Jerry Hartman is officially retired
Is your school getting back its E-Rate dollars?
Three Steps for Bullet-proof Wireless LAN Security & Management
The Right Fit-An analysis of Qwest’s GES Technology program
Announcing 5 upcoming conferences with MiCTA
Welcome New Members
Check out this month’s Grant Alert
Make sure to stop by this month’s Vendor Corner
Just for fun
Jerry Hartman is officially retired
MiCTA would like to announce that Jerry Hartman is officially retired. Jerry previously served as Director of Operations for MiCTA Service Corporation for 5 years where he worked as a liaison between members and many of our vendors. Before coming to MiCTA, Jerry worked at Central Michigan University for 38 years in the Administrative Applications and Information Technology Departments. We would like to thank Jerry for all the great memories and good times we shared with him, and would like to wish him and Joan the best in sunny Florida!
Is your school getting back its E-Rate dollars?
As a MiCTA employee I take great pride in the fact that MiCTA as an organization is very good at decreasing telecom cost for nonprofits and municipalities alike. One of the things we strive to do is bring successful programs to our members and educate them on how to buy smarter. One of the most overlooked and confusing programs is the school federal E-Rate program. For some of you that have taken on this project I salute you, for others who have given up I want to let you know that there is still hope. My goal at MiCTA is to see each school system file for E-Rate. We want everyone to have the opportunity to maximize savings.
MiCTA cannot file for you; or believe me we would. However, there are E-Rate consultants that we have connections with that will do all the paperwork for you, file for you, and even write your technology plan for you. The cost is minimal and the rewards are exceptional. I have been working with such consultants for the past few years and have seen firsthand the benefit they bring to schools. Most of the consultants I have worked with get paid on the amount of savings they can bring to the schools and when the schools save money, only then do they get paid. What a concept, do the job first and then pay on the rewards. They have also been very good at being the voice of schools to ensure everyone is working on the same goals. The benefits of a consultant are listed below.
· An experienced staff with a complete understanding of SLD rules and regulations
· File all of the SLD Filing (FCC Form 470s, Form 471s, and Item 21 Attachments)
· Complete all the SLD Forms (FCC Form 486s and Form 472s)
· File and follow all the BEAR processing and following up with vendors
· Can handle all of the PIA (Audit) responses in a timely manner
· Streamline the Item 25 Audits
· Has a regulatory attorney to handle Appeals to the SLD or FCC
I urge each and every one of our schools to contact MiCTA at (888) 870.8677 or contact me directly at (586) 360-8421. We can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars a year.
Jay Van Duzen
New Business Development
MiCTA
Three Steps for Bullet-proof Wireless LAN Security & Management
The only way for organizations to fortify their wireless networks is to use a layered approach to security mirroring the security of wired networks. This white paper will cover a systematic approach to secure all network components. This layered approach includes: locking down the wireless LAN's perimeter, securing communication across the wireless LAN and continuously monitoring network traffic.
While a wireless LAN can be installed by simply plugging an access point into an Ethernet port, an enterprise wireless LAN deployment requires a more thought-out plan that incorporates advanced security and management technologies.
Layered Approach to WLAN Security
Over the last year, analysts and media have documented and publicized vulnerabilities of wireless LANs, such as encryption that can be broken and rogue access points that allow intruders to connect to your network. These reports focus on breaking encryption, the risk of unauthorized access points connected to the wired network, and the failure of enterprises to incorporate security into their wireless LANs. The attention on the pitfalls of wireless LANs has inspired some enterprises to ban wireless LANs altogether, but any organization that utilizes laptop computers faces the risk of these easily becoming wireless stations that introduce security risks. However, security-conscious enterprises are fortifying their wireless LANs with a layered approach to security that resembles the accepted security practices of wired networks. This layered approach to security addresses all network components: please click here to continue reading this whitepaper on securing your Wireless WLAN.
This whitepaper has been submitted by Air Defense, Inc. Please visit their website, www.AirDefense.net, for additional information on securing your Wireless network.
