GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES ODU ADOPTION OF INTERNET SYSTEM FOR PURCHASING

Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that Old Dominion University is the first Virginia public institution of higher education to use eVA, the Commonwealth's state-of-the-art Internet procurement system, for all of its purchasing.

"I am proud of ODU for its aggressive movement to employ electronic business tools," Governor Warner said. "ODU sets an example for other public colleges and universities to take all the necessary steps to use eVA for all of their purchasing and to make it possible for the Commonwealth to leverage its combined buying power to save money."

The university has successfully accomplished an "interface" between its financial management system and the Commonwealth's e-procurement system (called eVA), allowing all purchasing to be done electronically through a centralized network. The "interface" is a necessary step because the highly decentralized acquisition of computer systems by state agencies and institutions in the past has resulted in the inability of those various computer systems to communicate with each other. The university has taken the lead on developing this interface and is collaborating with other institutions on the adoption of eVA.

"Old Dominion University is a national leader in utilizing technology in its academic programs," said President Roseann Runte. "The university sees the potential for e-procurement and the promise of greater efficiencies in both time and costs and has thus taken the lead among state universities in business services technology."

Virginia's statewide e-procurement system is one of the most comprehensive in the nation and was recently ranked first in a survey by the National Center for Digital Government. In little more than a year, $400 million in state purchases have been processed entirely electronically through the network.

eVA creates an electronic network linking state agencies and institutions with private sector suppliers and vendors, making the procurement process easier, faster, and more accessible. The system provides the latest procurement tools to government buyers - resulting in cost reductions. Private businesses - particularly small businesses - have greater access to business opportunities through eVA. Vendors registered on the eVA network are instantly notified when government agencies need to purchase their products and services.

"Applying eVA to our business operations fits into our overall e-business strategy for enhancing business services," said Bob Fenning, ODU vice president for administration and finance. "eVA has been received with enthusiasm by the university because it brings state-of-the-art tools to meet this institution's procurement needs of the future. I'm proud of our team."

eVA has been operational for a little more than a year, and currently has more than four million products listed on the Internet. The system is used by 169 state agencies and institutions and 171 local governments.

"eVA is central to our achieving substantial procurement savings, because it provides the data that allows us to analyze where money is being spent and to realize the ultimate benefits of collaborative purchasing across all the agencies of state and local government," said Secretary of Administration Sandra D. Bowen.

To find out more about Virginia's electronic commerce initiative, eVA, click on http://www.eva.state.va.us.