New Team to Offer Used Technology to Government

By Jennifer Freer, Staff Writer


APRIL 21 ? Two companies are teaming up to provide federal, state and local governments with the opportunity to buy and sell used equipment online, including PCs, laptops, copiers, phone systems, servers and cameras.


TechSmart.com, an Edgewood, N.Y.-based, business-to-business, online asset recovery marketplace for digital office equipment, announced April 19 that it was partnering with Digital Commerce Corp. of Reston, Va., which operates the electronic marketplaces FedCenter.com and StateGovCenter.com.


"As a one-stop resource for government buyers, FedCenter.com and StateGovCenter.com will continue to offer necessary tools to facilitate a fast, convenient, secure and reliable means to electronic procurement," said Tony Bansal, president and chief executive officer of Digital Commerce Corp.


Digital Commerce is in a quiet period in dealings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and could not comment on the financial implications of partnership.


FedCenter.com is an online supplier of computer and business items to federal government agencies, and StateGovCenter.com is an online supplier to state and local government. These procurement sites are storefronts for the government agencies. They list the equipment items and General Services Administration schedules and prices and provide links to the sellers.


TechSmart.com recovers technology assets for major leasing companies, banks and manufacturers and retail chains, and refurbishes, cleans and distributes the products through the partnership.


This is the first alliance in which government agencies can buy and sell pre-owned computer and business technology online, thus providing government agencies with operational and cost-effective equipment, according to Dennis Lynch, founder of TechSmart.com.


StateGovCenter.com will have a link to TechSmart.com for state government buyers to bid on or purchase equipment. TechSmart.com also will have a link to Digital Commerce's MyGovClub.com, an online buying club that provides resources, community information and an online shopping mall for government employees.