The Right Fit-An analysis of Qwest’s GES Technology program
MiCTA Endorsed Vendor Qwest’s GES Tailors Solutions for State & Local Governments
by Sean Buckley
Whether the service is optical Ethernet, VoIP or to build out a statewide data and voice network, the overarching need of the state and local government agency is simple: Give me the right service that fits my needs and do it at the right price. For Qwest’s Government and Education Solutions, this mantra has served them well. Currently, the Qwest Government and Education Solutions division provides voice, video, data and IP solutions to more than 10,000 states, cities, counties, municipal governments, public school systems, colleges and Native American tribal governments.
In the first of a two-part segment on Qwest’s Government services, Sharon W. Montgomery, vice president of Government and Education Solutions for Qwest Communication, talked to Editor Sean Buckley about communications trends taking place at the state and local government level.
TM: To start, what does today’s service provider have to do to stay competitive in serving the state & local government sector, and how does Qwest approach that opportunity?
Montgomery: Our tagline is that we are focused on the spirit of service and providing a partnership with our customers where we look at what the problem is and how to solve those problems. Most of my customers have budget issues, so they are always looking for the best way to serve their constituents or their school districts and E-911. It’s more about how we add value and solve their problems.
TM: You mentioned E-911. Talk to me about what issues S&L government agencies are facing with E-911, and how does Qwest Government and Education Solutions solve those problems?
Montgomery: A lot of E-911 centers are looking at “should I or shouldn’t I convert to VoIP.” There are some new technologies out there that give them that alternative. From the standpoint of just being able to deliver and making sure you have 100 percent reliability in your service, you have trained personnel to deal with the 911 issues serving their local communities. Also, making sure they are ready for anything that might come at them from a disaster perspective.
TM: To follow up on one point you made about looking at using VoIP for E-911, in a recent study by NASCIO (National Association of State Chief Information Officers), there seems to be growing interest in S&L agencies to adopt VoIP. What are you seeing in regards to S&L agencies adopting VoIP?
Montgomery: That’s a great question. It really depends. From the standpoint of what are state and local government [doing with VoIP], some are early adopters and some are going to wait and see how the industry migrates. There’s some criticality in making sure they do it at the right time at the place it makes sense to them. If I have an investment in state government, in a switch I am going to maximize the return on that investment for as long as I possibly can.
To answer your question, it really depends on what the situation of that particular customer is and the events [that] would make them transition and move to a VoIP platform. Whether they go to a network-provided service or they go to an equipment alternative really depends. That’s what puts Qwest in a really good position in that we are able to help partner and advocate for what is going to be the best solution for that government agency.
TM: Certainly, no one provider can do everything alone. Do you work with a series of integrators on the S&L side to get the job done, or does it depend on the situation?
Montgomery: I hate to give the same answer to this question, but it really does depend. We have a relationship with all of the top integrators, and we really are in a position—depending on the needs of my customers—to service and deliver on what they need as far as expectations, ROI, SLA, etc. There are several contracts where we sub to an integrator, and there are times when we prime and bring in the integrator to help us. The answer is it depends, but we do all of it.
Q. What are some of the hot topics when it comes to S&L technology IT adoption?
Montgomery: If you’re asking what I see across the board, it’s “how do I save money, and how can I deliver the same expected level of service to my constituency, my school district at a lower cost?” That’s the common threshold. Outsourcing is always a discussion point of how they can do that cheaper. We have services at higher bandwidths, i.e., more bandwidth for lower price. Some of the products that fit into that would include optical Ethernet, VoIP, managed IPT. Several things that we can provide really fit that need to save money, and to do things faster, better, quicker at a higher expectancy.
Q. One of the services that we’re seeing adopted by S&L and education is Ethernet. How are S&L agencies adopting this technology, and do you see a continued demand for this service?
