Microsoft Corp

New York City has entered into what it’s calling a strategic technology partnership with Microsoft Corp. to aggregate and analyze public safety data in real-time, and provide law enforcement officers with a comprehensive view of emerging terrorist threats and criminal activity.

Announced today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly during a press briefing inside the Lower Manhattan Security Command Center, the new Domain Awareness System will feed real-time data from the city’s existing infrastructure of security cameras, radiation detectors, license plate readers, and 911 calls onto a dashboard of large screen displays located at the command center. Keep reading →


The discovery of the Stuxnet computer worm in 2010 and the more recent spyware attack known as Flame – both of which specifically targeted the Iranian nuclear development program – has led to wild speculation by subject matter experts from almost every discipline imaginable.

But the common thread that binds the analysis of these experts together (in a not-so-flattering way) has been the conclusion that the great “cyber wars” of the 21st century have begun. Keep reading →

A leading federal cloud provider has launched Amazon Web Services (AWS) on its GSA IT-70 contract, giving Amazon yet another boost in what is already a rapidly expanding presence in government.

Laurel, M.D.-based Aquilent made the announcement last week on the heels of news that Microsoft Corp. plans to develop a new multi-tenant cloud community for federal agencies. Keep reading →

Although there are many drivers behind the recent explosion of small form factor computing devices in the typical government enterprise environment – including smartphones, tablets, slate and netbook devices, e-readers, and more – perhaps the single most important and under appreciated driver is Microsoft Exchange-based email.

(Full disclosure: Before joining my current employer, I spent nearly 12 years with Microsoft Corp. where I oversaw the company’s strategic and tactical mobile initiatives across the federal government.) Keep reading →

The passage last week of sweeping patent reforms may have finally given American businesses and innovators the boost they need to stay competitive in a global economy. But analysts and observers, including a former Under Secretary of Commerce, say it will take a lot more than the America Invents Act of 2011 to ensure the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can become a facilitator of growth in a stalled economy.

The Senate on Sept. 8 passed the America Invents Act by an overwhelming 89-9 vote, ushering in an era of patent reform that American businesses have been urging for the better part of the past decade. Keep reading →