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ITSMF Member Ben Hasan Featured in Diversity/Careers (pg 42)

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VisionIT Named Class IV NMSDC National Supplier of the Year as top MBE firm in the United States

DENVER, October 31, 2012

VisionIT was named the National Supplier of the Year: Class IV - Annual Sales Greater than $50 Million at the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (NMSDC) Awards Banquet on Oct. 31, 2012 in Denver, Colorado.

VisionIT was selected as a winner for its tremendous growth into one of the largest minority-owned IT firms in the country – with 2011 revenues of $239 million – since its establishment in 1997. VisionIT services major customers like Comerica Bank, Freddie Mac, Johnson & Johnson, HP, Accenture, Meritor, Delphi, Pfizer, Siemens and Toyota and is a supporter of other minority-owned businesses. VisionIT spent $30 million with MBEs last year. Segura and VisionIT employees also actively participate nationally in community initiatives including mentorship, internships, scholarships, technology labs, and job opportunities.

"This is the highest honor for a minority business enterprise firm in the United States," said David H. Segura, CEO of VisionIT. "Not only has VisionIT maintained a commitment to offering the best service, we've done so with a dedication to other minority-owned businesses and our community."

"Here in Michigan, we've witnessed the outstanding growth of VisionIT firsthand," said Louis Green, President and CEO of the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council. "I am thrilled to see that the entire country has recognized what we've known all along – VisionIT and David Segura are the very best at what they do. The Minority Business of the year award from our national organization reflects VisionIT's status as a national player in the information technology industry, and also highlights their pattern of innovation under the leadership of David Segura and his executive team."

The Award Process

Representing the best-of-the-best among NMSDC's 16,000 certified minority businesses, 16 businesses are named Regional Minority Supplier of the Year winners, annually. One regional winner from each of four classes is named the National Supplier of the Year.

Businesses are nominated by their corporate customers and divided into four classes based on annual sales: Class IV - annual sales greater than $50 million, Class III - annual sales between $10 million and $50 million, Class II – annual Sales Between $1 million and $10 million and Class I – annual sales less than $1 million.

NMSDC-certified minority-owned businesses are evaluated on the basis of business growth, development and performance, community service and the ability to overcome challenges brought on by the company owner's heritage or background.

NMSDC Annual Conference

The Conference theme for 2012 was "Minority Businesses and Corporate America: Advancing Minority Suppliers in the Global Supply Chain." More than 7,000 participants, including minority business owners and corporate purchasing executives, attended the NMSDC 2012 Conference and Business Opportunity Fair. The Awards Banquet concludes the four-day conference, held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colo.

The National Minority Supplier Development Council advances business opportunities for certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American business enterprises and connects them to corporate members. One of the country's leading corporate membership organizations, NMSDC was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes. The organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

ABOUT VISIONIT

VisionIT, Inc. is a global leader in the areas of Information Technology Managed Services and Talent Management Solutions. For nearly 16 years, VisionIT combines focus, agility, streamlined operations and the most talented IT professionals to deliver unmatched services to many Fortune 500 corporations and large government agencies. With 20 U.S. offices, personnel in 38 U.S. states, and global operations in Puerto Rico, Mexico and India, VisionIT operates FAST. To learn more about this growing technology leader visit www.visionit.com.

Cummins Inc. Earns Spot on 2012 InformationWeek 500 List of Top Technology Innovators Across America

COLUMBUS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- September 17,2012

Cummins Inc. (CMI) today announced that it was among a select number of companies on this year's InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. The annual list was revealed late last week during an awards ceremony at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference. Cummins Inc. last received this honor in 2007.

"Cummins was founded on innovation and it remains one of our core values today," said Bruce Carver, Cummins Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "Globally, our 45,000 employees working together generate the ingenuity necessary to make us better, fast, first. We are honored to be recognized by InformationWeek as one of the top 500 technology innovators."

