Security is the word at FOSE

Security was very much on the minds of attendees at the 2002 FOSE trade show for government information technology professionals, which began March 19.Vendors took the opportunity to show off product lines and follow through on new homeland security sales strategies in light of the heightened security concerns since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Vance Coffman, chief executive officer and chairman of Lockheed Martin Corp., called for creation of non-disruptive technologies that can highlight the activities of potential terrorists but maintain the privacy of citizens."Information technologies are capable of doing that today," Coffman said during a keynote address. He added that it is up to private business to deliver these intra-agency secure solutions to government.This year's FOSE show has drawn 28,000 pre-registered attendees, 30 percent more than last year, according to Charles Lyons, chief executive officer of PostNewsweek Tech Media. PostNewsweek also publishes Washington Technology.On the show floor, vendors were pushing solutions that could meet Coffman's criteria. Intermec Technologies Corp., Alexandria, Va., a vendor of bar-code equipment for inventory tracking, was displaying new systems for gate houses to check identification of incoming vehicles at military bases.The company has installed a 5,000-user demonstration system at Fort McPherson, Ga. The system scans cars for RF-enabled stickers. Drivers who pre-registered with the system can be waved through without stopping, eliminating traffic backups. The company plans to market this solution to other military bases. Other companies are demonstrating a shift towards solutions-oriented sales, given the needs of homeland security and the Bush administration's emphasis on solutions rather just buying products. For example, Milpitas, Calif.-based Polycom Inc. showcased its Polycom Office Suite of voice, audio, video, collaboration and network management tools. "What we've seen from the government after Sept. 11 is a real emphasis on large infrastructure purchasing," said Craig Reichenbach, Polycom's new vice president of government sales. Reichenbach said the company expects to grow its government market this year from 8 percent of total U.S. sales to 15 percent by year's end. As with any trade show, many companies made announcements of new product lines and other items of interest to the government IT community. Among today's announcements were an embedded version of Microsoft Windows XP developed by NetX Inc., Columbus, N.J., and a new line of card printers from Fargo Electronics Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. According to the trade show officials, more than 200 new products will be announced at this year's event.On the integrator side, Laurel-Md.-based Aquilent named Peter DiGiammarino as president. DiGiammarino has served as senior vice president and general manager at Science Applications International Corp. Aquilent employs 120 people and has worked on contracts such as designing the General Service Administration's FirstGov portal. Howard Stern, senior vice president for Aquilent, said hiring DiGiammarino represents the company's aggressive strategy towards growth in the government solutions market. "DiGiammarino is the person to focus that growth," he said.