Onvia secures B2G e-bidding

Responding to an increased demand from state and local governments for electronic

signature support in online bidding, Onvia Inc. is adding secure electronic

bidding to its business-to-government e-procurement solution.

The service stems from a partnership announced Aug. 20 between Onvia and

PrivateExpress Inc., a provider of Internet-based secure messaging solutions.

Government agencies will be able to use Onvia's BidWire product to create

requests for proposals and bid requests, designate them for electronic bidding,

and then distribute them through the Onvia B2G Exchange, said Mike Pickett,

chairman and chief executive officer at Onvia.

Suppliers will use Onvia to encrypt and electronically sign their bids,

which will be delivered to agency buyers via the PrivateExpress Secure Messaging

Network. The PrivateExpress LockBox software collects and stores the bids

until the designated close date, said Richard Ormond, president and chief

executive officer of San Mateo, Calif.-based PrivateExpress.

By using Onvia's BidWire product with PrivateExpress technology, government

agencies and their suppliers will save time and money, Ormond said. "Agencies

will experience improved bid administration and safeguard the security and

privacy of submitted bids, while suppliers will have much more time to refine

their estimates before they are due," he said in a release.

Onvia has more than 20,000 suppliers and more than 300 state and local customers

nationwide.