The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), the voice of municipal governments in Georgia, and CGI Group Inc. (CGI) a leading provider of information technology (IT) and business process services, are pleased to announce the signature of a partnership whereby CGI's government-on-line solution, gBizTM, will be marketed throughout the GMA. The City of Statesboro is the first municipality to benefit from this solution providing its citizens with anytime, anywhere access to government services such as the payment of property taxes and applications for building permits and business licenses.
As part of the agreement, CGI will provide project management, functional and technical architecture, systems integration, solutions and applications development as well as consulting services. By partnering with CGI, GMA brings their cities the most advanced architectures in the world, providing multi-channel, one-stop-shop government service delivery.
"We are very excited about this partnership as we are setting a precedent in being one of the first organizations in the United States to adapt this model. Governments everywhere are challenging their organizations for change that will result in providing better services with operating savings, ultimately changing the way governments do business. The gBIZ solution will enable municipal governments to offer more with less ," said Jim Higdon, executive director of the GMA.
Terry Broom, senior vice-president, US South for CGI added: "With this partnership we are creating a centre of expertise in Atlanta that will serve the State and possibly beyond. The government sector is a key vertical for us as our team of over 3,000 professionals dedicated to this sector equips us with knowledge, size and scale making us the partner of choice for government. We are very pleased to begin work with the City of Statesboro in helping them roll out numerous services in a short timeframe."
The Province of New Brunswick in Canada has been an acknowledged leader in changing the way governments interact with citizens through the innovative use of technology, as pioneered over the past by its delivery agency Service New Brunswick. CGI is Service New Brunswick's primary contractor and architect.
The Premier of New Brunswick, Bernard Lord highlighted: " You're about to discover what the people of my province have known for years now - that CGI is a highly innovative company with a new technology that is about to give people their lunch hours back. With CGI's help, our service delivery arm, Service New Brunswick, is bringing government services to the people and making it accessible, convenient and quick and gBIZ is the solution that makes all this come alive."
CGI is also providing its services to the Canadian Federal Government's Secure Channel project as well as partnering with British Telecommunications PLC. CGI's approach has resulted in the deployment of proven, scalable solutions providing a functional and technical architecture that enables single-window, multi-channeled access. An IDC study entitled From Vision to Benefit: Building the Digital eGovernment Foundation, as well as a Gartner Group case study entitled Architecture of the Future: Service New Brunswick , showcase the SNB-CGI model.
A bout the Georgia Municipal Association
Created in 1934, the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) is the only state organization that represents municipal governments in Georgia. Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its members.
GMA's membership currently totals more than 485 municipal governments, accounting for more than 99% of the state's municipal population. A 56-member Board of Directors, composed of city officials, governs GMA. Program implementation is charged to the Executive Director and staff of 60-70 full-time employees.
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI is the fifth largest independent information technology services firm in North America, based on its headcount. CGI and its affiliated companies employ 20,000 professionals. CGI's annualized revenue run-rate is $2.1 billion and at September 30, 2003, CGI's order backlog was $ 9.1 billion. CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in Canada, United States and Europe. CGI's shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices. Website: www.cgi.com
For more information:
Media relations
GMA
Amy Hendersen
(678) 686-6226
CGI
Eileen Murphy
(514) 841-3430
