Texas on Sept. 1 launched an IT marketplace website for state agencies to get the best deals for cloud services, the Lone Star State’s CIO tells MeriTalk.com. “Texas is leading the country on cloud. We have more cloud contracts in place than any other state,” CIO Todd Kimbriel said in an interview.

As politicians, judges, and correctional facility administrators look for ways to curb recidivism and prepare former inmates for reintegration into society, distance learning has emerged as a viable option.

With the implementation of a robust Geographic Information Services (GIS) to provide mapping and analysis services, the city continues to further “smart city” and IoT initiatives across the nation.

The Medical Group Management Association 2016 Cost and Revenue Report, released in August 2016, found that IT costs have increased by more than 40 percent per physician since 2009.

The Baton Rouge Department of Information Services on Aug. 19 created an interactive map to track damage as the Louisiana city dealt with disastrous flooding. Within hours, 10,000 people, including rescue teams, had used the map.

Acquiring cybersecurity workers for the Federal government is a matter of stealing from other entities, according to FBI Director James Comey. However, state and local governments are also actively involved in this talent grab.

A day after news broke that the FBI had detected hacks on two state Board of Election sites in July and August, FBI Director James Comey said the agency takes election cybersecurity “very seriously.”

Jane Holl Lute, the former deputy secretary of Homeland Security, is scheduled to provide a Tech Talk at the Symantec Government Symposium on Aug. 30 in Washington, D.C. MeriTalk caught up with Lute, who agreed to offer her thoughts on the evolving struggle between privacy and security, and a preview of her presentation.

A RAND Corporation report casts doubts on whether the Chicago Police Department’s algorithm-based, predictive policing program, which generates a Strategic Subjects List of people that the system believes are most likely to kill or be killed, is actually helping police quell violence in the city.

A recent study by a team of National Institutes of Health researchers showed widespread support for the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program, with more than half indicating they would be willing to participate in the program themselves.