Agencies have become their own industry. They have people who need to work together and need the tools in order to work together, which is just as important to the government sector as it is in the private. Transaction services have made it easier for agencies to buy products online. Today s procurement process is manual, labor intensive and primarily paper-based. Many newer government-oriented companies are focusing on building portals, Web sites that help users navigate through large amounts of information.
Some portals target federal employees, others the general public.
Recently, industry experts have seen a dramatic increase in dot-coms providing collaborative services, which bring portals and transactions together. These companies not only provide easy access to a wide range of government information, but offer online services as well. Several of these companies started in the state and local market, where they set up portals that included applications for paying parking tickets or filing government forms online. The company is putting proposals together for three federal agencies. It also is working with a federal interagency task force on public property auctions and should have its first federal contract by the end of June, according to chairman and CEO Kaleil Isaza Tuzman.