— WebWireID108247 —

To handle a rising tide of information stemming from various corporate systems, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service® sought a software solution that would quickly synthesize external information, including new tax law changes, the tax implications of new legislation, and the tax impact of a natural disaster for faster distribution to its franchisees and company-owned locations managers to help best serve clients.

As a result of quick and easy access to critical business information, employees will be able to improve client service more quickly and efficiently.

IBM business analytics technology will significantly cut programmer servicing time, especially during peak times of the year, and will allow Jackson Hewitt® franchisees to use a more self-sufficient model to independently review relevant business information at-a-glance to more effectively run their office operations and analyze business reports in real time. The new analytics solution will also help Jackson Hewitt enhance office and employee performance through such tools as real-time fee and discount tracking.

"We selected IBM's business analytics system after a rigorous bid process," said Danamichele Brennen, senior vice-president and chief technology officer, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. "With analytics technology we can effectively and expeditiously empower our franchisees, corporate partners and internal stakeholders with the right information at the right time. They'll get the relevant data and analytics insight they need to provide our customers with exceptional service."

"Smart midsize organizations like Jackson Hewitt are laying the foundation for 21st Century growth with business analytics that provide and enhance data-driven decision-making," said Mychelle Mollot, vice president of worldwide marketing, BI and Performance Management, IBM. "Business analytics helps all clients glean new intelligence from their data that can be effectively applied for smarter decision-making."

About Jackson Hewitt:

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), with approximately 6,600 franchised and company-owned offices throughout the United States during the 2009 Tax Season, is an industry leader providing full service individual federal and state income tax return preparation. Most offices are independently owned and operated. Jackson Hewitt is based in Parsippany, New Jersey. More information may be obtained at www.jacksonhewitt.com.

About IBM:

For more information about IBM Smarter Planet, please visit www.ibm.com/press/smarterplanet

For more information about IBM Information Management, please visit http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/.

— WebWireID108224 —

Dell announced a Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) solution that is designed to eliminate the traditional trade-offs hospitals face between making patient information available to medical staff at the point of care and securing it in the data center to promote compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Data security is a legitimate concern for hospitals and patients. With an estimated average data breach cost of $202 per record1, or $4 to $20 million2 for recent hospital breaches -- hospitals must protect critical information from unauthorized access and use while at the same time sharing it at the point of care for diagnosis and coordination of patient care.

The proliferation of devices such as handhelds, laptops, tablets, carts and desktops—and applications—45 percent of hospitals manage more than 150 applications3 — adds to the complexity of the challenge and highlights the need for a solution. Hospital medical staffs can spend up to 60 minutes a day4 looking for the right workstation with the right applications to do their job. With labor accounting for almost 60 percent5 of hospital care costs and the costs to manage data breaches potentially running into the tens of millions of dollars, that's inefficiency that hospitals can no longer afford. Dell is helping members of the hospital staff work more efficiently by offering a virtual client solution that is easy for clinicians to use and IT teams to manage.

The News:

* Dell Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) Simplifies Management for IT and Info Access for Medical Professionals and helps improve information security, staff productivity and care quality.
o Data Security: Patient info and applications are protected and managed centrally in the data center
o Hassle-free, Convenient Access: MCC enables access to role-based applications and data from any device anywhere in the hospital. Single sign-on, session roaming and location awareness simplify interaction for clinicians. Silver Cross Hospital's 1,000 medical professionals are saving up to one hour a day per professional with convenient access to the applications and info they need to do their jobs
o Simplified Management: Applications are updated in minutes instead of hours. Silver Cross Hospital cut update time from 80 hours/application to 20 minutes. IT manages digital identities in the data center, not mobile devices on the hospital floor
* Shift from Managing Devices to Managing Identities. MCC simplifies info security and management for IT and information access for medical professionals by locking applications and patient info in the data center and shifting IT focus from managing a growing number of end-user devices to managing user 'digital identities.' Digital identities are a combination of user profile, preferences, applications and privileges that give medical professionals authorized access to applications from any device anywhere in the hospital. Medical professionals perform rounds without hunting for patient paper records or the right device for the job.
* Right Infrastructure for the Job. Dell creates a practical blueprint for the design, implementation and management of a virtual client network that works for the medical professional and for the hospital with the right combination of thin client, virtual desktop, laptop or handheld. IT and medical professionals are no longer locked in to a 'one size fits all' model of client computing.
* A Complete Information-Sharing Solution for Hospitals. Dell is providing a complete solution from design, validation and implementation of the MCC infrastructure, to integration of clients, servers and software with training and 24/7 service and support.
* Managed/Hosted Services. Dell Services, which includes the former Perot Systems, provides end-to-end MCC services including management and hosting to assist clients with any operational scenario. Private cloud solutions can be deployed via traditional capital or utility based expenditure models to optimize resources consumed rather than building idle capacity.
* Availability. MCC is available to hospitals in the U.S. and in Europe.

Quotes:

'A proliferation of applications, passwords and end-user equipment throughout the hospital challenged our caregivers and complicated IT's trouble shooting and technical support. To increase the simplicity and reliability of our technology, we needed a new approach,' said David Hillenmeyer, CIO of Silver Cross Hospital, a 300-bed acute care facility located in Joliet, Illinois and a Top 100 Hospital National Award winner five years in a row.

'With MCC, we enjoy five-nines application availability. We can push application updates to these 200 desktops in 20 minutes; a huge savings from the 80 hours it took previously,' said Mr. Hillenmeyer. 'Shorter logins and access to a complete application suite on each workstation is helping our medical professionals reclaim nearly 20,000 hours for patient care this year alone. The solution's roaming capabilities have simplified physician and nurse rounding and documentation. Single sign-on coupled with the swipe cards and proximity detectors enforces password compliance and provides another level of access controls. These added protections help ensure Silver Cross' commitment to patient confidentiality and data security.'

'It's not enough to digitize patient information. We must make it available to medical professionals at the point of care, whether that's in a hospital or in an affiliated physician practice,' said Dr. Jamie Coffin, vice president, Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences. 'Dell is focused on transforming HIT to harness the power of information across our healthcare system to better coordinate and improve patient care and reduce its cost.'

