Accenture, Morpho and HP share European Commission contract for visa information and biometric matching

The European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs has awarded a consortium of Accenture, Morpho and HP a contract to maintain the European Visa Information System. The contract is for three years with a possible one-year extension, with a maximum value of US$93 million.

This project is to support the exchange of visa data across border management authorities by ensuring the processing capacity of the system as well as the availability of high level of search and matching capabilities required for visa applications.

“Accenture has in-depth experience working with border agencies around the world in helping them meet the challenges of managing the growing numbers of travelers and increased visa application complexity,” Mark Crego, who leads Accenture’s global Border and Identity Management business said. “We are pleased to have been chosen by the European Commission to lead this consortium of suppliers over the coming years.”

Accenture will assume the overall project responsibilities as consortium lead, overseeing the integration of functional, technical and operational maintenance to the VIS. Morpho will provide biometric matching services. Accenture and Morpho have both worked with the European Commission since 2007 on the development and support of the biometric matching engine of the VIS.

“Morpho is proud to have been chosen, once again, to supple the biometric matching services for the VIS,” Jean-Paul Jainsky, Chairman and CEO of Morpho said. “Biometrics has become a key element for effective border management, and as the world leader in biometric technology, we are committed to developing state-of-the-art solutions to meet the current and emerging needs of this market.”

HP has worked with the EC since 2005, deploying the HP Converged Infrastructure solution and associated technology services for the VIS, a Biometric Matching System (BMS) enables the accurate identification of visa applicants through matching biometric data, such as fingerprints, to establish and verify visa applications.

Reported in BiometricUpdate.com, Morpho, through its Indian subsidiary Smart Chip, recently signed an agreement with the State Bank of India for the provision and maintenance of a biometric authentication solution.

Article Topics

Accenture  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  electronic visa  |  ePassports  |  government purchasing  |  HP  |  identity management  |  morpho  |  national border management