GSA paves way for smart card use

The General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service offers agencies and departments a procurement vehicle through the Smart Access Common ID contract.

Four prime vendors — BearingPoint Inc., EDS, Maximus Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp. — compete for task orders to provide smart card supplies and services. The 10-year contract is managed by FTS' Center for Smart Card Solutions.

The Common ID contract features several cradle-to-grave service options for federal agencies. These include interoperability in the areas of physical access, logical access, cryptographic services and biometrics, while providing for multiple technologies to be embedded in each smart card.