This transition to a leaner federal government — and the ability to sustain it — requires technologies that facilitate the consolidation, integration and standardization necessary to develop uniform IT platforms known as Common Operating Environments

A Deltek report is projecting a decrease in IT contracting dollars. Read more here.

“Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and there are many health-care providers who employ clinical decision support tools, like standardized treatment approaches or protocols to control hypertension among their patients. This challenge helps us find the best examples of those efforts and scale them up.”

Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, national coordinator for health information technology, has launched a challenge to improve hypertension utilizing health IT innovation.  For more information, go here.

A post a Small Biz Trends encourages business owners to explore telecommuting options with their employees by looking at some important tips.  Two of them in particular caught our eye:

Consider Providing the Tech

If your employees deal with a lot of sensitive data, such as customers’ financial information or medical records, it may be worth providing laptops and smartphones.

When tech tools are company-provided, you can control what software is installed on the devices, regularly update the software and install patches. You have less control when employees use their own computers and devices, which may be shared with family members and riddled with viruses.

Investigate Cloud Storage Thoroughly

If you use cloud storage to provide telecommuting employees with access to data, make sure you know what level of security the cloud storage provider offers. Also make sure you know what responsibility they take if your data is breached.

Head over to Small Biz Trends to read the other eight tips.

Mr. Janezic [who owns a carwash] also installed sensors linked to FileMaker on each location’s eight drums of carwash chemicals — windshield bug removal solutions, pre-wash chemicals for tires, waxes, glass cleaners — to monitor their use. The new system improves quality control, he said, and it can also send a text message or email alert should, say, a valve stick open, potentially draining a $250 drum of soap.

Read the whole case study at the NYT Small Business Blog.

Photo from here.  Fireworks at Schofield Barracks.