U.S. Army Awards CDW-G Blanket Purchase Agreement for Wireless Devices
Added Level of Security Provided through APRIVA and Infinite Peripherals Smart Cards
Herndon, VA - February 28, 2005 - CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), the government and education subsidiary of CDW Corporation [NASDAQ: CDWC] and leading supplier of brand-name Information Technology (IT) products and services to governments and educators, today announced that the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command has awarded it a one-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for Cingular and T-Mobile wireless devices, including BlackBerry handhelds.
Handheld devices are used throughout the Department of Defense, and are used widely by the Army. The devices, which are primarily used for email, but which also can be used as cell phones, keep Army senior officials connected worldwide through secure data access and voice communications.
Under the agreement, CDW-G will provide wireless computing devices that use Java-based operating systems and meet the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2, which is required by the federal government to secure sensitive but unclassified information. CDW-G will also provide BlackBerry software and hardware accessories, as well as middleware solutions approved by the Army.
The BPA has no ceiling value. Individual orders up to $5 million may be placed under the agreement. Two other companies were awarded spots on the BPA.
"CDW-G focuses on delivering solutions to meet the needs of our government customers - in this case, supplying an integrated hardware, software and carrier package to fulfill the Army's specific requirements," said Max Peterson, CDW-G vice president of federal sales. "Beyond supplying the BlackBerry devices, we also provide guidance to the Army on the best way to equip them with an additional layer of security. This is another example of CDW-G helping the customer meet their ultimate mission."
CDW-G is providing these BlackBerry devices equipped with additional security - smart-card readers from APRIVA and Infinite Peripherals. The smart-card readers authenticate the identity of users before they can access applications on the BlackBerry and validate business transactions conducted via BlackBerry. Additionally, the readers encrypt data, including email, through Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology stored on the smart card's memory chip.
CDW-G's industry-leading business model includes knowledgeable sales teams that ensure customers make the right procurement decisions from a broad product selection, obtain comprehensive technical support and benefit from competitive pricing. In addition, CDW-G offers a variety of services through the company's award-winning extranet program. Each customer receives access to a customized extranet site with secure access to its account teams, product information and purchase history. Customers can track their purchases, manage asset-tagged hardware and order configured products via the extranet site. These custom extranets ensure a simple, comprehensive purchasing interface to better control the procurement processes.
Customers further benefit from CDW-G's ability to leverage the 450,000-square-foot automated processing and shipping facility of its parent company, CDW Corporation, which offers more than 100,000 products from over 1,400 leading manufacturers. Coupled with large in-stock inventories, CDW-G can respond with a sense of urgency to federal agencies' needs, providing rapid turnaround, industry-leading order management and best-in-class products and solutions.
About CDW-G
A wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ: CDWC), a FORTUNE 500 company, CDW Government (CDW-G) is a trusted technology advisor to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as to educational institutions at all levels. CDW-G offers best-in-class technology products and services from top-name brands such as APC, Cisco, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Symantec, Toshiba and ViewSonic. For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, service and solutions call 1.800.863.4239, or visit the CDW-G Web site at CDWG.com.
About CDW
Additional information can be found by visiting CDW.com.
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