General Services Administration Selects WAM!NET to Host E-commerce Auction Platform

Business Wire, Oct 3, 2000

Business Editors & Technology Writers

EAGAN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2000

Project to Improve Efficiency, Extend Reach,

and Increase Revenue for Federal Surplus Auctions;

Announcement Follows WAM!NET's Recent Approval

by GSA to Sell on E-Commerce Schedule

WAM!NET Inc., a leading provider of digital content management services, today announced that it has been selected by the General Services Administration (GSA) to host a new e-commerce platform for government surplus auctions.

Expected to commence auction activity in December 2000, the new site - www.GSAAuctions.gov - will, for the first time, enable the GSA's Federal Supply Service (FSS) to efficiently sell surplus government property through an online auction marketplace. The GSA, which conducted over $260 million in Federal surplus property sales in 1999, expects that the new auction site will enable GSA to service a rapidly growing portion of the government asset sales market."

Leveraging its global private network, data storage infrastructure, and professional services organization, WAM!NET will install, configure, operate and maintain the required network and data storage systems, data center and hosting facilities, and supporting hardware and software for the new GSA auction site. Additionally, the company will provide related customer service and call center support.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Currently, the FSS sells surplus federal property at physical auction locations. By connecting buyers of surplus merchandise electronically, the new e-commerce-based solution will remove the geographic barriers to bidding, increase the FSS's market potential and efficiency, and reduce the advertising and promotional costs associated with traditional auctions.

"Bringing the power of e-commerce to our surplus property auction activities is an important and logical step for GSA," said Dave Barram, Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration. "In doing so, we will significantly improve our business efficiencies and reduce the costs associated with traditional auctions. By providing the public with an Internet-accessible, easy-to-use platform, I expect GSAAuctions.gov to quickly become a prime source for government asset auctions."

Donna Bennett, Federal Supply Service Commissioner, also commented: "We are leveraging our strategic marketing position and employing the latest technology to deliver a much needed service for all of our customers."

"We're pleased that the GSA has selected WAM!NET to support their implementation of a new e-business," said Ed Driscoll, chairman and chief executive officer, WAM!NET Inc. "This important project takes advantage of WAM!NET's proven expertise in delivering managed network, storage, hosting and integration services for e-business and of our experienced professional services team, which will design and implement the secure, robust systems architecture required to support the new auction site."

WAM!NET launched efforts to market and sell its network, storage, and hosted application and infrastructure services to the government marketplace in June 2000, following the company's approval by the General Services Administration to sell on the GSA Schedule for Electronic Commerce Services. With this approval, WAM!NET e-services - including transport services for static and motion-based media, digital archiving services for storing, retrieving, sharing and managing data, and render on demand service for creating high resolution motion images -- now are broadly available to all levels of government, including Federal, State, City, and Regional, along with their associated agencies, throughout the United States.

About GSA

GSA is an executive branch agency that provides policy leadership and expertly managed space, products, services and solutions at the best value to enable Federal employees to accomplish their mission. GSA's Federal Supply Service supports Federal agencies throughout the world in acquiring supplies, furniture, computers, tools, and equipment, as well as financial, engineering, human resources, and management consulting services to name a few. FSS also arranges for travel and transportation services, manages the Federal vehicle fleet, and helps Federal agencies dispose of items they no longer need by transferring them to other government agencies or nonprofit organizations or by selling them to the public.

About WAM!NET Inc.

Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, WAM!NET is a leading provider of business-to-business network, data storage, application and hosting services to companies that produce and distribute digital content. Delivered to customers on an outsourced, subscription or pay-per-use basis, the company's services unite collaborative communities that specify, create, print, store, broadcast and distribute content within WAM!NET's fully managed secure IP infrastructure. WAM!NET serves many of the world's leading corporations, pre-press shops, printers, advertising agencies and publishers, and is increasingly in demand in the feature film production, broadcast, medical and government markets.