ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Homeland
Security Department intends to issue requests for information in
about six weeks to seek ideas from the private sector about
technology systems, and it also will launch a vendor Web site to
keep track of thousands of unsolicited suggestions.
Jim Flyzik, former senior adviser for information technology at the
Office of Homeland Security, outlined some of the steps the new
department intends to take. He spoke in place of Steve Cooper, the
department's chief information officer, who could not attend the
annual Information Processing Interagency Conference as scheduled.
IPIC is the annual conference of the Government Information
Technology Executive Council.
Flyzik said the department is "looking for new ideas and approaches
to go forward." He also said the department will look at existing
contracting vehicles, such as the one operated by the Transportation
Security Administration.
Another Homeland Security official said the department also intends
to launch a Web site that will collect and organize vendor ideas.
The site is expected to be operational in about a month.
Speaking at the three-day gathering, Flyzik said there is an urgency
to create the best system possible as fast as possible. Al Qaeda's
"intent is to kill us for our way of living and to do it in large
numbers," Flyzik said. "It is our job to figure out ways to make
sure that never happens."
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