HSPD-12 round-upIBM wins $41 million Department of Interior HSPD-12 contract

Published 10 October 2006

Support contract with National Business Center will provide 400,000 cards across a range of agencies; cost per card estimated at $100 to $120 depending on volume

27 October quickly approaches, and government agencies are rushing forward with HSPD-12 compliance. Moving with them are a host of companies offering enrollment and verification software, biometric hardware, and the new identification cards themselves. IBM is the latest to score big, having just recently won a $41 million contract with the Interior Department’s National Business Center (NBC) to support upwards of 400,000 cards. Each card is expected initially to cost $120, but once 300,000 are issued, the cost will drop to $100.

The Interior Department, of course, has nowhere near 400,000 employees; NBC is an experienced shared services provider under the Human Resources Line of Business (HRLB) consolidation inititiative, and will be providing the cards to sixteen different agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Selective Service Commission, the National Transportation Safety Review Board, and the Federal Election Commission. The contract will last until 2011.

In related news, NBC is said to be in consolidation discussions with the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA provides similar HRLB services, and there is hope for improved efficiency under such an arrangement. No formal agreement, however, has yet been reached.

-read more in Rob Thormeyer’s Washington Technology report