FEDtechnology.com The FREE Weekly Technology Email Newsletter for Federal and Military Managers and Employees Monday, November 15, 1999 Technology is changing faster than ever before, and it's harder and harder for federal and military managers to stay ahead of all the latest changes and trends taking place in the federal government. That's why we launched FEDtechnology.com. Every week, FEDtechnology.com gives you the latest changes, trends and decisions that affect you -- and your career.To start your own subscription to FEDtechnology.com, simply click here. AGENCY EXECUTIVES TO GET MORE IT EDUCATION With the government's increasing dependence on information technology to accomplish agency goals, agency executives - regardless of their areas of expertise - will need greater education in all aspects of information technology matters. A new IT program, the Chief Information Officers University (sponsored by the CIO Council and GSA), will launch its first IT program designed for non-IT agency executives this December 6. Costing $3,300, this five-day course helps agency executives take IT concepts and turn them into tangible terms. This unique course, IT for Senior Executives, is taught by professors from Carnegie-Mellon University and is designed to instruct agency executives with in such areas as information security, capital investment and IT planning and project management. The new courses should help non-IT executives become more knowledgeable about IT issues and therefore help agencies plan their technology investments. NEW GUIDELINES FOR IT SECURITY AT DOE DOE has issued new guidelines for protecting its information technology systems. These new guidelines cover everyone who has access to DOE computer systems including all DOE employees, contractors and subcontractors. These new rules include responsibilities and procedures for allowing access to DOE's unclassified computer systems by foreign governments and nationals. DOE Secretary Bill Richardson said, ""This policy will allow continued collaborations with scientists from other countries, while preventing unauthorized access to the department's computer systems". Richardson has been making quite a few changes at DOE in an effort to increase security. DOE hopes to have an additional 1,000 system administrators in training before the end of the calendar year. They're also working on a central cyber security incident reporting system that would work with the cyber security architecture currently in development at DOE. IRS ENHANCES GRAPHICS WITH NEW SOFTWARE The IRS has purchased new software, called Visio 2000 Standard (created by Visio Corporation), that will enhance its capacity to create electronic diagrams, drawings and technical renderings. The 87,000 licenses for IRS employees should increase communication and efficiency between the widely dispersed personnel. FLRA CUTS RESOLUTION TIME DRAMATICALLY The time it takes to resolve disputes has been cut dramatically by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). During fiscal 1999, only 12 percent of cases took more than one year to process - a reduction of over 50 percent from the previous year. The aggressive efforts to reduce the number of lengthy cases came about after a customer service survey was conducted in 1998. The agency expects to reduce lengthy cases to 10 percent in fiscal 2000 - and, eventually, to decide all cases within nine months. USPS WANTS "MAILING ONLINE" EXTENDED The Postal Rate Commission is being asked by the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to grant an extended three-year test of the Mailing Online project, starting in the spring of 2000. The USPS has already given notice that the current yearlong market test will end November 30. Mailing Online is a program that allows small businesses to transmit a group of documents over the Internet to a USPS website to be printed and them mailed out as regular mail. The program, when it restarts next spring, will be found at the USPS homepage (www.usps.com) instead of its current location (postofficeonline.com). ARMY MISSES TARGET FOR SMALL COMPANY AWARDS The Army has announced that in fiscal 1999 only 3.1 percent ($856 million) of contracts were awarded to small businesses owned by women - far short of the Army goal of 5 percent. On the positive side, however, awards to small businesses in general, small minority owned businesses and other groups listed as disadvantaged exceeded Army contracting goals for the year. GROUPS WANT TO MAINTAIN ELECTRONIC RECORDS A petition was filed with the Supreme Court on November 4 requesting that the Court reverse an appeals court ruling that allowed electronic documents and email to be destroyed as long as hardcopies existed. The petitioning groups want to mandate that agencies maintain records in their electronic formats. The petitioning groups included: the National Security Archive, the American Libraries Association, Public Citizen, the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association and the Center for National Security Studies.