6 chapters across the catalog
Smartronics has been awarded a $46 million blanket purchase agreement for virtual dataset hosting for Data.gov. This follows a previous $8 million contract for the same website, leading to host criticism regarding the efficiency and necessity of such high-cost government IT spending.
Smartronics and Recovery.gov Contract Connections
Smartronics, the company that built the $18 million Recovery.gov website, has acquired Kogan Systems. The hosts point out that White House officials Vivek Kundra and Anish Chopra previously worked at Kogan Systems, suggesting a lack of transparency in federal tech contracting.
Vivek Kundra, FCC Broadband Panel and Real-Time Data Claims
Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra discusses government transparency and the release of public data during an FCC broadband panel. Kundra highlights services like flyontime.us and mobile applications for tracking metro stations and crime in the District of Columbia. Critics argue that the $18 million recovery.gov website remains opaque due to redacted contracts with Smartronics.
Anish Chopra, Smartronics Ownership and Expat Networks
The discussion explores the professional relationship between Vivek Kundra and Chief Technology Officer Anish Chopra. While investigating potential ethnic networking in government contracting, it is noted that Smartronics is owned by Mohammed Arshad Javed, who is Pakistani, and the Parris brothers. This finding complicates a theory regarding exclusively Indian-led business ventures in the sector.
Recovery.gov Drupal Implementation, $18 Million Website Cost
The recovery.gov website is confirmed to be running on the open-source Drupal platform. Critics question the $18 million price tag for a site built with free software, comparing it to the much lower costs of government websites in Germany. The development team defends the choice, stating Drupal allowed for rapid deployment and future scalability for dynamic data.
The federal government awarded an $18 million contract to a company called Smartronics to redesign and maintain the Recovery.gov website. Critics point out that the high cost for a SharePoint-based site is excessive, suggesting that the project could have been completed for a fraction of the price using platforms like Squarespace or WordPress.
