will result in the creation more than 300 new manufacturing jobs.
Separately, the company also announced that after an extensive search for a suitable location it has signed an agreement to purchase office property in Ft. Collins, Colo. to be used as a design center to house a portion of the company's Itanium® processor design team.
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SAP Extends Market Leadership in Retail with Acquisition of Triversity
Extending its market leadership in providing end-to-end solutions for the retail industry, representatives of SAP AG announced that it is acquiring privately-held, Toronto, Canada-based Triversity, the leading North American provider of point-of-sale (POS) software solutions. The announcement was made at Triversity’s Retail Summit and Executive Conference, being held in Phoenix, Arizona, Sept. 18-20.
For nearly two decades, Triversity has been a leader in the worldwide retail marketplace with solutions deployed in 32 countries. Triversity delivers flexible, comprehensive, retail market-leading solutions that include traditional and enterprise point-of-sale, store inventory management, POS loss prevention, customer loyalty, stored value, store back-office and in-store and multi-channel customer service. These solutions are highly complementary to SAP’s existing retail solution offering, and SAP and Triversity already have a strong list of joint customers including The Body Shop, Casa Ley, Indigo Books, Wawa and Trader Joe’s.
SAP is the global market leader for retail enterprise applications, with more than 2,700 customers in the retail industry worldwide. With more than 250 retail customers, Triversity is a North American market leader in point-of-sale solutions and brings proven functionality and experience in this key area to SAP’s retail solution portfolio.
SAP sees the retail industry as a significant growth opportunity, as retailers move away from in-house software development in favor of standard software solutions, such as those offered by SAP, because they increasingly view IT as a strategic instrument to drive competitive differentiation and business growth. Triversity’s highly flexible solutions will complement SAP’s portfolio of retail software, tightly integrated through the SAP NetWeaver® platform.
Built on SAP NetWeaver, the SAP for Retail solution portfolio allows retailers to leverage existing IT investments in an integrated solution landscape. The platform helps reduce the complexity of IT while driving innovation, reducing costs and pursuing flexible business strategies. As a result, retailers benefit from the increased flexibility, speed and efficiency needed to compete more effectively. They also gain the means to run their entire businesses on a single platform rather than on a costly mix of best-of-breed scenarios.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in October. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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3M and Accutrac Software Integrate RFID File Tracking and Records Management
3M and Accutrac Software Inc. unveiled a software interface that seamlessly integrates 3M's RFID Tracking System with the Accutrac Records Management Software program. The two companies said Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, one of the world's largest law firms, is rolling out the integrated system nationwide, following nearly two years of successful experience with it in its Dallas home office.
The announcement was made at the 50th Annual ARMA International Conference and Expo, Navy Pier Festival Hall, Chicago. ARMA is the world's largest association of records management professionals.
Fulbright & Jaworski, an 85-year-old, full-service law firm, with more than 900 attorneys, has been employing 3M RFID file tracking with Accutrac records management software in Dallas as a trial site. The large Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group that participated in the trial maintains several thousand active legal files and in Dallas alone, adds an average of some 1,000 new files each year.
Based on the firm's experience in Dallas with the Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group, Simpkins says an internal committee recommended that Fulbright & Jaworski introduce the integrated system in its other offices, a process that is now taking place. In addition, the firm has said it will extend the use of the integrated system to additional practice areas.
In addition to intellectual property and technology, Fulbright & Jaworski has more than 50 other integrated practice groups. It is an international law firm with offices in Houston; New York; Washington, DC; Austin; Dallas; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; San Antonio; Hong Kong; London; and Munich.
3M offers a suite of products based on technology that uses radio frequency identification to locate, track and inventory files. A tiny microchip and antenna are embedded in a tag affixed to each file which allows the files to be easily tracked through the entire workflow. As a file moves between the various offices and checkpoints, a complete file history is tracked and can be easily viewed on any network computer. Unlike bar codes, RFID tags require no line of sight between the tag and the tracker because the information is transmitted via radio waves.