___________________

1 Ponemon Institute: 'Annual Cost of Data Breach Report,' 2009

2 Credant: 'Data Security & Compliance in the Healthcare Market,' 2009

3 HIMSS: 'Healthcare and Integration Survey,' 2008

4 Dell Silver Cross Hospital Case Study, April, 2009

5 American Hospital Association: Trendwatch Chartbook 2009

— WebWireID108216 —

ARMONK, N.Y. and BALTIMORE. IBM (NSYE: IBM) today announced researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) are using IBM technology to analyze smoke patterns during wildfires. The goal of the research is to provide fire and public safety officials with a real-time assessment of the fire, allowing them to make more informed decisions on public evacuations and health warnings.

Current analysis of smoke patterns is limited to weather forecasting data that is updated every six hours, observations from front-line workers and low resolution satellite imagery. Using a cluster of IBM BladeCenter servers housed at the UMBC College of Engineering and Information Technology's Multicore Computational Center (MC2), the team of faculty and student researchers will be able to instantly process the massive amounts of data available from drone aircraft, high-resolution satellite imagery and air-quality sensors to develop more effective models for smoke dissipation.

According to the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires present a serious and dangerous threat to commercial buildings, private homes and people. In the last year alone, there have been more than 76,000 individual fires, consuming an approximate 5.8 million acres. And according to the agency's recent Quadrennial Fire Review 2009, the threats are only expected to increase due to drier conditions associated with climate change and increasing population growth.

"By combining the resources and expertise of IBM and UMBC, together with data acquired from agencies like NASA, NOAA, EPA and the US Forest Service, we not only hope to protect the health and safety of neighboring communities, but also prevent the threats to their lives and property," said Dr. Milton Halem, director, UMBC's MC2. "We expect this research will be of great interest for many groups - especially in states where these types of fires are commonplace."

In addition to the IBM blade servers, researchers also will be using the recently announced IBM InfoSphere Streams, a technology designed to help organizations analyze information from any source; narrow it down what people are specifically looking for; and continuously refine the answer in real-time. Together, the UMBC team will have the first-ever opportunity to capture data from a network of surface, aerial and satellite sensors already established by organizations such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and provide more timely:

* identification of the location and progression of wildfires and smoke coverage;
* model forecast of fire and smoke behavior and plume dispersion for air quality monitoring;
* retasking of sensors to create new measurements;
* assistance by issuing real-time forecasts in the fire-fighting effort; and
* issuance of public safety and health alerts.

The research work is in-part funded by IBM's Shared University Research (SUR) awards program, which is designed to connect the research and researchers at universities with IBM Research, IBM Life Sciences, IBM Global Services and IBM's development and product labs. The SUR Awards program's goal is, among other things, to increase access to and successful use of IBM technologies for research and in curriculum.

"We are pleased to be working with the researchers at UMBC to create a breakthrough Smarter Planet application that will help save lives by predicting the movement of wildfires," said Bernie Meyerson, vice president of innovation and global university programs, IBM. "UMBC students and faculty will have access to IBM's latest hybrid computing platforms with incredibly fast predictive analytic capabilities."

The new system will be based on a set of blade servers designed by IBM, including the JS22, HS22 and QS22 models. Together, the computing power of the blades will help process a massive amount of real-time data streams of smoke plume models, helping discern the scope and projection of wildfire lines.

The UMBC MC2 research team is currently in the design stages of their monitoring technology, and expects to have a prototype available next year.

— WebWireID108211 —

CARY, NC, SAS received the top rank for cost and profitability analysis – earning a perfect score – while also receiving the top score in product strategy and vision in the November 16, 2009, Forrester Wave: Business Performance Solutions, Q4 2009 report.

'This past year, many organizations had to scale back,' said Jonathan Hornby, Global Marketing Director for Performance Management at SAS. 'Without a true understanding of what drives cost, profit and value, many have unfortunately cut muscle and bone to meet short-term targets at the expense of future prosperity. There is a better way. SAS enables customers to model, predict and optimize future scenarios so they can make fact-based decisions.'
Dealing with economic uncertainty

Today's economy makes it imperative to implement exceptional planning and measurement processes and systems. According to Forrester Research's report, 'planning, forecasting, financial reporting and performance measurement solutions are essential for addressing economic uncertainty. Forecasting, especially, has helped companies cope with market volatility in the face of the economic slowdown and economic instability that now seem to be easing.'

Paul Hamerman reported, 'SAS has sophisticated capabilities in cost and profitability, forecasting and strategy management, and it focuses on business issues well beyond the scope of finance.'

To improve performance and outpace the competition, companies do well to forecast and measure leading indicators rather than relying on lagging indicators and historical accounting. Companies that can identify opportunities and threats more easily than competitors, understand the implications, update strategy quickly and execute consistently across the organization will be the winners.

'With leading capabilities in cost and profitability management and predictive analytics, SAS is a smart choice for sophisticated companies. The predictive technology supports complex planning and forecasting applications,' Hamerman notes in this report.
SAS® for Performance Management

SAS offers a comprehensive set of business performance offerings, delivering on all core capabilities evaluated for this Forrester report: planning and budgeting; consolidation and reporting; strategy and performance; and cost and profitability analysis, together with foundational BI capabilities. SAS offerings are well-integrated and move beyond the traditional purview of finance to give a complete picture of performance.

SAS for Performance Management, implemented at more than 1,500 customer sites, enables organizations to organize and cleanse data as a critical first step. Many then address financial aspects of budgeting and planning as a foundation for strategy management. Others focus on understanding what drives value. To help organizations improve performance, SAS' intertwined solutions include:

* Dashboards and scorecards.
* Financial consolidation, budgeting, planning and reporting.
* Cost and profitability analysis.
* Human and IT capital analysis.
* Customer and supplier intelligence.
* Enterprise risk management.
* Sustainability management.
* Advanced analytics.

SAS solutions are built on a common, scalable platform – the SAS Business Analytics Framework – to address the end-to-end process. With SAS, companies can start with a single solution and evolve at a pace that suits their needs.

— WebWireID108209 —

MONTPELLIER, FRANCE and ARMONK, In a region of France known for sunshine, agriculture and natural spring water, IBM (NYSE: IBM) has established a Center of Excellence for Water Management to use high performance computing to monitor and forecast the impact of climate change and severe weather conditions on water resources.

