CHENEY, Wash., Oct. 4, 2004 — Microsoft Corp. and EDS joined today with Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed to unveil the first state Digital Archive system ( http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov ) built from the ground up to save critical legal, government and historical documents for citizens. The system, which went online today at the state’s new archive management center in Cheney, Wash., uses the Microsoft®
Windows Server System (TM) to provide online access to tens of thousands of state and local documents of multiple formats — information that previously could only be found in its original form or was scattered across thousands of disparate databases. The Digital Archive also will help preserve the state’s history while simplifying citizen transactions with state government.
“If Abraham Lincoln had written the Gettysburg Address on a laptop, we may not have it today,” Reed said. “Government agencies in Washington have already lost more than 50 percent of their electronic, public records because we’ve had no means to preserve them until now. This solution allows us to freeze modern history for those who will live here in 2104 and beyond.”
Based on the state’s vision, EDS and Microsoft designed a system that will save all the state’s critical records and enable unprecedented citizen access to government. The Digital Archive solution will provide significant cost savings by eliminating paper, integrating resources and making record transactions more efficient.
“Taking advantage of the latest advances in IT — as well as our extensive experience working together in the enterprise — EDS and Microsoft have been able to address a long-standing and pervasive problem among government organizations everywhere,” said Bill Kilcullen, chief technologist at EDS. “We look forward to using the success in Washington as a model for saving important documents and bringing citizens and government closer together.”
EDS and Microsoft designed the highly scalable Digital Archive solution using Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET 2003 and Windows Server System products, including Windows Server (TM) 2003, Microsoft SQL Server (TM) 2000, BizTalk®
Server 2004 and Host Integration Server. The architecture supports clustering for failover and redundancy to provide high availability and is designed to scale to support up to 800 terabytes of data (equivalent to 200 billion pages of text) in formats that vary from database records and e-mail messages to rich media content such as audio and video files.
Relying on SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 integration, the system will continually “ingest” hundreds of thousands of digital records of varying content types, applying the appropriate metadata, and indexing and storing the assets so they can be retrieved and used in a timely manner. Each record is authenticated and secured with a digital “lock” that helps prevent tampering and protect the integrity of the original document. Records stored will include census, naturalization, military, birth, death, marriage and voter registration, property, and other historic records from the executive and legislative branches as well as other rare state archives.
“The Digital Archive system is a stellar example of how the Microsoft platform — combined with partner expertise — rapidly yields innovative solutions that help customers create value and reduce costs,” said Gail Thomas-Flynn, general manager of State and Local Government for Microsoft. “EDS’ experience in digital asset management and Microsoft products such as BizTalk Server 2004 and Visual Studio .NET 2003 enabled us to design, develop and deploy a digital archive solution for the state of Washington that is highly secure, scalable and cost-effective. And we achieved the state’s objectives in record time.”
EDS and Microsoft applied their deep experience working together to not only address the state’s requirements, but also exceed them. In January 2004, EDS and Microsoft collaborated in the state-of-the-art Microsoft Partner Solution Center in Redmond, Wash., to develop and deliver an EDS-led architectural design session and a preliminary proof of concept demonstration for the state. The Microsoft and EDS alliance exceeded the state’s requirements for total cost of ownership and solution delivery and was chosen hands down over document management solutions that were more costly to administer and support.
About EDS
EDS provides a broad portfolio of business and technology solutions to help its clients worldwide improve their business performance. EDS’ core portfolio comprises information-technology, applications and business process services, as well as information-technology transformation services. EDS’ A.T. Kearney subsidiary is one of the world’s leading high-value management consultancies. With more than $20 billion in annual revenue, EDS is ranked 87th on the Fortune 500. The company’s stock is traded on the New York (NYSE: EDS) and London stock exchanges. Learn more at http://www.eds.com .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft, Windows Server System, Visual Studio, Windows Server and BizTalk are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .
