IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The state of Alabama has signed a new long-term contract with eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq:EGOV) to manage its official government portal (www.alabama.gov). The contract includes an initial two-year term and renewal options that run through December 2010.

NIC signed its original multiyear contract with Alabama in January 2002. After fulfilling the three-year contract, NIC's initial contract with the state ended in 2005. The state of Alabama issued a competitive bid for eGovernment portal services last March, and the contract was awarded again to NIC. The new contract was approved by Chief Information Officer Jim Burns and signed by Governor Bob Riley on December 8, 2005.

To maximize taxpayer return on investment, Alabama uses a self-funded solution to provide eGovernment services. During the last three years, NIC has worked with more than 25 state agencies to develop over 100 interactive government services at no upfront cost to Alabama's citizens and businesses. The Alabama portal hosted nearly 3 million unique visitors in 2005, up from approximately 1.5 million visits in 2004.

"Alabama is committed to using technology to deliver tangible results to citizens and businesses," said Burns. "We look forward to continuing the expansion of Alabama.gov's online services through our successful relationship with NIC."

Alabama.gov's suite of more than 50 online services includes a variety of business tax filings, trucking permits, personalized vehicle tag reservations, hunting and fishing licenses, and a suite of professional license renewals.

Alabama is consistently recognized for its digital government efforts. Alabama.gov has been ranked among the nation's 10 best state government Web sites in the Center for Digital Government's Best of the Web competition for the last two years. Alabama is also the only state to win the E-Gov Pioneer Award for online government excellence in both 2004 and 2005.

"We appreciate Alabama's vote of confidence and are eager to expand our very successful partnership," said Harry Herington, NIC's Chief Operating Officer.

About Alabama.gov

Alabama.gov is the state of Alabama's official Web portal (www.alabama.gov) and a collaborative effort between the state of Alabama and Alabama Interactive. It was built and is marketed, operated, and maintained by Alabama Interactive, a Montgomery-based wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC.

Quelle: Businesswire, 05.01.2006