ROSWELL, Ga. – Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow Inc., an information technology consulting and service firm with offices in Rhode Island, has been awarded a Department of Defense contract from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command.

Under the $18.8 million, five-year contract, the company will provide models and logistics for countermeasures and underwater unmanned vehicles to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport. Along with subcontractors AMSEC, EDO and Rite Solutions, the company will provide an array of logistics, engineering and IT configuration services.

“This award demonstrates ASFT’s continued growth in the provision of integrated logistics services to the U.S. Navy at its seaports,” said company President Anjan Dutta-Gupta.

Lighthouse launches new ‘learning series’

LINCOLN – Lighthouse Computer Services has launched an educational series, including live seminars and webinars, focusing on key corporate technology issues facing executives.

“Our technical consultants are highly certified and spend a great deal of their time learning about the latest technologies,” said Brian Sennett, professional services practice executive for the company. “We’re happy to pass that knowledge along to our customers, and it’s one of the

reasons customers like to partner with us. The Lighthouse Learning Series gives us a new way to do that.”

Already, the company has hosted an event on system backups, March 10 in Philadelphia, and a free webcast on “Storage Virtualization Solutions,” March 15.

Future events will cover topics and technologies such as best practices for IT regulatory compliance, security, planning for successful data center moves, and more.

Bluestreak introduces e-mail diagnostic service

PROVIDENCE – Bluestreak, a digital marketing company, this month announced the launch of its BlueVision e-mail diagnostic service, a service for marketers to improve the impact of their e-mail marketing campaigns.

BlueVision tests and refines each element of an e-mail marketing campaign to increase open rates, interaction and message relevance, according to a company press release.

By making effective improvements in these areas, a company’s e-mail messages will have a greater impact, Bluestreak says.

“The e-mail landscape is changing rapidly right now, and many marketers are seeing a decline in the effectiveness of their e-mail campaigns,” said CEO Annette Tonti. “Getting e-mail to the inbox is on everyone’s radar. Now we want to move the needle for the marketer on the effectiveness of their e-mailing activities as well.”

Wireless LAN equipment revenue increases in ’05

LONDON – Worldwide wireless LAN equipment revenue dipped 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 to $591 million, but topped $2.4 billion in 2005, a 10-percent increase over 2004, according to a new Infonetics Research report.

According to Richard Webb, a London-based analyst for the firm, WLAN continues to show growth across most product categories and throughout all regions. Infonetics forecasts the WLAN equipment market to reach $3.8 billion by 2009. In particular, the enterprise segment is expected to flourish, with revenue jumping 120 percent between 2005 and 2009.

“The enterprise segment is where the action is,” Webb said. “Organizations of all sizes are increasingly mobile and data-reliant, so the need for network access while on the move is crucial, driving growth of WLAN switches and controllers in particular, which achieve double-digit annual revenue growth through 2009.”

The research also shows Cisco was the “clear leader” in the WLAN equipment segment switch and controller revenue in 2005.

EnerSys buys interest in Westerly battery maker

PROVIDENCE – The Slater Technology Fund this month announced that one of its portfolio companies, Modular Energy Devices Inc., received a funding commitment from EnerSys, the world’s largest supplier of industrial batteries.

EnerSys’ purchase of a majority interest in ModEnergy will enable it to expand its product development and manufacturing capabilities as well as pursue a wider range of new applications for its technologies, Slater said in a news release.

ModEnergy, based in Westerly, has developed a proprietary method for assembling lithium-ion cells into battery systems that are safer, more reliable and more cost-effective than competitive products currently available, the release says.

“The investment in ModEnergy by EnerSys represents a validation of ModEnergy’s approach to the business of stored energy,” said Richard G. Horan, managing director of the Slater Fund.

Fidelity to sell products through Amazon.com

BOSTON – Fidelity Investments, the largest U.S. discount broker, has agreed to sell its products and services through Amazon.com to target a broader range of customers.

Fidelity announced the move in a March 17 statement. Customers who seek to purchase Fidelity products from Amazon, the world’s biggest Internet retailer, are connected to the investment company’s Web site.

Fidelity said it will advertise its products throughout the Amazon.com Web site and will be a sponsor of the retailer’s first financial services store.

“It’s an opportunity to educate people about our products and services,” Sean Belka, a Fidelity senior vice president, told Bloomberg News. Terms of the agreements weren’t disclosed. (Bloomberg News)