The US General Services Administration (GSA) announced it had awarded Hewlett Packard a one-year contract worth $47 million to support governmentcompliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12).

Under the contract, HP will assist GSA in managing the identities of more than 5,00,000 federal employees and contractors at more than 90 federal agencies, commissions and boards. More specifically, GSA will use HP’s Assured Identity solution which allows the agency to manage the entire life cycle of the credentialisation process.

The GSA MSO USAccess programme is a major provider of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials to federal agencies. In addition to federal agencies that provide their own PIV credentials, the GSA MSO and HP will deliver identity credentials needed to help secure federal facilities, systems and applications as part of the government-wide Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) programme.

As part of the agreement, the GSA MSO has implemented the HP Assured Identity solution. This enables the USAccess programme to provide agencies with the key components to manage the full life cycle of a PIV credential by simplifying the process of sponsoring, enrolling, adjudicating and credentialing applicants. PIV credentials issued under the USAccess programme are secure and reliable, and comply with governmentestablished HSPD-12 standards.

“Protecting government facilities and information system assets is critical to national security,” said Keith Blodgett, Vice President, Leveraged Delivery and Enterprise Clients, US Public Sector, HP Enterprise Services. “HP will continue to provide and manage the HSPD-12 identity credentials necessary to help secure these vitally important assets.”

In a world of continuous connectivity, HP enables agencies to become Instant-On Governments with technology, security and innovation embedded throughout their organisations to deliver immediate services to citizens and clients.