IBM joins Lockheed Martin for FBI's next generation identification programme

IBM says it has withdrawn its protest against the FBI having  awarded a 10-year $1-billion contract to develop the federal agency's 'next generation identification' (NGI) system to its aerospce rival Lockheed Martin.

IBM's protest on 12 February had led to stoppage of work on the contract, being developed to identify terrorists and criminals.
  
It will instead join Lockheed Martin's industry team to develop and maintain the (NGI) system, a new multi-modal, state-of-the-art biometrics system to be used by state, local and federal authorities.
 
As the prime contractor on the FBI's NGI programme, Lockheed Martin will provide programme management and oversight as well as biometric and large systems development and integration expertise. Joining the NGI team as a subcontractor, IBM will provide some information technology services, as well as specific software and hardware to be used in the NGI system.

"Our entire industry team, with the new addition of IBM, is very pleased to start working on the NGI programme," said Judy Marks, president, Lockheed Martin transportation and security solutions busines unit that concentrates on air traffic management and security-centric programmes that involve large scale systems integration and transformational solutions. "This represents a win for the FBI, the justice community, and most importantly, the public who will benefit from the security of an advanced biometric identification system."

"IBM and Lockheed Martin have a strong history collaborating in the Federal community and we are pleased to join their NGI team," said Dave Amoriell, general manager, IBM Global Services' federal division. "This industry team can provide the right blend of technology and services needed to support the FBI's critical mission of using intelligence to prevent national threats and improving public safety."

The NGI system will expand fingerprint processing capacity and will now also include palm prints, iris and facial recognition capabilities. Additionally, the system requires a significant degree of technical flexibility in order to accommodate other biometric modalities that may mature and become important to law enforcement efforts in the future.

Other IT companies on the Lockheed Martin team include Accenture, BAE Systems Information Technology Inc., Global Science & Technology (GST), Innovative Management & Technology Services (IMTS), Platinum Solutions and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).