Author Archive

John Pulley

Modernization

Will WiMax save the day?

In theory, WiMax can blanket a city with affordable and fast wireless data service, but how often that will happen remains to be seen.

People

Man on a mission

David Walker was handed a 15-year assignment, and he’s been busy every minute transforming the federal government.

Cybersecurity

Weak spots in the fortress

Vulnerabilities in Web-based software put agencies and citizens at risk.

Cybersecurity

Unclogging the clearance pipeline

Facing a shortage of workers with security clearances, agencies have been forced to find new ways to deal with the backlog.

Digital Government

Serious games

Medical schools and health care trainers are using advanced gaming technologies to convey what it’s like to practice high-pressure, critical-care medicine.

People

Philip McKinney: Leading by going against the grain

The challenge for McKinney was persuading 94 highly independent courts to jettison an antiquated system and embrace change.

Cybersecurity

Are there perils in penetration testing?

Yes, but calm heads can help you choose whether to outsource or do it yourself.

People

Public/private teams are a challenge for CIOs

Latest IT workforce configurations require extra management attention and oversight.

Cybersecurity

Ethics starts here

Chief information officers increasingly are expected to fill the role of chief ethical officer, with responsibility for creating an ethical culture.

People

Look who’s updating those data dinosaurs

Nearly a dozen states are focused on reducing the costs of presenting benefits eligibility information to caseworkers using different approaches, including service-oriented architecture.

People

Enough of ‘ready, fire, aim’

Colorado legislators get involved in trying to prevent IT projects that misfire and waste millions.

Modernization

Web extra: Wi-Fi lunch is free, but dessert will cost you

Philadelphia's plan to build the first public wireless network in a large city piqued interests as far away as Savannah, Ga., and Cincinnati.

Modernization

Wagering on Wi-Fi

Will municipal Wi-FI’s current growing pains give way to ubiquitous coverage, or will the wireless boom fall back to earth?

Digital Government

Education to drive state, local IT spending in ’07

But vendors will feel effects of unemployment, higher energy prices, fewer federal dollars.

People

A real hard act to follow

States view the Real ID Act as an unreasonable and costly challenge, but some officials see in it the glimmer of a silver lining

Modernization

Roadblocks hamper emergency response system coordination

Federal funding and a lack of standards affect compatible communications at the state level.

People

FedSources: Partly sunny forecast for state, local tech spending

Factors that will tend to accelerate state and local IT spending in the next year to 18 months include state budget surpluses and population growth.

People

State CIOs skeptical of hurricane readiness

Conference attendees say that communications interoperability problems that plagued disaster responses last year have not been fixed.

People

ERP flavor of the week: Vanilla

Agencies learn the hard way that success often depends on simplicity

People

Disciplinary review

Top-notch investment review boards enforce IT spending discipline, but they’re hard to find