BearingPoint, Archon forge motor vehicle solutions alliance

BearingPoint Inc. announced this week that it will partner with Archon Technologies Inc. to pursue IT work in vehicle registration, driver's licensing and revenue management services in state, local and provincial motor vehicle departments in the United States and Canada.

Terms of the agreement call for the companies to jointly pursue qualified opportunities for the development, marketing and implementation of motor vehicle and identity management programs. BearingPoint of McLean, Va., will bring its systems integration and consulting services to the alliance, while Archon of Englewood, Colo., will offer its technology solutions for motor vehicle agencies.

By teaming with Archon, BearingPoint is positioning itself to go after opportunities stemming from mandates in the Real ID Act, Gary Miglicco, vice president of BearingPoint's national motor vehicle solutions practice, said in a company statement announcing the alliance.

The Real ID Act of 2005 requires states over a three-year period to overhaul their driver's licenses issuance processes and security, as well as build a linked network to house information proving the identity of hundreds of millions of license holders . The licenses themselves will be required to contain a digital photograph and some form of biometric identifier, though the exact standards have yet to be laid out by the Homeland Security Department.

The companies have already identified nearly a dozen potential market opportunities starting in 2006, Miglicco said. Industry officials estimate the national cost to implement Real ID will be in the billions of dollars.

Archon's Motor Vehicle Solution incorporates modules that can be used as an enterprise solution or implemented and operated as a stand-alone system. Among the functionalities Archon offers are an online record-keeping and financial system used to track driver and vehicle data; a licensing and customer management system; an asset management and revenue reporting tool; and a dealer licensing and permitting solution to manage credentialing, audits and reporting.

BearingPoint ranks No. 24 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.