Montgomery: Yes. I got a couple of significant deals that have been publicized in the press: Mesa School District and Denver Public Schools have deployed entire networks of optical Ethernet. It’s something we deliver really well, and it’s something those customers are proud to say they are partnered with Qwest on. Optical Ethernet, from the ability to provide the service, be able to crank it up quickly for a need, and be cost effective is really something my customers are taking a liking to. From an availability standpoint, to crank up applications such as distance learning and all the things that school districts are looking to deliver at a lower cost, [Ethernet] gives them a ton of flexibility.
Q. To enhance your ability to serve S&L agencies, you have a partnership with MiCTA (Michigan Collegiate Telecommunications Association). How important is that to serving the S&L space?
Montgomery: Well, procurement vehicles are important in my space to provide services to our customers. In government, you need to have a procurement vehicle to meet requirements of procurement laws in each of our states, so MiCTA is one of the vehicles we use. It’s a process where the consortium goes out to do an RFP—it’s a very competitively bid process. When a customer purchases off of MiCTA, they can be assured that once they follow the procurement laws to buy services, they are getting a nationally recognized price. It is one of the vehicles we use. If we don’t have a vehicle, particularly in a state that I have never done business with before, it allows a quick way to alternate an RFP process. If I am coming in with a service that will save them money, they want to do it as soon as they possibly can, so we can bypass the process of waiting for a six-month process to do an RFP.
Q. Switching gears a bit, do you see more states building out statewide networks with partners such as Qwest?
Montgomery: What is really a great story is Colorado, for example. If you take Colorado as an anchor tenant to provide high bandwidth requirements across the state, you build an economic development story for the rest of the state; you have the fiber infrastructure to deliver high bandwidth to rural areas of a state like Colorado. To the extent that we can partner and work toward the common goal for economic development and have a state be an anchor tenant, it’s a win-win for both the government state entity and Qwest. There are several states where we have done that, and it’s a great partnership with the state and Qwest to deliver services across a state.
Q. One of the other emerging trends is that S&L agencies are partnering with large service providers to build public Wi-Fi networks. Is that something Qwest is looking into?
Montgomery: Yes, we’re always going to look at how can we continue to develop positive working relationships with our local and state government customers: to the extent that we are going to look at those case by case and evaluate each individual opportunity to determine whether or not it makes sense from a business perspective for Qwest, and we can deliver on those expectations. Foremost is building that relationship and ensuring our customers expectations and exceeding them. We need to look at those economically as they come up to determine if it’s something Qwest wants to do. Also, the government dynamic from the political perspective always has a little bit of a twist and grind to what we do.
Announcing 5 upcoming conferences with MiCTA
MiCTA will be exhibiting at 5 conferences this spring. These events are filled with informative seminars, excellent networking opportunities and the newest technology products from MiCTA Endorsed and Approved vendors. We will be at the following conferences in the first 5 months year alone, with more time come as the year progresses!
The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)
March 28-30 Booth # 307
Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA
website www.k12schoolnetworking.org/2007
Michigan School Business Officials (MSBO)
April 24-27
Amway Grand Plaza, Grand Rapids, MI
www.msbo.org
Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers (FAPPO)
April 30-May 3 Booth 202
Bahia Mar Beach Resort, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
www.fappo.org/annual_tradeshow.htm
MiCTA Annual Conference
May 8-9, 2007
James B. Henry Center for Executive Development
Michigan State University
Lansing, MI
www.micta.org
Michigan Public Purchasing Officers Association (MPPOA)
May 16-18
Treetops Resort, Gaylord, MI
www.mppoa.net
Please visit any of these conference websites or feel free to call us at 888-870-8677. Or if you have a conference opportunity that you think we should be at you can send Amiee an email at ayoung@mictaservice.com.
Welcome New Members
American Cancer Society-Great Lakes Division
Brighter Futures
Catalyst, Inc.
