Montana Taps NIC for Portal Job

By William Welsh, Staff Writer


NOV. 10 ? The state of Montana announced Nov. 9 that it has awarded a Web portal management and services contract to National Information Consortium Inc. of Overland Park, Kan.


NIC and Montana will begin negotiating the actual terms of the contract in late November, said company officials.


When completed, the portal is expected to offer comprehensive online government services for Montana citizens and businesses, including driver's license renewals, corporation database searches and professional and occupational licensing, said state and company officials.


The Montana award brings to 13 the number of state Web portals NIC has implemented and is now operating.


NIC's state customers are Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.


NIC's preferred strategy is a self-funded model in which citizens and businesses pay fees to transact government business over the Internet.

The company, which went public in July 1999, reported revenue of $19 million in the third quarter of 2000. NIC's staff has doubled within the last year to a total of about 350 employees.