Based in Montpellier, France, the center is in the Languedoc Roussillon, a southern-facing region with abundant sunshine and seasonal, torrential rains causing millions of dollars worth of damages each year. More than 400 miles of levees exist to protect the 600,000 people living in potential flood zones.

'We have a unique opportunity, and unique ability, to apply our combined expertise in high performance computing, sensor networks and advanced analytics across a wide variety of water management challenges,' said Sharon Nunes, vice president, Big Green Innovations, IBM. 'We're modeling and simulating flash flooding scenarios, water management infrastructures, reservoir systems and more to develop new innovations for predicting, managing and sometimes even preventing events that might otherwise have a negative impact on a region's water supply.'

The center's high performance computing modeling capabilities combined with resilient sensor networks will enable fast, high resolution, large scale simulations based on multiple scenarios and options. With this ability, scientists can bring together a diverse set of information incorporating weather and climate changes, flood patterns, reservoir activity and more to develop new insights and innovations for smarter water management. Initiatives at the center are expected to complement those already underway with the county council including levee management, pollution reduction and sustained economic development.

One of the first projects slated for the Center of Excellence will be a collaborative effort by IBM and the ClusterEAU, an association of research laboratories, educational organizations and enterprises, to explore projects for advanced water resources management.. The ClusterEAU was formed to respond to the constantly growing needs for innovative proposals to face the issues of ensuring the concerted management of world water resources in a context of global changes and new challenges arising from human society: rapidly growing populations, energy challenges, economic and environmental issues in urban and rural development, globalisation of markets and services, emerging countries, stagnation in the poorest regions, and more.

'The new Center of Excellence will be a unique opportunity for us to establish strong collaborations with IBM and jointly promote our expertise in the field of advanced water resources management, particularly the computational aspects,' said Jean-Pierre Buchoud, president, ClusterEAU.

In 2008, IBM established centers of excellence for water management in Amsterdam, where the primary focus is on flood management and levee systems, and in Dublin, where the primary focus is to monitor, manage and forecast environmental challenges such as the movement of pollutants in fresh water, marine and oceanic environments.

IBM's smarter water management offering is part of its Big Green Innovations initiative, launched in October 2006 as part of IBM's $100 million investment in 10 new businesses generated by InnovationJam.

— WebWireID108203 —

SAN FRANCISCO. Cisco today announced the availability of Cisco® SIO To Go, an Apple iPhone application that puts the power of the Cisco Security Intelligence Operations (SIO) in users' hands, giving them real-time access to a wealth of actionable global security information no matter where they are. The Cisco SIO iPhone application enables users to personalize alerts to show only those security threats that could impact their network and provides added assurance that they are being protected by their Cisco security solution.

With its next-generation Borderless Networks Architecture, Cisco is helping individuals to reliably and seamlessly connect to the network from anywhere, using any device, with a high level of security. This freedom is changing the way information technology departments work, allowing for more automation and real-time data flow to ensure the integrity of the borderless network. The new Cisco SIO To Go iPhone application provides IT staff with an efficient way to receive alerts and respond to threats that can affect their operations.
Cisco SIO To Go iPhone Features

Powered by the Cisco Security IntelliShield Alert Manager Service, the Cisco SIO To Go iPhone application informs, protects and enables users to respond in real time to alerts and threats to the network. The application delivers early warning intelligence, threat vulnerability and proven Cisco mitigation solutions to users' iPhones as they occur. It also provides unique IP and URL address e-mail and Web reputation look-up powered by the Cisco IronPort® SenderBase Security Network and the Cisco SIO.

Alerts delivered include:

* Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) Alerts
* Cisco Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) Signatures
* Cisco Applied Mitigation Bulletins
* Cisco Threat Outbreak Alerts
* And many others

Links to the following Cisco security news and information:

* Cisco Security Blog
* Cisco Cyber Risk Report
* Cisco Press Releases
* Cisco Security Twitter Feed
* Cisco Security Podcasts

Supporting Quote:

* Marie Hattar, vice president, Network Systems Solutions Marketing, Cisco

"Enabling borderless networks is critical for today's business success. A key component of enabling individuals to connect to their business networks from anywhere is working to ensure that the network is protected regardless of the device used. Our new Cisco SIO To Go iPhone application is another important step in making this vision a reality. It improves the means by which IT departments are alerted to threats, and it provides added confidence and device flexibility as Cisco customers are shielded from these breaches."

About Cisco Security Intelligence Operations

* An advanced security infrastructure that provides threat identification, analysis and mitigation to continuously provide the highest level of security for Cisco customers. Cisco SIO comprises three components:
o Cisco SensorBase: The world's largest threat-monitoring network that captures global threat telemetry data from an exhaustive footprint of Cisco devices and services. Sources for SensorBase include more than 700,000 globally deployed Cisco security devices; Cisco IntelliShield, a historical-threat database of 40,000 vulnerabilities and 3,300 IPS signatures; and more than 600 third-party threat-intelligence sources, which track more than 500 third-party data feeds and 100 security news feeds around the clock.
o Cisco Threat Operations Center: A global team of more than 500 security analysts around the world dedicated to threat research every day, all day, and automated systems that extract actionable intelligence.
o Dynamic Updates: Real-time updates automatically delivered to security devices, along with best-practice recommendations and other content dedicated to helping customers track threats, analyze intelligence and ultimately improve their organization's overall security posture.

Pricing and Availability:

* The Cisco SIO iPhone application is free and will be available soon at the Apple iTunes Store.

— WebWireID108197 —

The report emphasized the hard work that SAP has put into building new functionality into its CIS solution as well as the clear road map for releases going forward. In particular, the IDC Energy Insights study points out that SAP plans to offer enhanced functionality in a number of areas relevant to the new energy economy, which is characterized by the integration of smart metering, complex billing, and new business models for utility providers.

SAP also received high marks from customer references in deregulated markets. One customer has been able to bill 27 different products using the SAP application. The report also cites SAP's leadership as owing to a large extent to the close cooperation with customers and partners in the company's industry value network.

More than 500 utilities worldwide use CIS software from SAP. In addition to IDC Energy Insights, other large analyst firms have also ranked SAP as a leading provider of CIS solutions. Market research firm Gartner recently identified SAP for the third year in a row as the leading CIS vendor for the utilities industry. Utilipoint ranked SAP in the same position for the fourth consecutive year.

