When the recession took hold, the technology industry was not immune from layoffs and hiring freezes. That drop in employment was a plus to one segment of the tech industry — established IT staffing and consulting companies.

Virginia’s embattled info-tech contractor says it’s willing to begin mediation to settle the controversy that threatens to derail the massive IT privatization pact.

The 2003 Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) initiative and 2005 partnership contract with Northrop Grumman were primarily based on two assumptions: (1) The state’s information technology (IT) was outdated and inefficient, and (2) VITA and the partnership would save money. While working as an IT professional for VCU, community colleges, the Department of Information Technology (DIT), and VITA, it was my privilege to witness our commonwealth’s pre-VITA history of technology leadership. In the early 1970s, Virginia was one of the first states to consolidate agency IT resources to improve efficiency. In 1998, Virginia led the nation when then-Gov. Jim Gilmore appointed Don Upson as the first cabinet-level secretary of technology.

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission says Virginia gave “low priority” to the giant contractor’s background in the management of large-scale state computer and communication systems.

Audit: Richmond Schools can’t account for 42 percent of computer equipment Forty-two percent of computer equipment identified in Richmond school records cannot be accounted for, according to an audit released yesterday by the city auditor’s office. The operational audit of the Richmond Public Schools’ department of information technology said 13,455 pieces of equipment identified through the district’s fixed-asset system could be missing or not correctly documented.