Background:

The federal government is on the customer wish list of many information technology companies, especially after telecom sales and Internet business revenue have dried up in a changing tech economy. More and more IT companies are knocking on the doors of the dozens of federal agencies and departments -- entities that count on a myriad of hardware, software and other technology gadgetry to run their information infrastructures -- to hawk technology services and products.

While often working behind the scenes, chief information officers at the various agencies are central decision makers for which new IT products their agency will support and purchase. CIOs also manage the IT policies, standards and needs of their department's workforce, so they are often key to the future buying patterns an agency will undertake. The role of the federal CIO has intensified as the federal government, led by initiatives of the Office of Management and Budget's own technology czar Mark Forman and the White House, pushes e-government strategies, a seamless transfer of data between agencies and connecting different IT systems to streamline the way the government does business.

Information compiled from agency press offices, CIO offices and/or agency/department Web sites.

--If you'd like to see an addition to the list, have updated information, comments or suggestions, please send an e-mail to technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb at cindy.webb@washingtonpost.com