Maximus catches a security wave

Government agencies interested in bolstering the security of their systems

as part of a larger information technology upgrade may find a solution in

the tandem of Maximus Inc. and Wave Systems Corp.

Maximus and Wave Systems announced Aug. 6 that they have signed a strategic

agreement to explore joint business opportunities by co-marketing their

products and services to the public sector.

Maximus is a provider of program management, IT and consulting services

to government agencies. Wave Systems offers solutions that make e-commerce

transactions smoother and more secure.

Under the agreement, Maximus will offer Wave's Embassy (Embedded Application

Security System) Trust System products and services as part of its security

solutions portfolio.

The Embassy Trust System enables organizations to create a network of

trusted clients, including personal computers, smart card readers, keyboards

and personal digital assistants. It adds security while also addressing

content protection, user-managed privacy, strong authentication of user

identities and distributed e-commerce.

With Maximus, Wave Systems will co-market development services for creating

Embassy Trusted Client applications. Wave also will provide training services

for Maximus employees and participate in joint customer-marketing and promotion

activities. Maximus' government customers include the Social Security Administration

and Utah and Connecticut.

Steven Sprague, president and chief executive officer at Wave Systems,

said Maximus' government clients are becoming increasingly concerned about

security and privacy, and will benefit from the agreement.