During 2011, while Cummins was growing from a $13 billion to $18 billion company, it was important to harness business innovations to support it. The Order Management System (OMS) was one innovation that played a key role. Cummins Emission Solutions (CES) implemented the OMS in 2011, allowing for rapid expansion of the CES business, a key factor in the growth of the entire enterprise. This impact of the OMS was a primary reason that Cummins received the InformationWeek award.

CES was launched in 2002 and in just 10 years ago, the business has grown to a $1 billion business within Cummins. The Order Management System provides CES increased capabilities, streamlines processes and offers greater flexibility to be more responsive to customer needs. OMS also provides the foundation on which Cummins receives, schedules, and manages orders throughout North America, enabling Cummins employees to respond more swiftly to customers.

A cross-functional team of business experts and IT professionals worked together for more than 18 months on the development and implementation of the new system. Dwayne Allen, Executive Director of IT in Components, said, "This was a team win across the board: a successful implementation offering new business capabilities and aligning with our long term IT strategies while improving service to our customers." The solution went live on one of the top transactions days in the 10-year history of CES with no issues or disruption of service.

"The InformationWeek 500 has recognized the most innovative users of business technology for 24 years, and this year's innovations were particularly impressive," said InformationWeek Editor In Chief Rob Preston. "What the editors looked for are unconventional approaches—new technologies, new models, new ways of grabbing business opportunities and solving complex business problems with IT."

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments, and administrative practices of America's best-known companies. Past overall winners include PACCAR Inc., The Vanguard Group, CME Group, National Semiconductor, Con-Way, and Principal Financial Group. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 6,500 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.85 billion on sales of $18.0 billion in 2011. News releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com)

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow—from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties such as DarkReading.com (security), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and BYTE (consumer technology). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers and SMBs, via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb's and InformationWeek SMB, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare sites. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy—IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

ITSMF Members to participate in CIO panel discussion at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, October 21 – 25, 2012 in Orlando, Florida – join us and save $500!

ITSMF Members: You're invited to join us for an exclusive CIO panel discussion, Getting to CIO & Beyond No Matter Where You Came From, at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, October 21 – 25, 2012 in Orlando, Florida where 8,500 senior IT leaders, including 2,500 CIOs will come together for five intensive days.

Guest panel speakers include: Douglas Ash, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Global Training and Logistics, Lockheed Martin; Ricardo Bartra, SVP, CIO DHL Global Forwarding Americas, Deutsche Post DHL; Frank DeArmas, VP IT and CIO Global Surgery NA, Johnson & Johnson; Ken Freeman, CIO, Webster University

Focus. Connect. Lead.
The demand for IT re-imagination is escalating as the result of a powerful nexus of forces — mobile, social, cloud and information — that will require you and your organization to work in entirely new ways. Attend Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, The World's Most Important Gathering of CIOs and Senior IT Executives, to guide your focus on the issues that matter, connect people and ideas, and help you lead with creativity and confidence.
ITSMF members can save $500 off the standard registration rate using priority code SYMITSMF. To learn more and register, visit gartner.com/us/symposium.

Congratulations to our 2012 Top 10 Breakaway Leaders!

Please join the CIO Leadership Network Board, the Global CIO Executive Summit Governing Body, the Judging Panel and our entire CIO community in offering up congratulations to the winners of this year's Top 10 Breakaway Leaders Award.

Last night, we celebrated the leadership, dedication and influence of 10 individuals in our own community who have risen above the rest and were recognized as 2012 Breakaway Leaders.

This year's awards focused on the theme of Business Acceleration and Leadership in the Evolving Global Economy – Predict. Transform. Deliver. This is the only CIO awards program where winners are determined by the CIO peer community alongside an elite judging panel.

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How Charlotte's CIO Prepared for the Democratic National Convention

By Rachael King

First Lady Michelle Obama and party leaders will take the stage Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. What you won't see is the massive effort by the city to boost its security and technology infrastructure to host this event. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how Charlotte CIO Jeff Stovall pulled together the IT infrastructure.

