Accenture wins U.S. Visit

Accenture Ltd. has won the systems integration contract for the U.S. Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator System, officials confirmed this afternoon.

The contract could be worth up to $10 billion over 10 years, depending on Congress' level of funding for the virtual border program. In fiscal 2004, U.S. Visit received more than $364 million.

The Accenture-led team bested teams assembled by Computer Sciences Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson announced the five-year contract, with five option years, at a news conference in Washington. The contract was awarded May 28.

Bid documents said the U.S. Visit systems integrator would carry out the complex and challenging work of integrating more than a dozen databases the federal government uses to track travelers and terrorists, among other tasks, and plan the technical development of future border systems.

"We are disappointed that the Department of Homeland Security chose another team's solution for U.S. Visit. Despite the loss we at Lockheed Martin will continue to dedicate ourselves to serving our government and our fellow citizens by developing and implementing innovative solutions to protect and defend our nation," Lockheed Martin said in a statement.

Accenture Ltd. is based in Hamilton, Bermuda,

Wilson P. Dizard III writes for Government Computer News magazine.