— WebWireID108196 —

With Post-Newsweek Stations including KPRC (Houston); WDIV (Detroit); WPLG (Miami-Fort Lauderdale); WKMG (Orlando); KSAT (San Antonio); and WJXT (Jacksonville) working in a centralized graphics hub environment, the addition of AXIS maps was a good selection, providing news producers with the ability to create localized graphics utilizing templates at their desktop.

Design Hub Director Felicia Steiger said, 'The online aspect of AXIS is very appealing because there is no additional equipment to purchase or install. AXIS maps allows for map customization; banner design; and road and land colors, all of which can be stylized to match clients' on-air graphic package.

'The core benefit is placing control directly into the hands of the person telling the story. It's the producer who controls the parameters of map creation based on the specifics of their story. From an artist's perspective, AXIS maps removes the 'producer mind reading quotient'; that is, a producer gets what a producer wants and determines the elevation and reference points necessary to tell the story, rather than relying on an artist's interpretation of the information provided. For example, in a multi-city hub environment, AXIS maps provides the tools for producers familiar with local roads to produce maps that are more finely tuned to their story. We are very pleased with the product.'

Chyron CEO Michael Wellesley-Wesley added, 'We are delighted that the Post-Newsweek Stations have adopted AXIS maps for their broadcasts. Because of the online nature of AXIS, users are finding that cycle time from creation to air is drastically reduced and productivity is greatly enhanced. It is clear that AXIS online services will continue to play an increasingly vital role in the future of graphics production for television broadcasters, both on-air and on-line.'

About Chyron
As the pioneer of Graphics as a Service for all digital video media Chyron continues to define and dominate the world of digital and broadcast graphics with Web, Mobile, HD, 3D, and newsroom integration solutions. Winner of numerous awards, including two Emmys, Chyron has proven itself as the undisputed leader in the industry with sophisticated graphics offerings that include Online, Chyron's AXIS Graphics online content creation software, HD/SD switchable on-air graphics systems, clip servers, channel branding and telestration systems, graphics asset management and XMP integration solutions, the award-winning WAPSTR mobile phone newsgathering application as well as digital signage. For more information about Chyron products and services, please visit the company websites at www.chyron.com, www.chytv.com and www.axisgraphics.tv (NASDAQ: CHYR).

About Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc. is based in Detroit, Michigan, and operates as a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company.

— WebWireID108195 —

SAS won the Triple Bottom Line Award, which recognizes initiatives that demonstrate the successful integration of social, environmental and economic objectives. SAS, a global business analytics company with headquarters in Cary, is taking a long-term view of sustainability built on three pillars – its employees, educational philanthropy and the environment.

SAS' environmental sustainability program on its Cary campus also includes solar thermal hot water systems, regenerative drive elevators, two buildings currently under construction designed to achieve LEED certification, water and waste conservation projects, and active employee engagement efforts. SAS® for Sustainability Management, launched in April 2008, helps organizations accurately measure and manage their environmental impact.

'We are highlighting the need to invest in North Carolina's innovators with this year's program. Nothing short of a second industrial revolution is needed to meet our needs in ways that sustain natural systems and prosperity for all,' said Katy Ansardi, Sustainable North Carolina's President. 'North Carolinians have the vision, intellectual resources and entrepreneurial spirit to make our state a world leader in creating a new economy. We're thrilled to honor those who are making it happen.'

The 2009 award winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges from business, state government and academia. Profiles of the nominees and information about Sustainable North Carolina are available at www.sustainnc.org/2009awards.

— WebWireID108190 —

ARMONK, NY, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) are working together to modernize the management of the aging water and sewer infrastructure hidden beneath the nation's capital. The sprawling infrastructure includes hundreds of thousands of assets such as water distribution pipes, valves, public fire hydrants, collection pipes, man holes and water meters.

IBM's Global Business Services and Research arms have started a new collaboration with DC WASA to integrate advanced analytics with IBM Maximo software and a mapping application from ESRI, an IBM Business Partner. The availability of real time, map-based information will help DC WASA engineers identify potential problems before they occur. This can be done by analyzing an enormous amount of data and uncovering patterns related to weather conditions, water use and hundreds of other variables.

The new preventative measures, including converting to automated meter readers, have substantially reduced billing-related customer calls. A future benefit of the project is that it will enable dispatchers to deploy crews based on where they are working and what areas need service, streamlining the workload and improving the customer experience.

The system will also enable DC WASA to share and exchange data both internally for planning purposes and externally to assist other agencies, such as sharing real-time status of the more than 9,000 public hydrants in DC with the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Based on data from the IBM Maximo software, the hydrant status and water flow capacity of each hydrant can be seen by the fire department via Google Earth®. As firefighters are rushing to the scene, they will know in advance the level of water flow to expect out of the hydrants in the vicinity.

'Our work with IBM has allowed our assets to communicate with us – and we're doing more than just listening, we're taking action,' said Mujib Lodhi, CIO of DC WASA. 'Using IBM software, we're able to deploy our crews faster, which is key when there's water on the road or customers are without service. For day-to-day maintenance, the IBM software helps us to coordinate and plan our crews weeks ahead so we can work much more efficiently.'

The system, which dates back to the 1800s, had been maintained with paper records, which meant engineers had to go through paper files to find the status of individual assets. Now, with the integration of IBM Maximo software with a mapping application, DC WASA engineers can see a detailed map showing the location and condition of each asset at any given point in time – with just a push of a button.

'In cities like our nation's capital, water management systems date back more than one hundred years, yet now serve millions of residents and visitors,' said Sharon Nunes, vice president, Big Green Innovations, IBM. 'DC Water and Sewer Authority stands out because they understand this – and are willing to bring about significant change in the way they work in order to more intelligently manage this critical resource.'

DC WASA uses IBM Maximo Asset Management software to manage: all the wastewater treatment equipment, the water and sewer infrastructure at the Departments of Water and Sewer Services, the water quality issues maintained by the Water Quality Division, and for permit plan reviews and developer permitting.

DC WASA's Enterprise Asset Management Systems is a combination of IBM Tivoli Maximo Enterprise Asset Management software with the ArcGIS mapping application and an enterprise GIS (Geographic Information System) based on ESRI technology.

