IBM Taps E-Gov Partners in New Program

William Welsh, Staff Writer


JULY 13 ? IBM Corp. announced July 12 the first four software and Internet companies it has designated as its preferred business partners for e-government projects.


The four companies selected as IBM's "Government Specialty for e-business" partners are ESRI Inc., of Redlands, Calif.; ezgov.com, of Atlanta; HTE Inc., of Lake Mary, Fla.; and JPH International, Inc., of Waterloo, Ontario.


Big Blue expects to announce the names of more companies chosen for this distinction in the upcoming weeks. The companies were selected because they have a strong portfolio of government applications, comply with IBM's government portal architecture and with its application framework for e-business, according to Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM.


These Government Specialty for e-business companies, which also belong to Big Blue's PartnerWorld Program, will provide government customers with "access to the technology and services required to offer integrated, interactive, highly secure services ? a foundation that is essential as governments enter into this new age of customer service," said Todd Ramsey, general manager of IBM's Global Government Industry.


As participants in IBM's program, the companies agree to provide government customers with solutions defined by open standards, high levels of security, easy-to-use interfaces and the ability to scale rapidly to handle growth. IBM brings to the partnership a portal infrastructure solution, application integration capabilities and various other implementation skills.