In roughly 18 months, Stovall's team undertook more than 100 projects, some large and some small, to be ready for the convention. His work shows what CIOs can do on a pressing deadline. If you think rolling out Windows 8 will be a challenge, try upgrading your organization's security, network capabilities and call centers and then inviting the world's media to visit to see how well it works.

"There isn't a blueprint for how to do a Democratic National Convention," Stovall told CIO Journal. So, he looked for experts and he contracted with Molly Rauzi, the former CIO of Denver. She experienced the 2008 Democratic National Convention and helped him determine Charlotte's level of readiness.

"We have gone through some rapid maturing of our IT practices in order to manage the size and scope of an event like this," said Stovall. One big undertaking was creating an enterprise-wide project management office that could handle the convention-related projects concurrently with large municipal projects such as replacing the city's 35-year-old mainframe ERP system and moving to an Intel-based server system.

Attendance at the convention is expected to be only half of what the CIAA basketball tournament draws to Charlotte each year. Yet, so many of the convention's attendees are high-level government officials and media that it calls for a whole different level of response in security and telecommunications, said Stovall.

Some of the largest projects involved beefing up the city's security. Stovall's team installed a city-wide video surveillance system that required an upgrade to the network's capacity and storage. "You can't host a national security event without having that level of capability," said Stovall, who adds that the city's video capabilities previously were 'limited.' His team also installed a digital radio system with encryption for the police and fire departments. The city received about $50 million in federal grants to pay for security-related costs but Stovall couldn't break out how much of that was spent on information technology.

"The biggest challenge was coordinating the different staff and projects that needed to take place," said Bellverie Ross, who oversees the city's program management office. For example, the city upgraded its five call centers to voice over IP technology that will handle calls to the 311 information system and also handle questions about bus routes from convention attendees. Overall, the city involved about 125 of its IT professionals in convention planning along with additional outside contractors.

Even though the convention has started, the work isn't done. "We are running a 24-hour help desk today and through the rest of the week," said Stovall, adding that Ross has created an auxiliary help desk for technology that has been recently deployed. Tuesday morning, Stovall and Ross were busy staging those help desks. With any luck, the calls will be few and far between.

Write to rachael.king@wsj.com

ITSMF

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SENIOR MANAGEMENT FORUM CONGRATULATES DR. JUDITH SPITZ, SVP AND CIO, VERIZON, ON RECEIVING PACE UNIVERSITY'S LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD

June 21, 2012

The Board of Directors and Advisory Council of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum congratulate Dr. Judith Spitz, SVP and CIO, Verizon, for being honored by Pace University with their Leadership and Service in Technology Award. We salute Dr. Spitz as an industry leader who is making extraordinary contributions to the advancement of information technology and serving as an outstanding, forward-thinking technology leader who inspires people around the world in IT. We also salute ITSMF's sponsor Verizon for its commitment to diversity and developing leaders.

About ITSMF

ITSMF (http://www.itsmfonline.org/) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to fostering senior-level, executive talent among African-American IT professionals. Our goal is to prepare African-American IT professionals for senior-level responsibility by offering executive career development, mentoring and networking opportunities for advancing to the C-suite.

ITSMF

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SENIOR MANAGEMENT FORUM CONGRATULATES VERIZON ON WINNING THE CIO 100 AWARD FOR ITS ICONIC SALES PORTAL

June 21, 2012

Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) salutes Verizon on winning the CIO 100 Award. "Verizon is a true innovator, improving the customer experience with increasingly strategic and smarter technology solutions. On behalf of the ITSMF membership, I congratulate Verizon for winning the 2012 CIO 100 award for its Iconic Sales Portal," states Douglas Ash, Chairman, ITSMF and Chief Information Officer, Global Training and Logistics, Lockheed Martin.

About ITSMF

ITSMF (http://www.itsmfonline.org/) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to fostering senior-level, executive talent among African-American IT professionals. Our goal is to prepare African-American IT professionals for senior-level responsibility by offering executive career development, mentoring and networking opportunities for advancing to the C-suite.