— WebWireID108188 —

In terms of the agreement, known as Partners Achieving Change Together (PACT), IBM is responsible for the development and implementation of a range of business transformation and systems integration projects. IBM is also responsible for DVLA's technical infrastructure and its ongoing operation, maintenance and support. A key element will be to deliver a robust and flexible IT architecture that will support a move to emerging cross-government architectures and further improve service quality and the customer experience.

Brendon Riley, Chief Executive of IBM UK and Ireland, said, "DVLA is recognised as being at the forefront of the government's service transformation agenda, having already achieved an enviable delivery track record in a complex business and technical environment. This extension provides the opportunity to build upon past successes."

Paul Evans, DVLA's Chief Information Officer, added, "This agreement offers significant savings for DVLA and we look forward to building on the partnership that has already been responsible for a wide range of innovative projects."

The contract was signed in November 2009, and extends the IBM contract until September 2015.

— WebWireID108170 —

Svchost.exe is a commonly used Windows process. Every time a computer starts up, this executable file checks with the Windows registry and makes a list of the systems service files that need to load. It then "bundles" the service files together and directs their operation, often running several incidences of itself in order to keep the computer running smoothly.

In and of itself, the file isn't a problem at all. In fact, it is essential to Windows' functionality. Unfortunately, viruses, spyware, worms and Trojans can cause an svchost error (or several) that can slow any computer to a crawl.

When this happens, the file can sometimes eat up as much as 100% of CPU (central processing unit) functioning and the computer is effectively "locked up".

Optimize Your PC is also sending out a warning that the problem could have to do with more than just viruses and spyware. The file's errors could point to a problem that most computer owners simply don't think about. Yet, it's a problem most would consider far worse than an infection by malicious software.

An svchost error may mean that an attacker is running one or more programs on the host computer. Cyber-criminals often do this via rootkits or other programs in an effort to hide their trail of criminal activities.

What can concerned computer owners do? Optimize Your PC advises a three-pronged approach:

First, users should check for and download Windows updates at least once a week. Windows updates often include security patches that lessen a system's vulnerability to attacks by viruses, spyware, and malicious cyber-criminals.

Computer owners are also advised to regularly run anti-virus checks on their computers. These programs can often locate the source of svchost errors so that computers do not become further infected.

Since these kinds of programs make changes to the Windows registry – a problem that anti-virus programs don't fix – a thorough registry scan is suggested for any computer that has experienced these issues. Concerned parties may visit http://optimize-your-pc.com to learn more about keeping their computers running smoothly in the face of a svchost error.

— WebWireID107480 —

Lebanon, NH and Saskatoon, SK, Canada - Tele Atlas, a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, and QA Technologies, a leading-edge telematics company providing innovative fleet management solutions, have announced a multi-year license agreement whereby QA Technologies will use Tele Atlas maps and location content to power its fleet monitoring and management systems.

Through the agreement, QA Technologies fleet management solutions will leverage Tele Atlas digital maps and Address Points for the United States. These products provide users with exact street name and address, zip codes, longitude and latitude and other critical information to allow for accurate, efficient location-based vehicle tracking. With Tele Atlas maps and content, QA Technologies' fleet vehicle tracking service can report vehicle locations to the nearest address and provide a summary of each vehicle's data, including total daily running time, number of stops and improved dispatching.

'As we strive to provide flexible fleet management solutions for both major enterprises and the millions of independent truck drivers, we are excited to work with Tele Atlas to leverage the newest maps and content,' said Brock Eidem, CEO, QA Technologies. 'By ensuring our tools have the most powerful location content, we can enable our customers to save fuel costs and increase the visibility and efficiency of their mobile workers, which will also help to improve customer service.'

'With lower consumer spending, reduced freight volumes and volatile fuel prices, trucking companies have increasingly invested in fleet management systems to maximize their efficiency,' said Jonathon Husby, Vice President of Automotive, Transportation and Telematics, Tele Atlas. 'By working with QA Technologies and supporting the company's expansion into new industries, we can enable cost-effective solutions that help mobile enterprises be more competitive and improve profitability.'

QA Technologies offers two core fleet management solutions, AccutrAVL and AccutreQ.net, along with recently released AccuFreight.net. AccutrAVL's fleet knowledge tools are designed to fit commercial service fleets by providing owners with real-time, downloadable reports to identify expenditures. The AccutreQ.net enterprise software and reporting system provides a full suite of features designed for less-than-truckload (LTL), truck load and multi modal carriers. It builds on the AccutrAVL offering with additional reporting and functionality and provides automated electronic driver logs, tracks fuel consumption, and allows for real-time communication with drivers.

QA Technologies' AccuFreight.net is designed for the independent truck driver market and to help improve the shipping industry as a whole. It helps create a nationwide network to link freight brokers with independent drivers, communicating which trucks are loaded or unloaded and allowing them to be easily matched to the nearest pick-up or drop-off point. With AccuFreight, managers no longer need to call multiple truck drivers to match shipping routes, cargos, trailers or schedules and can greatly improve efficiencies.

About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the world's most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has offices in 27 countries around the world. Today, Tele Atlas maps are developed with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who are adding to the company's unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com or http://investors.tomtom.com/index.cfm.Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2).

About QA Technologies
QA Technologies is a leading-edge telematics company providing innovative fleet management solutions to all segments of the transportation industry. The company's best in class reporting systems are designed to provide management with data required to increase fleet efficiencies. QA Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of DynaVenture Corp, an engineering solutions company with roots going back over 60 years. For more information, visit www.qatechnologies.com.

Tele Atlas and the Tele Atlas logo are registered trademarks of Tele Atlas. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

— WebWireID108138 —

Portland, OR. Today at SC 09, the supercomputing conference, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition, while rivaling the brain's low power and energy consumption and compact size.

The cognitive computing team, led by IBM Research, has achieved significant advances in large-scale cortical simulation and a new algorithm that synthesizes neurological data -- two major milestones that indicate the feasibility of building a cognitive computing chip.

BlueMatter

BlueMatter, a new algorithm created in collaboration with Stanford University, exploits the Blue Gene supercomputing architecture in order to noninvasively measure and map the connections between all cortical and sub-cortical locations within the human brain using magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging. Mapping the wiring diagram of the brain is crucial to untangling its vast communication network and understanding how it represents and processes information.

Scientists, at IBM Research - Almaden, in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, have performed the first near real-time cortical simulation of the brain that exceeds the scale of a cat cortex and contains 1 billion spiking neurons and 10 trillion individual learning synapses.

