Washington, D.C. – November 6, 2006–
Merlin International, one of the nation’s fastest growing federal IT solutions providers today announced that they have secured a 2.1 million dollar contract to implement BEA Systems’ AquaLogic Business Process Management (BPM) Suite for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The new infrastructure will streamline and accelerate the patent submission, review and approval process.
Last year, the USPTO received approximately 400,000 patent applications, each requiring up to 18 months to process. The legacy system relied heavily on manual processes and a significant amount of duplication between workflows. The agency realized it could cut the processing time to six months if it consolidated the functionality currently spread across 150 disparate systems.
After an extensive evaluation, the USPTO selected BEA Systems’ AquaLogic BPM suite, which allows collaboration between business and IT through specialized modeling and design tools that provide efficient iterations in each step of the process. Specifically, it will provide the USPTO with greater efficiency through better tracking and management of pending patent and trademark requests, which will result in faster turn around rates for constituents.
“The USPTO is working on a five-year strategic plan to foster American innovation and competitiveness and offering a fully-automated patent submission process is a significant part of that plan,” said John Trauth, executive vice president of government systems, Merlin International. “Merlin’s consulting and professional services experts are working closely with the USPTO to ensure they achieve their goal.”
BEA Systems will develop and install the infrastructure, which will consist of approximately 800 servers. The Merlin International Professional Services team will administer the contract and provide all subsequent maintenance and support.
“BEA’s AquaLogic BPM solution enables collaboration between business and IT through specialized modeling and design tools that ensure efficient iterations by each participant in the process lifecycle,” said Kelly Collins, general manager and vice president, public sector, BEA Systems. “The strength of the firm’s consulting and professional services teams made Merlin the logical choice to handle this implementation. They have the expertise needed to incorporate BEA technology in the USPTO’s IT infrastructure, helping the agency move closer to achieving its goals of better efficiency and constituent satisfaction.
The USPTO is a federal agency in the Department of Commerce. The USPTO occupies five interconnected buildings in Alexandria, Virginia. The office employs over 7,000 full-time staff to support its major functions--- the examination and issuance of patents and the examination and registration of trademarks.
About Merlin International
Merlin International is one of the fastest growing public sector IT solutions providers in the United States. Based in Denver, with offices in Vienna, Va., Linthicum, Md., and Scott Air Force Base, Merlin delivers technology solutions and services for a broad range of organizations including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, civilian and intelligence agencies, as well as state and local governments. The company’s solution expertise includes Managed Content, Enterprise Messaging, Information Assurance, and Business Systems Management. Today, more than 500 clients count on Merlin's expertise to help them define, integrate, deploy, and maintain systems and networks that align information technology with program and business goals. Learn more about Merlin at www.merlin-intl.com.
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