City of Cortez
Indiana Virtual Academy
Koinionia Worship Center
Prince William County Public Schools
Redemptive Life Fellowship
Shookum Education Programs
SUNY Fredonia
Check out this month’s Grant Alert
More than $20K for science-oriented essays
Grant Title: DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition
Organization: The DuPont Center for Collaborative Research and Education
Eligibility: Grades 7-12
Value: More than $20,000 total
Deadline: February 12, 2007
Students write a 700 to 1,000 word essay discussing a scientific discovery, theory, event, or technology application that has captured your interest. Over the years, the judges have noted that winning essays reflect the several attributes, including creativity, originality, readability, thorough research, and appropriate choice of subject matter. Awards are given in junior, senior, and teacher divisions; the science teacher who sponsors the winning student receives a prize.
Contact: http://www.glcomm.com/dupont/index.htm
More than $10 million in cash and equipment
Grant Title: HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Development Co.
Eligibility: U.S. and Puerto Rico K-12 and higher education institutions
Value: Undisclosed
Deadline: February 15, 2007
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 2007 Technology for Teaching Grants support efforts to improve student achievement in U.S. schools through the innovative use of classroom technology. K-12 public schools are eligible for $3.9 million in cash and equipment from HP; proposals will be accepted from all subject areas, but preference will be given to projects with a focus on math or science. Two- and four-year colleges and universities are eligible for grants totaling $2.8 million in cash and equipment to support the redesign of math, science and engineering courses, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of students graduating with high-tech degrees. This year, extra consideration is being given to proposals related to environmental engineering and green product design. Based on the outcomes of the projects funded through this initiative in 2007, HP may offer grant recipients the opportunity to receive higher-value grants in 2008.
Contact: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/us/programs/tech_teach...
Welcome to this month’s Vendor Corner
Promo pricing ends on March 29, 2007
Ordering Info:
Phone Number:
800-211-4952 ext. 29927
Email Address:
Solutionteam@gateway.com
Address:
Gateway Computers
610 Gateway Drive
North Sioux City, SD 57049
Brodart Announces:
Our New 2006 Library Supplies & Furnishings Catalog
Almost every product: 20% off!
This year’s catalog is cleaner and more concise, with larger images and a super user-friendly layout. The new Brodart catalog is bigger, too – over 42,000 products, including over 1,500 brand-new products!
Our Public Library Catalog contains 960 pages, the School Library Catalog 976 pages, and we’ve expanded the New Product Gallery at the front of each catalog to 16 pages of new and innovative product offerings. Our School Library Catalog also features an additional 16-page Arts and Crafts Gallery.
Everything about this year’s catalog is bigger and better! We expanded the index. We completely redesigned our Book Jacket Cover section to help our customers make more informed purchasing decisions. We added more pages and bigger images to the signage section to better illustrate the advantages of Brodart Sign Shop products. Our new Ovation Collection has joined the Brodart family of library furniture. We showcased our expanded line of Brodart-manufactured acrylics, added more children’s school and library furniture and re-vamped the archival section to give it a more professional, user-friendly look.
Sign up now to receive your free copy! Just go online at www.shopbrodart.com and click on the rolling text!
For more information on products and services for MiCTA members from Brodart:
Call: 1-800-233-8467 ext. 4338
Click: www.shopbrodart.com/pricing/micta/
Fax: 1-800-578-1064
E-Mail: supplies.quotes@brodart.com
Just For Fun
1) Which of these was not a post held by Sir Isaac Newton?
A) Astronomer Royal
B) Warden of the Royal Mint
C) President of the Royal Society
D) Master of the Royal Mint
2) In "Pirates of the Caribbean", a group of pirates became cursed and turned in to ghost pirates. The reason they were turned in to ghosts is because they stole some Aztec gold. Which character turned in to a ghost pirate in the final battle?
A) Will Turner
B) Mr. Cotton
C) Elizabeth Swann
D) Jack Sparrow
3) How many elements in the periodic table begin with the letter 'Z'?
A) 5
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3
4) How many letters are there in the Greek alphabet?
A) 26
B) 20
C) 24
D) 25
For answers to "Just for Fun", please visit the Members' homepage.
PREVIOUS MICTA ALERTS
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006
• August 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
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