Vendors: CRM apps might have prevented attacks

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By Patrick Thibodeau

WASHINGTON (IDG) -- If customer relationship management-like systems had been in use by federal agencies before September 11, law enforcers might have had the information they needed to prevent what became the most deadly act of terrorism ever to affect this country.

That was the message vendors of the systems delivered Tuesday to a congressional subcommittee examining ways to improve information management at federal agencies.

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To illustrate the need for information sharing, Tom Siebel, CEO of Siebel Systems Inc. in San Mateo, California, compiled a list of all publicly identified actions by Mohamed Atta and associates. Authorities believe Atta led the attacks and piloted one of the planes that struck the World Trade Center.

For instance, said Siebel, the State Department knew immediately when Atta obtained a visa in January 2000 to enter the U.S. The Central Intelligence Agency knew of Atta's meetings with Iraqi intelligence in Prague just days after they occurred in June 2000. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service knew that same month when Atta entered the U.S. The U.S. Treasury Department knew in July 2000 when $100,000 was wired to Marwan al-Shehhi, who also piloted a plane that struck the World Trade Center. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration knew in December 2000 when Atta and al-Shehhi left a stalled airplane on the runway of a Miami airport.

Siebel's list of connections went on.

"The information was there; the associations were known," said Siebel, who testified before the U.S. House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy. "Had the right technology been in place, the agencies could have identified and prevented this threat."

Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas) called Siebel's catalog of missed opportunities "very sobering." Had there been "better intelligence, and that intelligence been shared, it is very likely that September 11 could have been prevented," he said.

It was a point echoed by other vendors who testified, including Alfred Mockett, CEO of Fairfax, Virginia-based American Management Systems Inc. "With the technology that exists today, the suspicious activity could have been detected," he said.

The failure by authorities to prevent the attacks underscored a problem faced by federal agencies.

"The simple fact is that many of our systems do not talk to one another," said Pat Schambach, recently appointed CIO of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Schambach and other federal agency CIOs who testified Tuesday have been ordered by the Bush administration to eliminate the "islands of automation" that prevent federal agencies from sharing data. The administration's proposed $52 billion IT budget for next year, a 15 percent increase, emphasizes information sharing and security (see "Bush IT budget promotes info sharing and security," link below).

Federal agencies are also expected to increase their use of IT vendors to meet the administration's technology goals.

Prior to taking his job at DOT, Schambach served as the CIO of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which outsourced its desktop management. It was one of the first federal agencies to take that step, a move toward private-sector involvement that he believes is essential to improving technology.

"There is going to be a lot of outsourcing going on at our agency," Schambach told the committee.

Siebel also said the Bush administration has to appoint a federal CIO to oversee all technology operations.

"It's inconceivable that we can operate a General Motors, an IBM, without an office of the CIO coordinating this information across organizations," said Siebel.