Smart Card Alliance Adds 21 Members

Joining the ranks of the organization at the Leadership Council level, the highest level of membership, are VeriSign and Lockheed Martin. VeriSigns digital certificates and managed PKI services make them a leader in network security applications and services. They bring a wealth of market experience to the Alliance in the area of e-authentication. Lockheed Martin, a leading systems integrator for defense, information technology and homeland security, brings to the Alliance their considerable knowledge of large-scale integration and partnering with industry suppliers to integrate smart card technology into federal government credentialing programs. Security industry companies continue to make up the fastest-growing category of new members. Security solutions integrators AMAG Technology, Tyco Software House and SSP Litronic all have a large presence in the government and commercial security industry. Card manufacturers and application developers including Giesecke & Devrient, OTI, SuperCom, CardLogix, Arthur Blank & Co. and ASK Contactless Technologies are finding demand for their expertise in contact and contactless product offerings. End user organizations are drawn to the Alliance to establish industry contacts who can teach them how to pilot and run their own successful smart card programs. Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation and the Government of Bermuda joined the Alliance to learn first-hand about how smart card technology can be used to meet their unique needs. An increasing number of companies with international roots are seeking to establish a presence in the U.S. and have become members in the last year. Among them are AOS-Hagenuk (Netherlands), OTI and SuperCom (Israel) and ASK (France). Other new entrants into the smart card industry are suppliers of hardware, software and integration services, such as Accelitec, Alacris, Pace Integration, Intersecting Technologies, EPI, CNB-E-Lysium Systems and Smart Systems Co.