Inside the engine that mines Twitter

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Splunk4Good was actively involved in the relief efforts, and tracked social media activity to get help to storm victims.

The company married social media with big data to figure out where the relief was needed, and what kind of relief it needed to be, but it couldn’t have done this without the underlying technology from a company named Datasift.

Get ready. Furlough details starting to emerge

More details are emerging about furloughs at the Defense Department as the government figures out how to deal with sequestration budget targets.

DOD now expects to furlough 800,000 civilian employees this summer for 11 days, Politico is reporting.

New Tricare contract under development

The Army is looking for small businesses that can support the Tricare Management Activity’s enterprise infrastructure with acquisition and financial support services.

The value was not disclosed, but the work statement said that the government is looking for support as the Military Health Service Cyberinfrastructure Services evolves and incorporates more electronic health records, including integration with patient records at Veterans Affairs.

Exelis to run Army communications in Middle East

Exelis Systems Corp. has won a $127.2 million contract with the U.S. Army for the operation, maintenance and defense of Army communications in Southwest and Central Asia.

The contract is cost-plus-fixed-fee, the Defense Department said in a release. Work will be performed in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq and Qatar.

Funds in the amount of $30 million will be obligated at the time of the award.

Five bids were received for this contract.

Harris nabs $45M contract for DHS tactical communications networks

Harris Corp. has won a $45 million contract to support the Homeland Security Department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactical communications networks.

The contract was awarded through the department’s five-year, $3 billion Tactical Communications task order contract vehicle.

Northrop wins $24.6M contract to support Army Knowledge Online

Northrop Grumman has won a $24.6 million contract with the U.S. Army for operation and maintenance services that will support its web portal.

These services will be provided in support of the Army Knowledge Online – Enterprise Services. Work will take place at Fort Belvoir, Va.

Four bids were received for this contract.

When tech support goes global, are federal networks compromised?

Over the past decade, a majority of IT manufacturers have offshored their technical support, moving from the United States into countries all over the world.

This globalization allows manufacturers to take advantage of significant cost savings, expanded talent pools, and the 24-hour efficiency of a follow-the-sun business model.

CACI names new board member

CACI International has named Michael A. Daniels to its board of directors.

Daniels has spent more than 25 years building and growing profitable organizations, CACI said in a release.

He has served as chairman of Network Solutions, senior vice president at SAIC, and chairman of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

He still serves on the board of directors at the Northern Virginia Technology Council, and also serves as chairman of GlobalLogic, chairman of the Logistics Management Institute, and chairman of Invincea.

Contractors get second shot at $22.8B nuclear weapons contract

The Government Accountability Office has made a decision that will enable large contractors to have another shot at the $22.8 billion contract to maintain and secure the nation's nuclear weapons, according to the Washington Business Journal.

$10M energy IT infrastructure contract awarded

3e Technologies International has won a $9.9 million contract modification to deliver a functional and efficient critical infrastructure control and monitoring system to the U.S. Navy.

Under the contract modification, the company will design, develop, implement, test, deliver and install the system. It is meant to increase infrastructure readiness and optimize critical systems, including energy and other systems, the Defense Department said in a release.

No funding was obligated at the time of the award, and the contract modification value will expire at the end of fiscal 2013.

Work will be completed in Rockville, Md., and is expected to be completed by May 2014.