Accenture gets new DHS contract for OBIM data-sharing

Accenture has just been awarded a nine-month contract from the Department of Homeland Security to expand international data-sharing capabilities and secure web services for the Office of Biometric Identity Management.

The contract is worth $30 million and according to the company, work under the contract will support sharing between the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

“OBIM enhances the security of U.S. citizens and visitors, facilitates legitimate travel and trade and helps ensure the integrity of the U.S. immigration system,” Rocky Thurston, who leads Accenture’s work with the Department of Homeland Security said. “This program has become a model of innovation, collaboration and high performance for DHS and the federal government.”

OBIM, formerly the US-VISIT program, manages biometric and biographic identity management systems that aid federal, state and local officials to determine if travellers can legally enter or remain in the United States. Accenture started working with US-VISIT in 2004, overseeing operational responsibility for the Automated Biometric Identification System.

Accenture is also set to expand the use of secure web services for all stakeholders, facilitating access of this data. The company says that since the development of reusable ‘services’, the time it takes for new users to access the system has decreased from nine months to three weeks.

Reported previously, Accenture was recently awarded a contract along with Morpho and Hewlett Packard to maintain the European Visa Information System. This contract is for three years with a possible one-year extension. The maximum value of the contract is $93 million.

Article Topics

Accenture  |  data sharing  |  DHS  |  government  |  immigration  |  international  |  OBIM  |  US-VISIT