Additionally, in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University, IBM scientists have developed an algorithm that exploits the Blue Gene® supercomputing architecture in order to noninvasively measure and map the connections between all cortical and sub-cortical locations within the human brain using magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging. Mapping the wiring diagram of the brain is crucial to untangling its vast communication network and understanding how it represents and processes information.

These advancements will provide a unique workbench for exploring the computational dynamics of the brain, and stand to move the team closer to its goal of building a compact, low-power synaptronic chip using nanotechnology and advances in phase change memory and magnetic tunnel junctions. The team's work stands to break the mold of conventional von Neumann computing, in order to meet the system requirements of the instrumented and interconnected world of tomorrow.

As the amount of digital data that we create continues to grow massively and the world becomes more instrumented and interconnected, there is a need for new kinds of computing systems – imbued with a new intelligence that can spot hard-to-find patterns in vastly varied kinds of data, both digital and sensory; analyze and integrate information real-time in a context-dependent way; and deal with the ambiguity found in complex, real-world environments.

Businesses will simultaneously need to monitor, prioritize, adapt and make rapid decisions based on ever-growing streams of critical data and information. A cognitive computer could quickly and accurately put together the disparate pieces of this complex puzzle, while taking into account context and previous experience, to help business decision makers come to a logical response.

'Learning from the brain is an attractive way to overcome power and density challenges faced in computing today,' said Josephine Cheng, IBM Fellow and lab director of IBM Research - Almaden. 'As the digital and physical worlds continue to merge and computing becomes more embedded in the fabric of our daily lives, it's imperative that we create a more intelligent computing system that can help us make sense the vast amount of information that's increasingly available to us, much the way our brains can quickly interpret and act on complex tasks.'

To perform the first near real-time cortical simulation of the brain that exceed the scale of the cat cortex, the team built a cortical simulator that incorporates a number of innovations in computation, memory, and communication as well as sophisticated biological details from neurophysiology and neuroanatomy. This scientific tool, akin to a linear accelerator or an electron microscope, is a critical instrument used to test hypotheses of brain structure, dynamics and function. The simulation was performed using the cortical simulator on Lawrence Livermore National Lab's Dawn Blue Gene/P supercomputer with 147,456 CPUs and 144 terabytes of main memory.

The algorithm, when combined with the cortical simulator, allows scientists to experiment with various mathematical hypotheses of brain function and structure of how structure affects function as they work toward discovering the brain's core computational micro and macro circuits.

After the successful completion of Phase 0, IBM and its university partners were recently awarded $16.1M in additional funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for Phase 1 of DARPA's Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) initiative. This phase of research will focus on the components, brain-like architecture and simulations to build a prototype chip. The long-term mission of IBM's cognitive computing initiative is to discover and demonstrate the algorithms of the brain and deliver low-power, compact cognitive computers that approach mammalian-scale intelligence and use significantly less energy than today's computing systems. The world-class team includes researchers from several of IBM's worldwide research labs and scientists from Stanford University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell University, Columbia University Medical Center and University of California- Merced.

'The goal of the SyNAPSE program is to create new electronics hardware and architecture that can understand, adapt and respond to an informative environment in ways that extend traditional computation to include fundamentally different capabilities found in biological brains,' said DARPA program manager Todd Hylton, Ph.D.

Modern computing is based on a stored program model, which has traditionally been implemented in digital, synchronous, serial, centralized, fast, hardwired, general-purpose circuits with explicit memory addressing that indiscriminately over-write data and impose a dichotomy between computation and data. In stark contrast, cognitive computing – like the brain – will use replicated computational units, neurons and synapses that are implemented in mixed-mode analog-digital, asynchronous, parallel, distributed, slow, reconfigurable, specialized and fault-tolerant biological substrates with implicit memory addressing that only update state when information changes, blurring the boundary between computation and data.

For more information about IBM Research, please visit www.ibm.com/research.

Technical insight and more details on the SyNAPSE project and recent milestones can also be found on the Cognitive Computing blog at http://modha.org/.

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressly or implied, of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or the U.S. Government.

— WebWireID108127 —

Norton Ghost 15 is a robust and professional-grade backup solution for both home users and small businesses. With Norton Ghost, lost or damaged files can be recovered and restored in the event of a system failure, even if the computer's operating system does not start. It also allows backup of an entire system or specific files and folders while saving recovery points to offsite locations using FTP. Norton Ghost is also flexible, allowing users to decide when to back up their system, either on a schedule or based on an event.

'Norton Ghost has been the essential imaging and recovery product since 1996,' said Dave Cole, senior director of consumer products, Symantec. 'Consumers PCs have never been more central to people's lives, or more at risk due to cybercrime and critical failures. Ghost 15 not only is a powerful disaster recovery tool, but also it adds important features such as Windows 7 compatibility and Blu-ray Disc support to keep current with the way people are using their computers today.'

In addition, Norton Ghost works with both 25G and 50G Blu-ray Discs and most storage drives, including external hard drives, networked drives, and recordable and rewritable CDs and DVDs. It also includes a hot backups feature, which lets users back up their computers without having to shut it down first. Norton Ghost is also supported by Windows 7 Bitlocker, providing enhanced data protection through drive encryption and integrity checking, keeping stored data safe and protected.

Norton Ghost 15 now also includes cold imaging technology, which backs up files without installing the product, saving users time and money. After purchasing a new computer, users can image the PC immediately before any software is loaded so that factory settings remain intact. Also, cold imaging allows easy back up of a system by simply booting to the recovery environment (a light version of the Windows operating system) from the Norton Ghost CD, and then initiating a backup.

Backing up isn't just about saving files from accidental data loss; these days computers can fall prey to damage from cybercriminals. That's why Norton Ghost 15 leverages Symantec's ThreatCon, which uses intelligence from Symantec Security Response to automatically backup files whenever the landscape reaches a specific threat level.

Pricing and Availability

Norton Ghost 15 is now available worldwide for purchase through the Symantec Store at www.symantecstore.com, select retail locations and various online outlets for an estimated retail price of US $69.99. In addition, Norton offers other backup solutions including Norton Online Backup, which provides automatic protection for your important digital photos and files, and Norton 360, an all-in-one solution for protecting your PC and all your online activities.

