And the Winner Is ...

Connecticut officials expect to award the state's oft-delayed information technology outsourcing contract by the end of November. The long-awaited contract is potentially worth $300 million a year.

Three systems integrators ? Computer Sciences Corp., Electronic Data Systems and IBM Corp. ? and the Connecticut State Employees Association put in bids last spring for the contract.

"We're the first state to go through a process like this," said Michael Krochmalny, chief administrative officer for the state's Department of Information Technology. "We need to make sure we answer all the questions before we make the award."

The winner will take over maintenance and upgrade of the state's entire IT infrastructure, including desktop computers, mainframes and telecommunications systems. After the contract is awarded, it must be reviewed by state auditors and then approved by the legislature.
With great fanfare, Microsoft launched the newest version of its enterprise database product, SQL Server 7.0, at the Comdex Fall '98 computer show in Las Vegas.

According to company sources, more than 300 independent software vendors are demonstrating applications, and 13,000 Microsoft Certified Solution Providers are prepared to support customer development and deployment projects.

The server is expected in the reseller channel within 45 days. It is intended to offer organizations of all sizes a combination of business solution, data warehousing and integration with Microsoft Office. Among the new features touted by Microsoft are advancements in transaction performance, online backup and replication, and innovations in auto-tuning and auto-configuration.

The company claims more than 300 business applications representing all major horizontal and vertical markets should be available for SQL Server 7.0 within 90 days of the product's launch. It is also supposedly the first relational database management system to come complete with integrated Data Transformation Services, OLAP Services and Microsoft Repository 2.0, and the first time that companies will be able to combine the use of Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel with the scalability of SQL Server 7.0.
Legg Mason Inc. has named William Loomis to head its Technology Research Group, which draws analysts from three research groups within the Baltimore-based investment banking firm.

The creation of this group reflects the growing importance of the Internet and related technologies on businesses today, said Loomis, a well-known information technology analyst and managing director of the new group.

"We expect the Internet to be the major driver in information technology spending in the same way that spending on client/server systems has been a major driver in the 1990s," said Loomis, who joined Legg Mason in June 1997.
CACI International Inc.'s acquisition of QuesTech Inc., completed Nov. 13, gives the Arlington, Va.-based systems integrator new proficiencies in information warfare and information security.

"We believe that information assurance and security is increasingly critical in providing our customers infocom solutions in the years ahead," said Ron Ross, CACI's president and chief operating officer. "The unique combination of CACI's and QuesTech's capabilities positions us as a leader in that arena."

CACI will operate Falls Church, Va.-based QuesTech as a wholly owned subsidiary under the new name CACI Technologies Inc. The deal was valued at $42 million.
Condor Technology Solutions Inc.,created last February in a roll-up of eight information technology companies, is continuing its buying ways with the Nov. 10 acquisition of PowerCrew Inc. of Malvern, Pa. Terms of the deal were not announced.

The purchase will strengthen Condor's ability to provide IT services to middle market companies and divisions of Fortune 1000 firms, said Dan Roche, Condor president.

With the latest deal, Condor of Annapolis, Md., now has made 12 acquisitions. Condor provides full-service information technology solutions to government agencies as well as Fortune 1000 firms and middle market companies.
While most cities and counties in California have a year 2000 plan in place, few have the budgets to pay for the repair work, according to a new survey by the California Association of Local and State Chief Information Officers.

The survey released this week found that 74 percent of the local governments in the state had a year 2000 compliance plan. But only 42 percent said they had money budgeted for the necessary software fixes.

"The lack of a committed budget in so many of the jurisdictions serves as a warning flag," said Steve Steinbrecher, chief information officer for Contra Costa County's Department of Information Technology and co-chair of the CIO group. The survey shows there is an "awareness but not a commitment" to fixing the problems, he said.
Four prime contractors were selected this week for a $353 million contract to provide engineering services to the Air Force Information Warfare Center and the Air Intelligence Agency.

The winning contractors were Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., BTG Inc., Computer Sciences Corp. and MacAulay-Brown Inc. Under the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, the companies will provide software, systems integration, modeling and simulation, and information assurance services.

The Air Force Information Warfare Center and the Air Intelligence Agency are looking to integrate their information operations.
Philip Odeen, executive vice president and general manager of TRW Systems & Information Technology Group of Fairfax, Va., has been elected chairman of the Virginia Business Council.

Odeen, the first executive from Northern Virginia to hold the post, will chair the council for the next two years. The business council is composed of more than 40 top Virginia executives. The group's goal is to promote free enterprise and economic development in the state.
Five countries now have signed the Common Criteria Mutual Recognition Arrangement, which sets a common language for specifying security requirements in information technology products and systems.

The arrangement makes it easier for U.S. companies to sell their products in all signatory countries.

The Oct. 5 agreement among the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom recognizes the results of security evaluations performed by each other's accredited testing laboratories. This avoids the need for expensive and time-consuming testing by different countries.

Its creators hope that it will foster a barrier-free, worldwide market for IT security products.