On Thursday, November 17, Google and “[acronym]’s sponsor, DLT Solutions hosted a live technology seminar at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel in Lakewood, CO. The Tech Day highlighted DLT Solutions’ partnership with Google to provide innovative technologies that help government agencies with Enterprise solutions. Google product experts spoke to Federal Civilian and State and Local government employees about how these modern technology solutions allow them to meet the current challenges of their agency.

Yesterday the team at [acronym] was honored to host the first ever public sector CAD awards at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Recognizing the best in digital design innovation the event brought together a broad cross-section group of finalists from across the nation and the world (we even had submissions from Guam). Each of these finalists underscored the commitment of public sector organizations and the contracting community that supports them to deliver unrivaled innovation and value through the use of digital design tools. We also had a pretty awesome keynote speaker – Vernice “Flygirl” Armour – who shared her experiences on how to overcome even the most daunting obstacles – regardless of in flight, in business or in government.

Earlier this summer, [acronym] launched the first ever public sector CAD awards and now we’d like you to join us as we honor our finalists at the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards on November 14,2011 in Washington, D.C. When we first launched the contest, we asked you to tell us how you have used digital design software to help your agency to achieve its goals and your response was phenomenal! Thank you to all who entered.

Earlier this summer, [acronym] launched the first ever public sector CAD awards and now we’d like you to join us as we honor our finalists at the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards on November 14,2011 in Washington, D.C. When we first launched the contest, we asked you to tell us how you have used digital design software to help your agency to achieve its goals and your response was phenomenal! Thank you to all who entered.

Excerpts from this article were originally published in Advantage for Construction, a newsletter for executives and managers in the field of general contracting. Advantage for Construction is produced by Longitude Media, the publisher of Cadalyst. The entire article, How to Hire a Great BIM Manager, can be read, here. The best leaders have several traits in common – and a few of them might surprise you. While some government agencies are “…yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide,” others are embracing with open arms the time and cost savings that can be achieved by incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM) into their workflows.

Say the phrase “TomTom” and what’s most likely to come to mind is a company that manufacturers consumer automobile navigation systems. In fact, TomTom is the leading manufacturer of consumer navigation systems in Europe. But did you know that TomTom also provides navigation systems, mapping data and handheld navigations devices to Federal, State and Local governments, too? TomTom’s government product solution line was the subject of a recent webcast, TomTom Maps and Applications for Government GIS, hosted by TomTom and our sponsor DLT Solutions. The discussion was led by James Pardue, Manager of Government Programs.

Almost 10 years ago now, Jason McLennan writing in his book “The Philosophy of Sustainable Design” laid out a compelling vision of sustainable design with the goal of eliminating “negative environmental impact completely through skilful, sensitive design”. In the abstract, sustainable design has a poetic feel to it. But the essential component parts are very real and very impactful not only to the environment but to society at large, and to our collective pocket books. The General Services Administration (GSA), for example, oversees 500,000 government buildings, spends $30 billion per year on federal construction and has energy costs totaling approximately $7 billion per year. That’s a lot of tax payer money and represents an enormous opportunity to transfer sustainable technologies and practices on a large scale which GSA is currently undertaking.

GEOINT 2011 is right around the corner. If your’e not familiar with the event, GEOINT is the defacto gathering for defense, intelligence and homeland security communities looking to learn more about the latest trends and technologies in the geointelligence space. To get our readers prepared for what should be a successful GEOINT experience, we thought we’d take a look back at [acronym] Online’s archive of articles on geointelligence. From using Google Maps to visualize the post-tornado destruction in Joplin, MO to helping urban residents locate HIV/AIDS testing centers, all levels of government can benefit themselves and their constituents by exploiting all the uses that GIS has to offer.

Attention CAD designers, managers and drafters! Time is running out and we want to hear from you! Don't wait any longer to submit your application for the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards. The [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards is a new innovation contest that challenges the public sector, and the contractors that support it, to share the creative ways they have used digital design/CAD software.

In 2006 digital design was the niche government industry that was cast aside by the publication world. While print magazines focused on the more popular issues of data security and enterprise technology, the 3D design world was often overlooked. Cue [acronym] Magazine. “An abbreviated look at digital design,” [acronym] Magazine got its start to fill the void of publications dedicated to the public sector agencies and employees who use digital design. It was the first of its kind. The bi-annual magazine published by DLT Solutions featured tools, tips, and case studies for government end users that use 3D design and CAD software to better serve their constituents. “We had published a compilation of case studies in the past as a newsletter called D3,” says Christine Schaefer, VP Marketing, DLT Solutions. “But, we identified that there was a void that needed to be filled with valuable content, specifically tailored to government-focused CAD and Geospatial audiences.”