— WebWireID108124 —

ARMONK, N.Y. IBM (NYSE: IBM) has introduced a consulting service to reduce the costs and environmental impact associated with managing property, equipment and business activities.

Sustainable Asset Analytics is designed to help clients manage real estate, supplier performance, carbon data collection and analysis, asset lifecycle maintenance, and all processes and systems used to support these activities. The service can be applied to everything from buildings to information technology and other office equipment to manufacturing tools and warehouse machinery to business travel.

Property, other assets and business activities of all types can be areas of waste and unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. Culprits include poor planning and maintenance, inadequate energy management, the heating or cooling of unused space, and the inability to collect and analyze operational information. But by creating a comprehensive plan to manage and measure these activities and assets, clients can reduce energy and water use, lower greenhouse gas emissions and waste, and improve efficiency.

'Buildings alone are a source of huge waste and inefficiency, accounting for 70 percent of all energy use and 38 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S.,' said Rich Lechner, energy and environment vice president for IBM. 'Squeezing out that inefficiency and cost requires new 'smarter' technologies and business analytics.'

For example, by using a detailed carbon reduction strategy and implementation plan created with IBM for travel, property, information technology and procurement, the UK government's advisor on the English natural environment, Natural England, has reduced CO2 emissions by 25 percent toward a goal of 50 percent by next year.

Leading UK construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall has engaged IBM for this offering. This engagement follows IBM's work performing a Strategic Carbon Management assessment for Morgan Sindall's operations.

Sustainable Asset Analytics draws on IBM's business analytics capabilities and consulting expertise to provide strategies and analysis for making real estate, facilities, capital projects and daily business activities sustainable for clients in the following areas:

* Property carbon footprinting
* Property carbon audit;
* Travel carbon footprinting;
* Project-based travel tracking and analysis;
* Workplace transformation;
* Consolidated real-time property-related data reporting;
* Product and service lifecycle carbon analysis;
* Data center management

Sustainable Asset Analytics is supported by a number of key IBM offerings, services, software tools and products, including:

* IBM Maximo Property Performance Management Solution software, which is designed to extract and consolidate key property data from across all of a client's real estate to help assess and manage true total cost of ownership and environmental performance for buildings and other tangible assets;
* The Green SigmaTM consulting offering, which is based on Lean Six Sigma methods, tools and advanced analytics to help clients measure and reduce energy and water use, waste and greenhouse gas emissions. After the data are collected and analyzed, the information is presented on a dashboard that allows the client to understand where consumption and waste are occurring;
* Strategic Carbon Management, which uses a Component Business Model approach to help analyze CO2 emissions and energy use in any part of a client's business or an entire operation. This allows the client to prioritize where to make changes that will lower environmental impact and reduce costs.
* IBM's strategic information management and analytics tool, Cognos, which is being integrated with many of our offerings in the sustainability arena: notably with both IBM Maximo and Green Sigma.This will allow powerful, flexible, customizable queries across the entire set of asset-related sustainability data.

— WebWireID108114 —

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) announced today the winners of its Norton Cyber Safe Challenge, a national contest spotlighting online safety. The $20,000 Grand Prize was awarded to Signal Hill Elementary in Voorhees, N.J. for securing the highest number of parents who agreed to take the Challenge and registered for Norton's free online safety service, OnlineFamily.Norton.

More than 500 schools across the country competed in the Norton Cyber Safe Challenge, which began on October 1, to coincide with National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and ended on November 15. The Challenge encouraged parents to protect their kids from Internet dangers by signing up for OnlineFamily.Norton, a unique online family safety solution that fosters dialogue between parents and kids about their activities on the Internet.

Second and third place prizes of $10,000 and $5,000 were presented to the Academy for Science and Design in Merrimack, N.H. and the Academy Elementary in Westminster, Colo. for registering the highest percentage of parents relative to school size.

With everything from games to virtual worlds to homework assignments all online, kids are spending more time navigating the Internet and many parents are struggling to keep up. In fact, according to the 2009 Norton Online Living Report, almost half of online parents in the U.S. (47%) have reprimanded their child for doing something online they don't approve of.

'Parents need to take the necessary steps to protect their children from online threats,' said Marian Merritt, Norton's Internet Safety Advocate. 'We are proud of the parents at Signal Hill Elementary for making the effort to protect their kids online and help their school at the same time. We hope these schools are an inspiration to other parents.'

'All of this started with my efforts to protect my daughter form Internet dangers. I found OnlineFamily.Norton was exactly what I needed so I started telling other parents. Now, most of the children at our school are protected as well,' said Kim Stroemel, president of the Signal Hill Elementary Parent Faculty Association. 'As if that isn't enough, we'll now be able to give our children a new playground with the prize money. The kids will benefit both online and offline.'

OnlineFamily.Norton is a free product that parents can sign up for at http://onlinefamily.norton.com. Parents can also learn more about how to protect their kids online and get valuable tips by visiting the Norton Family Resource Center at www.norton.com/familyresource.

About Norton from Symantec

Symantec's Norton products protect consumers from cybercrime with antivirus, anti-spyware and phishing protection, as well as bots, drive-by downloads and identity theft-- while also being light on system resources. The company also provides services such as online backup and PC tuneup, and is a trusted source for family online safety. Friend us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/norton and follow @NortonOnline on Twitter.

About Symantec

Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

Note to Editors: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news. All prices noted are in U.S. dollars and are valid only in the United States.

Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

— WebWireID108109 —

SAN DIEGO. Like GPS for taxes, TurboTax® 2009 easily and accurately guides taxpayers step-by-step through their tax return, effortlessly getting them to their ultimate destination - the biggest tax refund possible. Last year alone, TurboTax customers received more than $33 billion in federal refunds.

TurboTax, the nation's best-selling, No.1-rated tax software from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), guides taxpayers through their tax returns from start to finish. That makes it easier than ever for taxpayers to claim every deduction and credit they deserve, giving them the confidence that they're getting the most money back in their pockets. TurboTax 2009 checks for errors and provides instant answers as they go so there are no wrong turns or money left on the table.

"TurboTax is the easy way to get your biggest possible tax refund," said Dan Maurer, general manager of Intuit's Consumer Group. "It does the hard work for you by automatically identifying the deductions and credits you can claim, showing you how much you're saving every step of the way and making it easy to get answers to your questions. And of course, federal e-filing is included so customers can get their refund back fast, in as little as 8 days."

