EDS, EzGov partner on e-gov

Electronic Data Systems Corp. and EzGov Inc. announced a partnership Thursday aimed at providing government agencies at all levels with a one-stop solution for long-term e-government strategies.

Under terms of the companies' agreement, EDS will provide:

E-government consulting. Web hosting. Customer relationship management. Data conversion services. EzGov's part of the deal is to develop and integrate its online transactions and services into government environments.

EDS also will work with EzGov to coordinate government purchases of computer hardware and network components, and it will help develop custom interfaces between EzGov's Web-based solutions and government legacy systems, said Al Edmonds, president of EDS Federal.

The EDS/EzGov alliance targets public-sector agencies at all governmental levels. The worldwide marketplace for e-government information services this year is $55 billion and growing at about 14 percent a year, according to Forrester Research.

Ed Trimble, EzGov president and chief executive officer, said that combining EzGov's e-government solutions with "EDS' leadership in systems integration, information systems development and database design, will provide government customers with the most modern and effective e-government solutions available."

This is not the first big-name partner for EzGov. Last June, the company announced an alliance with IBM Corp. that was designed to help EzGov infiltrate the federal marketplace.