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Mike Jamieson Named Rockwell Automation Beverage Industry Vice President
Representatives of Rockwell Automation announced that Mike Jamieson has been named vice president of its beverage industry initiative. In his new role as leader of sales and marketing efforts within the global beverage industry, Jamieson will help beverage producers meet changing consumer and regulatory demands, lower production costs, and increase market penetration with flexible, integrated control and information solutions from Rockwell Automation.
Since joining the company in 1998 as a project manager in its global technical support group, Jamieson has held a variety of management positions and helped develop business opportunities within key global beverage accounts worldwide. Most recently, Jamieson was the global industry marketing leader for the beverage initiative.
Jamieson earned a higher national diploma in electrical engineering from the Strathtay University in Dundee, Scotland, and a Master of Business Administration from the Open University Business School.
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Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems President Inducted into the Order of St. Barbara
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) President Dan Smith was inducted into the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara during a ceremony last week. The induction recognizes Smith's contribution to the air defense community during the past several years.
The Order of Saint Barbara is an honorary military society of the United States Air Defense Artillery. The order is managed by the U.S. Air Defense Artillery Association, and two levels of recognition exist. The most distinguished level is the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara, and those who are selected for this honor have achieved long-term, exceptional service to the Air Defense Artillery surpassing even their brethren in the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
The order links air defense artillerymen of the past and present in a brotherhood of professionalism, selfless service and sacrifice symbolized by Saint Barbara.
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Microsoft Acquires Identity and Access Management Solutions Provider Alacris
Representatives of Microsoft Corp. announced the acquisition of Alacris Inc., a global provider of certificate management and identity assurance software products.
Today, Microsoft ® Windows provides a platform for utilizing smart cards and other strong authentication technologies on the desktop through Active Directory and Microsoft Certificate Services. However, enterprise customers are still challenged with the complexity of provisioning smart card hardware, deploying digital certificates, managing certificate revocation, and auditing IT pro and end-user activity. The key to successful smart card implementation is tailoring the infrastructure to the specific needs of the organization. Alacris’ products address this need by delivering integrated solutions that provide simplified management and end-user experiences through advanced policy and workflow.
Alacris’ technology provides digital certificate and smart card life-cycle management solutions that help customers deploy, manage and maintain a smart-card-based infrastructure for customers who want to benefit from the strong authentication that Windows-based smart cards provide. Alacris’s core technology helps IT departments streamline the provisioning of new smart cards and the configuration of existing smart cards. The technology also provides Web-based policy-driven workflow management that helps users manage their administrative and end-user experiences. In addition, the technology lowers the overall cost of Windows-based smart card infrastructure by providing tools that enable users to self-administer common tasks.
The availability of a beta version of Alacris’ technologies will be announced at a future date.
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Boeing Projects $213 Billion Market for New Airplanes in China
The Boeing Company detailed its 2005 Current Market Outlook (CMO) for the People's Republic of China, forecasting a requirement in China for just over 2,600 new airplanes worth US$213 billion over the next 20 years. Over the forecast period, China is and will remain the largest market outside the United States for new commercial airplanes.
With the continued high rate of growth for the China air travel and air cargo markets, China's fleet will nearly quadruple to more than 3,200 airplanes by the end of the forecast period. Single-aisle aircraft, such as the Boeing 737, will be the largest category with total new-airplane deliveries at 1,678 airplanes. Intermediate twin-aisles such as the Boeing 787 and 777s will comprise approximately 568 airplanes, while regional jets will be 293 units and 747 and larger-size airplanes will be 73 units.
Boeing projects air travel growth will outpace China's Gross Domestic Product increase during the forecast period. Air travel for China's carriers will expand significantly, led by the domestic market's average annual growth of 8.8 percent. This incredible growth will nearly quadruple China's airplane fleet over the next 20 years. Air travel for all markets to, from and within China is forecasted to grow 7.3 percent per year.
Worldwide, Boeing projects that operators will invest $2.1 trillion for approximately 25,700 new commercial airplanes during the next 20 years. The full forecast is available at www.boeing.com/commercial/cmo/.