TurboTax 2009* makes tax preparation easier by:

* Guiding taxpayers step-by-step. Built-in guidance for more than 350 possible deductions and credits, including the 2009 Economic Stimulus, helps taxpayers get the biggest tax refund possible. More than 95 percent of U.S. taxpayers could benefit from the Economic Stimulus and the average American family could receive up to $13,000 in tax benefits
* Checking as they go, so there are no detours. Real-time error check immediately flags errors and missed information. Customers can fix mistakes as they go or come back later when they have their information in hand.
* Double-checking for commonly overlooked deductions and credits. TurboTax customers won't miss important credits such as the earned income tax credit. An estimated 5.6 million eligible taxpayers failed to claim this credit last year, potentially missing out on as much as $4,600.
* Providing instant answers. Customers have easy ways to get answers to their questions - when and how they need them. Among these: instant answers from other TurboTax users and tax experts online via the TurboTax Live Community.
* Including audit support with every return. The TurboTax Audit Risk Meter helps customers avoid common errors and reduce their risk of an audit before they file. A downloadable Audit Support Center assists customers in the unlikely event they are audited.
* Instantly transferring investment and wage information. TurboTax customers can easily, accurately and securely import 1099 investment and W-2 wage information from more than 140 financial institutions and payroll providers directly into their tax return.

Make the Most of a Tax Refund

To help customers make the most of their refund, TurboTax gives them the option to split their refund between multiple accounts, helping them set money aside for savings or paying bills. In addition, this year TurboTax enables customers to purchase a United State Savings Bond with a portion or all of their refund, offering a new way to help them save for the future.

After completing their tax return, TurboTax customers can now instantly sign up for Mint.com from Quicken, a free online personal finance Web site already helping nearly 2 million people save and do more with their money. Those that do will receive a Mint.com alert when their refund is deposited to their bank account and then can easily find the highest yield savings account or CD to grow it further, or use Mint.com's IRA Advisor to see if a Roth or Traditional IRA is the best option. In addition, Mint.com helps users be better prepared for next tax season by automatically categorizing medical or business expenses and tracking investment gains and losses.
Pricing and Availability

TurboTax 2009 desktop products, starting at $24.95 including federal e-filing, are currently available direct from Intuit at www.TurboTax.com and are expected to be available at retail stores beginning Nov 27.

TurboTax Online is expected to be available beginning Dec. 1 at www.TurboTax.com. TurboTax Online Free Edition offers free federal tax preparation. TurboTax Online pricing starts at free for simple federal returns and all online offerings include both federal and state e-filing.

Customers may also be able to access TurboTax directly from their financial institution. New this year, TurboTax for Online Banking combines the ease of TurboTax with the convenience and pre-populated data from online banking. TurboTax for Online Banking enables customers to prepare and e-file their tax return from within an online banking session, no additional log in required.

— WebWireID108101 —

BOLOGNA, Italy. IBM (NYSE: IBM)announced today that its Research scientists are working with the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, in Bologna, Italy, to use information technology to better address treatment and research for rare genetic skeletal diseases.

Scientists from the two organizations are collaborating on a system called BioMIMS -- short for BioMedical Imaging Management Solution -- which integrates different types of medical data such as images, phenotype data, and genomic data. The system will enable advanced analytics on family trees that are dynamically created by the system to correlate between patients who show similar signs of the disease.

As scientists gain insight into genetic diseases at the molecular level, the critical role played by family history is becoming more apparent at all levels of treatment. However, until now, there has been no complete system for easily collecting, classifying and analyzing family histories for patients suffering from hereditary skeletal diseases like single and multiple exostoses. Unfortunately, most of this information traditionally sits in different hospitals and databases, and in different formats.

The new technology being developed by IBM and the Rizzoli Institute, will enable doctors to call upon all information related to a hereditary disease -- including genetic information, observations studied, and imaging data from the perspective of the treatment history for any family members -- so diagnosis and treatment becomes faster, less expensive, and more personalized. The project is scheduled to be completed in mid to late 2010.

The system will also build family history records, collect and classify, allowing research into advanced pedigree analytics. Because the disease is hereditary, it's critical to have access to data for all patients that are connected to the same pedigree. For example, when a child is being diagnosed, it's vital for physicians to see observations and clinical/genomic information from the parents, aunts, uncles, and other close relatives. The new system, from IBM Research - Haifa, will take the pedigrees and automatically assign them to groups based on common characteristics. These groupings have the potential to help doctors identify new research directions to better understand the correlation between genotype and the observable characteristics (phenotype) of the disease.

"BioMIMS will provide us with access to an invaluable collection of information so we can compare data to the records obtained from other patients and family members," noted Luca Sangiorgi, Manager of Medical Genetics at Rizzoli. "This holds the promise of significantly deepening our clinical knowledge about rare skeletal diseases, helping us diagnose and treat individual patients more accurately. Bridging the two worlds of information technology and healthcare will help lead the way towards new answers and new cures."

"This project demonstrates how new information technology solutions are allowing medical personal to make more accurate diagnoses and select treatment programs that have a much higher potential for success," noted Boaz Carmeli, manager of IT for healthcare and Life Science group at IBM Research Haifa. "Integrating information from various sources, and realizing the vision of interoperability and cooperation between healthcare organizations, is a surefire key to smarter healthcare solutions and better insight into the treatment of diseases."

The Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute is the second largest institute in the world for the study of rare skeletal diseases. Established in 1896 as a specialized hospital for orthopedics and traumatology, it evolved into a musculoskeletal center that distinguishes itself through pioneering clinical and research advancements. Physicians at the Institute see about 150,000 patients and perform about 18,000 surgeries annually.

IBM's track record of improving healthcare through scientific achievements and collaboration with healthcare companies dates back to the 1950s. In the last decade, IBM has developed a national digital mammography archive with the University of Pennsylvania; developed a clinical trial participant system with the Mayo Clinic; collaborated with Scripps to understand how influenza viruses mutate and proactively develop treatments; collaborated with European universities to develop better methods to decide on antiretroviral therapies for HIV; launched the World Community Grid, which has done projects on cancer, aids, dengue fever; and much more.

— WebWireID108098 —